My opening speech at the w.media Asia Awards 2025

Can't believe it's another year. I was asked to do the opening speech for this year's w.media Asia Awards 2025 this evening. Here's what I said.

It was fantastic to catch up with so many friends at the Awards tonight as we gathered to celebrate the top data centre projects and initiatives. Here's a summary of what I shared.

The incredible room for growth

I am truly excited about the sheer room for data centre growth in Asia. New, fresh opportunities now beckon from markets that we wouldn't have imagined just a few years ago.

When you run the numbers, we do need a lot more data centres simply to meet our own digital demands. Even without considering AI workloads.

The organic demand here

You might have heard talk of an AI bubble and an impending crash. Others say there's no bubble; that we're at the start of a data centre super-cycle unlike anything before.

My view? In the worst case, organic demand in Asia could be our backstop against a global crash. Best case scenario? Expect the sharp surge in other data centre markets to ripple out to us soon.

Fasten your seatbelts.

Had some really insightful conversations today. Looking forward to catching up with some of you in person, either in the weeks ahead or early next year.

Kudos to the team

And of course, big kudos to the w.media team for putting everything together with flawless precision, from the programme, interviews, and award presentation itself.