AT Tokyo & Zadara launch Japan cloud region for AI

AT TOKYO and Zadara have partnered to launch a Zadara Cloud region in AT TOKYO data centres in Japan. The service will be branded ATBeX Edge Compute powered by Zadara.

The new regional deployment is intended to meet demand in Japan for AI infrastructure and cloud services that keep data within the country. It will sit inside AT TOKYO's data centre environment and connect with the ATBeX network fabric.

Zadara Cloud in the AT TOKYO region will offer virtual machines, storage and virtual networking. GPU instances will also be available for AI applications including large language model training, inference and multimodal AI development.

AT TOKYO's broader ecosystem includes more than 100 domestic and international network operators and cloud service providers. Through ATBeX, customers using the new service will be able to connect privately to public cloud services, as well as access internet connectivity and a wider mix of network providers.

Existing users of ATBeX and AT TOKYO data centres will be able to access the service through their current infrastructure. The setup is aimed at organisations seeking to move on-premises virtualisation environments to the cloud while retaining domestic data residency.

AI demand

The launch reflects growing investment in infrastructure tied to AI workloads, particularly where companies want local control over data and less reliance on a single overseas cloud provider. In Japan, demand for sovereign cloud arrangements has risen as businesses and public sector bodies weigh regulatory, operational and security concerns over where information is stored and processed.

Zadara's cloud platform uses a federated edge model that places infrastructure in partner locations rather than concentrating it in a small number of large central regions. The AT TOKYO deployment will become part of that wider network, which spans 25 countries and more than 500 locations.

The service combines Zadara's software stack for compute, storage and networking with AT TOKYO's physical facilities and interconnection network. AT TOKYO said its sites meet international standards for power, cooling and physical security, while ATBeX provides dense network aggregation across partner data centres in Japan.

Connectivity focus

For customers, one of the main advantages of the arrangement is the ability to use cloud resources in a domestic facility while still linking to external services. That includes public cloud access, internet exchange services and connections to both Japanese and international carriers already present in the AT TOKYO environment.

The companies described the service as an integrated offer covering infrastructure-as-a-service components such as compute instances, block storage, file storage, object storage and virtual private networking. Zadara also said its compute service supports an AWS EC2-compatible application programming interface.

The move gives AT TOKYO a cloud service built into its interconnection platform rather than relying solely on third-party access. For Zadara, it extends the company's reach in Japan through a local data centre operator with an established connectivity base.

Executive comments

Yoram Novick, Chief Executive Officer, Zadara, said the company sees the Japanese market as one where cloud modernisation and AI adoption are driving demand for local infrastructure options. Zadara has also argued that customers increasingly want cloud services that avoid vendor lock-in and data egress charges, though financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.

AT TOKYO, which provides data centre services for the management of information and communications systems, said the partnership would support broader use of federated edge cloud services across Japan through ATBeX. The company positions the platform as a way to interconnect its own facilities, partner data centres and customer networks under a single network service.

The addition of GPU-backed instances is likely to be watched closely as Japanese companies expand AI projects beyond pilot stages and look for local infrastructure for training and inference. Competition in this segment has intensified as operators, telecoms groups and cloud firms try to meet demand for computing resources without sending sensitive data overseas.

The new region will operate as part of Zadara's global Federated Edge Cloud network, which spans more than 500 locations.