Amazon has announced plans to launch an Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure region in Chile by the end of 2026. This initiative is part of a broader strategy to expand AWS's presence across Latin America, with Amazon committing over $4 billion to support the construction and operation of data centers in Chile.
The new AWS South America (Chile) Region will provide developers, startups, enterprises, and various organizations with more options for running applications from local data centers. Prasad Kalyanaraman, vice president of Infrastructure Services at AWS, stated that this development "will help serve the fast-growing demand for cloud services across Latin America and in Chile with secure, reliable, and efficient cloud infrastructure."
Aisén Etcheverry Escudero, Chile’s Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, emphasized the significance of this investment as a testament to Chile's commitment to technological advancement. "This investment demonstrates clear confidence in our country and a commitment to technological development and innovation across the region," he said.
The AWS South America (Chile) Region will initially include three Availability Zones. It is part of a larger plan that includes 16 additional Availability Zones and five more AWS Regions globally. The region will be designed to meet data residency requirements while providing low latency services.
Amazon continues its efforts to support digital skills development in Latin America through initiatives like AWS Academy and AWS Educate. Since 2017, these programs have trained over two million people on cloud skills in the region.
Additionally, Amazon remains committed to sustainability goals under The Climate Pledge. The new infrastructure in Chile aims for energy efficiency with minimal water usage for cooling systems.
This expansion follows previous investments by AWS in Chile since 2019, including an Amazon CloudFront edge location and other infrastructure enhancements such as AWS Ground Station antenna locations and Local Zones.