[GLOBAL ECONOMIC TIMES]  As the world's big tech companies continue to make aggressive investments, Southeast Asia is emerging as a new mecca and battleground in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Google's parent company, Alphabet, announced on the 4th that it had completed its fourth Singapore data center and increased its investment in Singapore to $5 billion (about 6.87 trillion won). This is a more than five-fold increase compared to the investment size of $850 million (approximately 1.17 trillion won) when the third data center was built in 2022.

Google explained that it currently has more than 500 employees working at its Singapore data center and is using this to strengthen digital services such as Google Maps.

Google, which established its first data center in Singapore in 2014, currently operates data centers in 11 countries.

In recent years, other big tech companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple have also been expanding or establishing new data centers in Singapore. This is an indicator of the growth potential of the Southeast Asian market and the increasing importance of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data.

Experts predicted that aggressive investments by big tech companies will have a positive impact on the construction of digital infrastructure and advanced technology in Southeast Asian countries. It is also expected to contribute to job creation and economic growth.

However, at the same time, there are still challenges to be solved, such as privacy protection, data leaks, and monopoly issues.