Singtel & Hitachi to Accelerate Enterprise AI
Singtel and Hitachi will collaborate on data centres and GPU Cloud in Asia, under the lead of Singtel's Digital InfraCo unit. This partnership will unite Singtel’s extensive data centre and connectivity expertise and technology platforms with Hitachi’s end-to-end data centre integration, including its green power solutions, cooling systems, storage infrastructure and data management. They intend to strengthen sustainable data centre performance and capabilities, accelerating AI adoption and digital transformation of enterprises.
Singtel and Hitachi expand partnership to drive AI and Cloud innovation in Japan's growing data centre market
Hitachi was founded in 1910 as an electrical engineering company, growing into a multinational conglomerate. The Japanese company describes itself as ‘driving social innovation business, creating a sustainable society with data and technology.’
Based in Singapore, Singtel believes that the world is a better place when technology is used to help people and businesses communicate effortlessly. The company strives to make communication easier, faster and more reliable.
With the rising demand for AI and cloud services, Japan has become one of the biggest data centre markets in the Asia Pacific region, with a market expected to achieve a compound annual growth rate of 9.8% and reach US$5bn by 2028.
This agreement expands on a partnership first formed in June 2024 to trial and integrate Singtel’s Paragon - the orchestration platform for 5G, edge computing and cloud, alongside Hitachi’s AI applications for Hitachi’s manufacturing operations and enterprise customers. By utilising Singtel’s Paragon platform and Hitachi’s deep AI expertise, both companies aim to address the complexities faced by customers when deploying AI capabilities.
Singtel and Hitachi to advance AI and sustainable data centres in Asia
Singtel set up Digital InfraCo in 2023, to link innovation and economic growth for Asia Pacific’s digital economies. Its portfolio includes Nxera, its regional data centre arm, subsea cable and satellite businesses and Paragon platform. Singtel sees this as vital for advancing AI across Asia. Digital InfraCo plans to launch GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) to encourage enterprise AI adoption.
Bill Chang, CEO of Singtel’s Digital InfraCo, said that the strategic partnership with Hitachi would open up new opportunities in a strategically important and expanding Japanese market.
“Building a strong ecosystem of partners has always been a priority at Singtel to better serve our customers and broaden our global reach,” he said. “We look forward to bringing our collective expertise, digital assets and solutions to help more enterprises innovate and transform their businesses and operations through the cloud and AI. As we scale our digital capabilities with our partners like Hitachi, we aim to become a leader in the Asia Pacific region.”
Hitachi’s corporate philosophy has always centred on addressing the challenges faced by customers and society. As Gen AI continues to transform the data centre sector, Toshiaki Tokunaga, Executive Vice President and Executive Officer at Hitachi, sees sustainability issues and solutions becoming more prominent.
“Striking a balance between these two factors is a significant mission for Hitachi’s Social Innovation Business. We are delighted to embark on this mission through our strategic alliance with Singtel,” he said. “By combining Singtel's expertise in the development and operation of sustainable data centres with the comprehensive capabilities of the Hitachi Group, ranging from green power solutions to facility and data management.”
Together, Singtel and Hitachi aim to enable companies to utilise data centres in an intelligent and environmentally conscious manner, to support innovation and promote sustainability.
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