Alibaba Cloud Targets Brazil with Ascenty Partnership
The Chinese tech giant’s cloud computing division plans an official launch in Brazil between July and August 2026, according to information obtained by BNamericas. Initial operations will be hosted in a data center located in the state of São Paulo. At least part of this capacity will leverage infrastructure from Ascenty, a joint venture between US-based Digital Realty and Canada-based Brookfield Infrastructure. Ascenty recently announced the construction of four new “AI-ready” data centers in São Paulo, representing a US$1.2 billion investment and 150MW of combined capacity, with Alibaba Cloud confirmed as a tenant.
Expanding Regional Footprint and AI Ambitions
While Alibaba Cloud‘s initial contracted capacity in Brazil is reportedly not substantial, around 4MW across three sites, the company is already evaluating further expansion. BNamericas sources indicate that a significant demand for artificial intelligence loads, ranging from 30MW to 70MW, is still “on the market” and under negotiation with data center providers. The Brazilian operation will be led by former AWS executive Eric Seco, aiming to challenge established players like AWS and Microsoft Azure with promises of prices around 30% lower. In Mexico, Alibaba Cloud is preparing to expand its cloud region in Querétaro, which launched in February last year with a single availability zone (na-south-1a).
Geopolitical Tensions Cast a Shadow on Expansion
Alibaba’s strategic geographical expansion unfolds amid heightened geopolitical tensions. The Pentagon recently updated its list of Chinese companies allegedly linked to China’s Armed Forces, including Alibaba. This inclusion increases regulatory scrutiny and prevents the United States Department of Defense from contracting with or purchasing products from these companies. Alibaba has publicly challenged this classification, calling it an “error” and denying any involvement in military strategies.
Competitive Landscape and Future Outlook
Globally, Alibaba Cloud operates 104 availability zones across 32 cloud regions. In Latin America, its Mexico presence was the first, offering a suite of cloud products for e-commerce, logistics, and fintech sectors. The company also maintains a content delivery network (CDN) in the Americas, with points of presence in the United States, Brazil, and Mexico. This distributed infrastructure is designed to accelerate access to web applications. The push into Brazil and the expansion in Mexico underscore Latin America’s growing importance as a battleground for global cloud providers.
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