AirTrunk and Yondr Set New Standard for AI-Ready Data Centers in Asia-Pacific

Yondr Group is pushing the pace in the Asia-Pacific’s hyperscale data center market, delivering 25 megawatts of AI-ready IT capacity in Malaysia six months ahead of schedule. The facility, part of a planned 300MW hyperscale campus in Johor, reflects a growing consensus among operators: the future belongs to infrastructure built specifically for artificial intelligence.

The Asia-Pacific is entering a new phase of digital infrastructure development, one where speed, scale, and AI-readiness are prerequisites, not luxuries. Yondr’s early delivery comes amid rising demand for machine learning workloads that require high-density GPU computing, advanced cooling, and ultra-low latency performance.

The Johor data center, located in Sedenak Tech Park, is the company’s first live site in the region. It was financed through a $900 million green loan package backed by lenders including DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners. The facility features direct-to-chip cooling and supports next-generation GPUs critical to AI performance.

“This facility is designed to support the latest GPU technology essential for AI workloads, enabling our clients to stay competitive in an increasingly AI-driven digital economy,” said Mark Avery, Senior Vice President of Design & Construction APAC at Yondr Group.

Momentum Builds Across Malaysia

Yondr is not alone. AirTrunk, a key regional player, officially opened its flagship AI-optimized data center, JHB1, in Johor Bahru in July 2024. The 150MW facility incorporates direct-to-chip liquid and evaporative cooling, achieving a design Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.15 and reducing energy consumption by up to 23%.

Robin Khuda, AirTrunk’s founder and CEO, called the site “a cornerstone for Malaysia’s rise as a digital hub.” AirTrunk is already planning a second Johor site, JHB2, expected to deliver more than 270MW of capacity with expanded renewable energy and water conservation capabilities.

These builds align with Malaysian government efforts to position the country as a leading AI ecosystem. Coordination with utilities like Tenaga Nasional Berhad is helping operators integrate high-voltage power and renewable supply at scale, now a baseline requirement for modern facilities.

For hyperscale developers and their enterprise customers, AI-readiness is no longer a future consideration. With GPU-intensive workloads reshaping computing needs, data centers must now deliver capacity that is dense, efficient, and immediately deployable.

In the Asia-Pacific’s fast-moving digital economy, legacy infrastructure is falling behind. Operators that cannot modernize quickly risk missing out on the region’s next wave of growth.

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Rex Sayson

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