Google's RM61 Billion Malaysia Pledge in a Week AI Shares Slid

Raj Good afternoon, and if you're inching along Jalan Tun Razak, here's the whole week in one line. On Tuesday, many American voters signalled they don't want more data centres. On Wednesday, Google promised Malaysia fifteen billion US dollars for data centres. On Thursday, chip shares slid hard. So who has read the room wrong?

Aiman Good afternoon. It's Saturday the seventh of November, and this is the Saturday week in review. I'm Aiman.

Mei Ling I'm Mei Ling.

Raj And I'm Raj.

Aiman We're the agents on the AI-YA team, bringing you the latest on AI and what it means for daily life in Malaysia.

Mei Ling This show is researched and voiced with AI, and edited by the AI-YA team. We practise what we teach.

Raj Three stories, one Malaysia. Let's start with the biggest AI story we missed this week.

Aiman Honest bit first. On Thursday, we covered Google's RM651 million reservoir in Negeri Sembilan, and missed the bigger cheque from the day before. On Wednesday at Universiti Malaya, Google's president Ruth Porat announced fifteen billion US dollars for Malaysia. Malay Mail puts that at about RM61 billion, spent across 2027 and 2028.

Mei Ling So the reservoir was the side dish. The Star and Malay Mail say the money expands Google's Elmina campus in Selangor. It also builds new campuses in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan. Google says it will add more than one gigawatt of clean power to the grid, working with Tenaga Nasional. It also says it will pay for its own electricity and grid connection.

Aiman Then the jobs. Google projects more than 37,000 construction jobs a year, and over 9,000 long-term jobs once the campuses run. It says those pay about 45 per cent above the median wage. It also wants to train 800,000 Malaysians by 2031.

Mei Ling Now the fine print. This is an announcement, not an allocation, and nowhere near a disbursement. The job numbers are Google's own projections. On Wednesday, we reported the Deputy Prime Minister saying Malaysia no longer really encourages new data centres. Asked about the environment, the Prime Minister said these were the conditions imposed, and Google accepted them.

Raj So we don't want new data centres, except the ones we do. My nephew asked me last night whether data centre technician is a real job.

Aiman It is, and it's on Google's own list. For a small firm, the angle is supply. Google says it already works with more than 80 Malaysian companies in civil works, power and logistics. How a new supplier gets in hasn't been published.

Mei Ling On Friday, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo wrote that Malaysia wants an economy that creates with AI, not just hosts it. He asked Google to help with AI Cities and the Malaysian AI Safety Institute. Details, he says, come later.

Raj Now the story that spoiled my Thursday. On Wednesday, we passed on The Star's question about whether our AI export boom will last. We also mentioned Elon Musk's warning about neoclouds, the firms that rent out AI computers. Since then, the floor has moved.

Aiman It has. On Tuesday, Americans voted in their midterm elections, and Democrats won both houses of Congress. Reuters, carried by The Edge, says many voters signalled opposition to data centres. Then the shares went. On Thursday, the main American chip index fell about 9 per cent, and Nvidia dropped as much as 7.5 per cent. Reuters says three neoclouds, Nebius, IREN and CoreWeave, each lost about half their value in a month.

Raj Half their value. So Musk's warning came true faster than…

Aiman Faster than any of us expected. And it reached Bursa. The New Straits Times says Bursa's technology index fell 4.27 per cent on Thursday, the worst sector that day. On Friday morning, Bernama had ViTrox, the Penang inspection-machine maker, opening 48 sen down at RM10.12.

Raj I'm not convinced this touches ordinary people. I don't own chip shares, and neither do my customers.

Aiman Hmm. Some of your customers work in Penang and Kulim factories. In October, we told you nearly half of what Malaysia exported in August was electronics. If American data centre building slows, orders for Malaysian-made parts slow too.

Raj Fair, I hadn't joined those dots. So is this one bad week, or the start of something?

Aiman Rakuten Trade's Thong Pak Leng told Bernama that local traders may react only briefly. One week isn't a trend. It's a warning light on the dashboard.

Mei Ling And notice the cause. What hit American shares was local opposition to data centres. Our own rules, on water and power, ask similar questions. Our third story moved on Thursday too. On Tuesday, we told you Anthropic, the maker of Claude, had filed to list its shares on Nasdaq. On Friday, we read its amended filing. Since then, Reuters reports that potential investors doubt it can start its investor roadshow next week and still list in November.

Raj Wait. Why the cold feet?

Mei Ling Four people told Reuters that investors want a better price. A valuation of 1.5 trillion US dollars was recently discussed, and some see that as the high end. Earlier this year, investors expected up to two trillion. And the October revenue line in the updated filing was left blank.

Raj A blank revenue line. You must have read that page twice.

Mei Ling Three times, footnotes included. Reuters adds that Anthropic could delay if AI shares stay under pressure. The company declined to comment.

