Alibaba Cloud to open its 2nd AI data center in S Korea

Alibaba Cloud, a subsidiary of China’s Alibaba Group, will open its second data center in South Korea later this month.

The new facility, located in Seoul, will focus on services for AI applications.

Alibaba Cloud entered the South Korean market in 2016.

Its first data center began operations in 2022 to address the growing demand for AI infrastructure in the region.

🔗 Source: Yonhap

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Alibaba’s expanding Asian cloud footprint follows years of strategic planning

Alibaba’s new South Korean data center represents a continuation of their methodical expansion across Asia that began nearly a decade ago.

The company first entered the South Korean market in 2016 through a partnership with SK C&C, a local IT service provider, establishing their initial presence well before opening their first data center in 2022 1.

This approach reflects Alibaba’s broader regional strategy, which began with their first international data center in Singapore in 2015, followed by Malaysia in 2017, as part of their systematic expansion beyond mainland China 2.

By 2019, Alibaba Cloud had already established operations in 18 data center regions globally, serving over 10,000 paying customers and building the infrastructure needed to compete with Western cloud providers 3.

The six-year gap between market entry and their first South Korean data center, followed by a three-year interval before this second facility, highlights Alibaba’s patient, long-term approach to building presence in strategic markets.

2️⃣ South Korea’s substantial AI investments create fertile ground for cloud expansion

Alibaba’s AI-focused data center launch aligns with South Korea’s national AI strategy and significant government investments.

The South Korean government has committed approximately 480 billion won (USD 349 million) to industrial AI projects in 2025 alone, with substantial allocations for AI factory development, chip technology, and autonomous vehicles 4.

This initiative is part of South Korea’s broader strategy to maintain its position as the world’s fourth-largest manufacturing hub by integrating AI across industries 5.