Philippine telecom operator Globe Telecom Inc. is preparing a major expansion into artificial intelligence and data center infrastructure, with plans to commit at least US$1 billion through 2027. The investment represents a strategic shift for a company that has traditionally built its growth around telecommunications and connectivity. Globe President and Chief Executive Officer Carl Raymond Cruz said the company sees AI infrastructure as a potential new engine for long-term digital growth. The strategy reflects a broader move among telecom operators to capture value from the physical infrastructure required to support rapidly expanding AI workloads.

Globe Positions Data Centers As Next Growth Engine

Globe wants its data center business to become another billion-dollar operation as AI demand accelerates across the region. The ambition draws a clear parallel with Mynt Inc., Globe’s fintech arm, which is preparing for a listing in the Philippines after becoming one of the country’s most prominent digital businesses. Cruz told Bloomberg that Globe will continue investing in its telecommunications network, but capital allocation will become increasingly focused on areas tied directly to digital growth. He said continued network investment is necessary, but this will be in “very selective, highly-prioritised areas mainly related to data and the digital economy.”

Globe already has exposure to the data center market through ST Telemedia Global Data Centres Philippines. The platform operates as a joint venture between Globe’s parent company Ayala Corp. and Singapore Technologies Telemedia Pte. STTGDC Philippines currently operates five facilities, with combined capacity expected to reach 35 megawatts by the end of 2026. Globe plans to expand that footprint substantially, targeting 124MW over the following three years through new developments and expansions at existing facilities.

Data Center Expansion Could Reshape Globe’s Capital Strategy

The scale of the planned buildout raises a second strategic question: how Globe intends to finance and eventually monetize the infrastructure platform. The company is considering a potential listing of its data center business, a move that could provide capital for expansion while establishing a separate valuation for an increasingly valuable digital infrastructure portfolio. Such a structure would give Globe greater flexibility as demand for AI compute pushes data center requirements beyond conventional enterprise workloads. However, the potential listing remains part of Globe’s broader strategic considerations rather than a completed transaction.

The timing puts Globe into a Philippine data center market that is entering a higher-growth phase. The country currently has 44 data centers providing about 140MW of live capacity, while another 264MW sits under construction or in planning. That pipeline points to a market where available power, land, connectivity and customer commitments will increasingly determine which operators can scale efficiently. Globe’s planned 124MW expansion would therefore place its platform among the more significant infrastructure growth stories in the country.

Local AI Demand Strengthens Infrastructure Case

For Globe, the opportunity extends beyond adding server capacity to an existing telecom portfolio. AI is creating a new infrastructure layer where power availability, high-density compute, connectivity and data sovereignty increasingly intersect. Globe’s planned investment suggests the company wants to move deeper into that layer before AI demand fully reshapes the Philippine digital economy. The potential data center listing could become an important test of whether telecom infrastructure can evolve into a separately valued AI-era asset class.