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Brisbane-based data centre operator NEXTDC (ASX: NXT) has officially opened KL1 Kuala Lumpur, its first international facility and what the company is calling its inaugural overseas "AI Factory", marking a major expansion into South-East Asia backed by a $1 billion long-term investment.
The purpose-built facility in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, within Malaysia's Klang Valley, went live today and is designed to deliver 65MW of IT capacity built to Tier IV design principles.
KL1 is set to become the first Uptime Institute Tier IV-certified data centre in Peninsular Malaysia.
The launch comes on the back of NEXTDC's $2.2 billion capital plan announced earlier this month, which has lifted the group's pro forma liquidity to $8.4 billion as it races to meet surging demand for AI-ready infrastructure across the Asia-Pacific region.
“We are in the fourth industrial revolution, and AI is redefining the requirements of critical infrastructure," says NEXTDC chief executive Craig Scroggie.
"The challenge is no longer access to technology, but the ability to deploy it at speed, at scale, and within sovereign governance frameworks.
"KL1 Kuala Lumpur has been purpose-built to meet the needs of the market - providing a high-performance, sovereign-ready environment where customers can run next-generation compute workloads with confidence.
"This is not only about entering a new market. It is about NEXTDC establishing infrastructure platforms in the locations where customers need to operate, connect and scale in the AI economy.”
The KL1 investment, equivalent to $1 billion, drew endorsement today from senior Malaysian and Australian government figures at the launch.
Minister of Digital Gobind Singh Deo says the launch is a "significant milestone in our mission to establish Malaysia as the premier digital hub of South-East Asia and a key driver of the regional AI economy".
"As we advance toward our AI Nation 2030, facility such as KL1 is essential to provide the resilience, security and scale required for the next generation of cloud-driven innovation," he says.
"This RM2.8 billion ($1 billion) investment not only reinforces global investor confidence in our digital ecosystem but also ensures that Malaysia remains at the forefront of the global value chain.
"The Ministry of Digital remains committed to supporting such strategic partnerships that act as catalysts for high-value job creation, digital talent development and sustainable economic growth for all Malaysians."
Australian High Commissioner Danielle Heinecke says the new facility positions NEXTDC as a reliable long-term investor supporting Malaysia's digital economy.
The international expansion follows a period of record contracted growth for NEXTDC domestically.
The company's contracted utilisation has risen 60 per cent to 667MW, while its forward order book has surged 83 per cent to 544MW. Contracted EBITDA is expected to exceed $1 billion.
NEXTDC has raised its FY26 capital expenditure guidance to between $2.7 billion and $3 billion, with FY27 capex forecast at $5 billion as the company builds out its pipeline of AI-ready facilities across Australia and now South-East Asia.
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