SoftBank Group, Grab Holdings and Petroleum Sarawak agreed on 9 November to invest an initial $1.85 billion in two Malaysian AI infrastructure projects, Dow Jones reported on 9 November 2026. The agreement advances a partnership that had centred on Sarawak: the three companies previously signed a pact to explore an AI platform there. The proposed capital now covers a project in Peninsular Malaysia as well as one in Sarawak, a Malaysian state on Borneo.
Key points
- The proposed $1.85 billion comprises $1 billion from SoftBank, $750 million from Grab and $100 million from Petroleum Sarawak.
- Peninsular Malaysia is allocated $850 million and Sarawak $1 billion in proposed initial investment.
- The companies have a long-term target of at least five gigawatts of AI computing capacity.
- Capital is to be deployed in stages, subject to development and customer-contract milestones.
Grab leads the $850 million Peninsular project
Grab’s proposed contribution to the Peninsular Malaysia project is $650 million, against $200 million from SoftBank. Grab is to lead its development as founding shareholder and seek long-term strategic investors as the project expands, DealStreetAsia reported. The companies have signed joint development agreements for the projects.
Singapore-based Grab operates a ride-hailing app. Its chief executive, Anthony Tan, is expected to oversee both Malaysian projects and appoint separate teams to manage their daily operations. Grab is also expanding AI functions in its services, Nikkei Asia reported.
For Grab, the proposed infrastructure investment sits alongside its existing services rather than replacing them. Tan said the capacity would support the development of AI products adapted to local users. The companies said they were seeking to serve demand for computing capacity across Southeast Asia.
SoftBank supplies $800 million for Sarawak
The proposed $1 billion initial investment in Sarawak consists of $800 million from SoftBank, $100 million from Grab and $100 million from Petroleum Sarawak, known as Petros. The Malaysian oil and gas company is a party to both the current agreement and the earlier Sarawak exploration pact.
Grab has an option to increase its stake in the Sarawak project, which would reduce SoftBank’s holding while leaving the Japanese group as majority shareholder, according to DealStreetAsia. The proposed allocations therefore place most of SoftBank’s initial $1 billion contribution in Sarawak, while Grab supplies most of the initial capital for Peninsular Malaysia.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in October that SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son was planning $50 billion of AI and technology-related investment in Malaysia, focused on AI, emerging technologies and data centres. AI Affairs reported Anwar’s account of those plans at the time.
Customer contracts govern the $1.85 billion rollout
The companies said the proposed investment would be released in stages, conditional on the projects meeting development and customer-contract milestones. They intend to bring in additional investors and customers for subsequent development. DealStreetAsia reported that further work is expected to use third-party equity and non-recourse financing at project level — borrowing for which lenders do not have a claim on the sponsors.
SoftBank plans to fund its contribution from cash on hand rather than issue bonds, Kyodo News reported. The planned facilities include an AI data centre, with development to involve major global technology companies, according to Kyodo News.
The companies are seeking additional large-scale cloud customers alongside other investors. Their stated long-term capacity target is five gigawatts or more. SoftBank has agreed in principle to a five-year lock-up covering Grab shares directly held by one of its entities, with agreed conditions and standard carve-outs.