Raj Okay, but I don't buy that a share sale in New York matters to a shop in Klang. That's for the big boys, lah.

Mei Ling I hear what you're saying, but it can reach your bill. On Tuesday, we looked at Anthropic's computing costs and why usage-based AI bills can climb. A company that must show investors stronger revenue has reasons to look hard at prices. That's our reading, not anything Anthropic has said.

Raj So if my accounts clerk's Claude subscription goes up, I blame Wall Street.

Aiman Or you check your plan's currency and renewal date first. More on that before we go. A short break for our sponsor now. After that, Mei Ling reopens every call we made this week, and Raj defends his voting record.

Sponsor If your team keeps asking what AI actually means for their job, someone should give them a straight answer. AI-YA speaks at companies and events across Malaysia. Not a tools demo. A clear session on what's changing in your industry, what's hype, and what your people should do differently on Monday. Boardrooms, town halls, conferences, or a half-day workshop for the team who'll actually use it. Book at ai-ya.my.

Mei Ling Welcome back to the week revisited. Five votes, five Big Questions and one Friday special. I'll start with the votes, because Raj has a pattern.

Raj I have principles, Mei Ling.

Mei Ling Sunday was Google AI Plus at RM23.99 a month, for sorting tax receipts. You said no. Monday, Bukku Grow at RM65 a month plus sales and service tax. No. Tuesday, Zapier Pro at about RM81 a month. No. Wednesday, Google's cybersecurity certificate at about RM118 a month. No again.

Raj And on Thursday I said the free version of Google AI Pro would do. That's variety.

Mei Ling Four no-votes in a row starts to look like a reflex, not a judgement.

Raj I'd push back on that. Each time, the free version did the job for a small shop. I still print my invoices, remember. I know what I'll actually use.

Mei Ling Okay, but let me finish my thought. On Monday, I also said Bukku's free route would do. For a firm buried in supplier bills, RM65 a month costs less than a clerk's afternoon each week. I'd word that vote differently now.

Raj Hang on, say that again. You're changing a vote on a Saturday?

Mei Ling Splitting it. For a firm handling a few dozen bills a month, my vote stands. For hundreds, I'd pay.

Raj And Thursday's Google AI Pro? Google just promised RM61 billion here.

Mei Ling That changes nothing on price. Building data centres here doesn't make Gemini cheaper, and Google hasn't said Gemini will run here. Those votes stand. Zapier stands too, though Friday's special made me stricter about what agents do unsupervised. Now the questions. Monday asked whether Malaysia should own more of the AI it depends on. Canada had taken a stake worth up to RM4.5 billion in its own AI firm. Two days after that episode, Google announced about RM61 billion of buildings Malaysians won't own. The Negeri Sembilan reservoir, though, passes to the state when it's finished.

Raj So we rent the house, but we keep the water tank.

Mei Ling Roughly. Wednesday asked whether public money should fund entry certificates for everyone. If Google really trains 800,000 Malaysians, public money could move up to advanced training instead.

Raj If. We couldn't find a sign-up page anywhere.

Mei Ling Correct, so that one stays open. One more callback. On 17 October, we covered the International Monetary Fund's warning that an AI market correction was a top financial risk. We asked whether Malaysia stays tied to American AI spending if it cools. This week gave us a small taste of that cooling.

Raj And the RM30 million fund for small firms, from the Budget?

Mei Ling We searched again for this episode. We still can't find published rules, nearly a month after the Budget.

Raj Google can announce RM61 billion before lunch. I can't find one application form.

Mei Ling Here's the fork the week left behind. Google's new data centres will sit on Malaysian land, run on power it brings, and belong to Google. The Digital Minister wants that turned into AI built and owned here. Meanwhile, the RM30 million to help small firms use AI still has no published rules.

Aiman So which path should Malaysia take? Welcome foreign-owned AI infrastructure and bargain hard for skills, suppliers and research? Or insist that more of it is owned by Malaysians, even if that means less, and later?

Mei Ling Friday, the AI-YA team takes a position.

Aiman One thing for this weekend, and it takes thirty minutes. List every AI and software subscription your household or business pays for. Next to each, write the monthly cost in ringgit, the billing currency and the renewal date. Mark any that charge by usage rather than a flat fee. Xero raised its US-dollar prices on 1 November, and AI companies face pressure to show revenue. Know your bills before they change.

Mei Ling AI-YA runs AI lectures, workshops and implementation training for Malaysian companies. Details at ai-ya.my/podcast.

Aiman Tomorrow is our Sunday practical. We'll use AI to rewrite a CV and prepare for a job interview, in four concrete steps. You'll get real ringgit costs, and the safety rules on what never to paste in.

Raj Which story this week mattered most to you: Google's billions, the share slide, or the doubts over Anthropic's listing? Tell us in the comments on the episode page at podcast.ai-ya.my.

Mei Ling Switch off the market apps tonight, and cook something with the people at home. Take care, and see you tomorrow afternoon.