Singtel’s Digital InfraCo unit and Hitachi forged an agreement to develop next-generation data centres and GPU cloud services in Japan, with a goal to sustainably boost performance and capabilities to accelerate AI adoption and digital transformation by enterprises.

In a statement, the pair explained the partnership will bring together Singtel’s data centre and connectivity expertise and platforms with Hitachi’s AI applications for manufacturing and end-to-end data centre capabilities, covering integration, green power, cooling, storage and data management.

Hitachi executive officer Toshiaki Tokunaga pointed out that as generative AI continues to drive new innovations, the issue of environmental impact due to rising electricity demand is becoming more prominent. “Striking a balance between these two factors is a significant mission for Hitachi’s social innovation business.”

The companies noted the deal expands on a partnership unveiled in June to trial Singtel’s 5G, edge and multi-cloud orchestration platform at Hitachi Americas’ Santa Clara R&D Labs, targeting the enterprise market using services from both companies.

Using Singtel’s Paragon platform and Hitachi’s deep AI expertise, the companies added they will address the “complexities faced by customers when deploying AI capabilities”.

The pair will also explore developing data centres across Asia-Pacific to cater to rising demand for AI capabilities and combine Singtel’s GPU platform with Hitachi’s AI expertise to develop enterprise applications.

Digital InfraCo CEO Bill Chang said the tie-up with Hitachi opens up new opportunities in a strategically important and expanding market.

Japan is one of the largest and fastest growing data centre markets in Asia Pacific, forecast to grow 9.8 per cent annually and reach $5 billion by 2028, the statement added.