It describes a data centre that was built to serve AI technology, through training and inference. AI training involved teaching a model by feeding it datasets to learn patterns, while AI inference was the application of that knowledge. Microsoft opened a data centre in Auckland in 2024, while Amazon Web Services (AWS) spent $7.5b building a cluster of data centres in the city. A project years in the makingSouthland Business Chamber CEO Sheree Casey said the new data centre provided an opportunity for the region to broaden its economic horizons. Transpower said it was confident the national grid could meet the energy needs of the new data centre.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 14, 2026 21:29 UTC