SoftBank Group and Grab Holdings announced joint development agreements on November 9, 2026, with Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (PETROS) for AI infrastructure in Malaysia. The companies said they plan US$1.85 billion in initial combined seed capital: US$1 billion from SoftBank Group, US$750 million from Grab and US$100 million from PETROS. Those three amounts are the stated breakdown of the same $1.85 billion seed figure; they are not additional to it.
The multi-year plan covers projects across Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, with a long-term target of five gigawatts or more of AI compute capacity. That 5 GW+ figure is a long-term target in the announcement, not capacity already built or contracted for immediate delivery. SoftBank and Grab said funding would be deployed in stages, subject to projects hitting development and customer-contract milestones and to necessary closing conditions. They also said they would seek additional investors and hyperscaler customers.
Within the same $1.85 billion seed package, the release describes a geographic split. The proposed initial investment for the Sarawak project is US$1 billion—US$800 million SoftBank Group, US$100 million Grab and US$100 million PETROS—building on a Framework Agreement signed in Kuching on October 8, 2026. The proposed initial seed capital for the Peninsular Malaysia project is US$850 million—US$650 million Grab and US$200 million SoftBank Group. Those project-level lines are components of the combined seed capital, not a second $1.85 billion.
The parties frame the work as supporting Malaysia’s AI Nation 2030 plan and say facilities would follow Malaysia’s renewable-energy use guidelines. Codema’s IEA look at AI data-centre power demand covers why grid and power access shape projects of this kind; recent site and equipment moves include Google’s Wyoming campus purchase from Crusoe and Anthropic’s reported gas-generator commitments. SoftBank’s release includes forward-looking statements and notes that joint-venture formation and each party’s investment remain subject to definitive agreements and conditions.
FAQ
How much seed capital did SoftBank, Grab and PETROS announce, and how is it split?
They plan US$1.85 billion in initial combined seed capital: US$1 billion from SoftBank Group, US$750 million from Grab and US$100 million from PETROS. Those three amounts are the stated breakdown of the same $1.85 billion seed figure, not amounts in addition to it.
Is the 5 gigawatt figure capacity that has already been built?
No. The five gigawatts or more is a long-term target in the announcement, not capacity already built or contracted for immediate delivery. Funding would be deployed in stages, subject to milestones and closing conditions.
How is the $1.85 billion split between Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia?
The proposed initial investment for the Sarawak project is US$1 billion (US$800 million SoftBank Group, US$100 million Grab and US$100 million PETROS). The proposed initial seed capital for the Peninsular Malaysia project is US$850 million (US$650 million Grab and US$200 million SoftBank Group). Those project-level lines are components of the combined seed capital, not a second $1.85 billion.
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Kelly B.Hardware & Infra desk
Kelly B. is a Codema.ai house byline: a pen name used by our editorial desk, not one individual journalist. It covers Hardware & Infra: GPUs and the memory inside them (HBM, GDDR7, DDR5, NAND), hardware for running AI locally, GPU rental prices, chipmaking, and the data centres and power behind AI. Pieces under this name are written with AI assistance and reviewed by a human editor before they're published.
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