Digital Realty Opens First Asia Pacific Innovation Lab in Japan to Help Accelerate AI and Hybrid Cloud Deployment
TOKYO, April 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Digital Realty (NYSE:DLR), the world's largest cloud- and carrier-neutral data center platform, today announced the opening of the first Digital Realty Innovation Lab (DRIL) in Asia Pacific, located at the NRT12 data center in Tokyo, Japan.
Established through MC Digital Realty, a joint venture between Digital Realty and Mitsubishi Corporation, the DRIL in Japan is the second globally, following the inaugural facility in Northern Virginia in September 2025, and before the launch of DRIL in Singapore in the second half of 2026.
Strengthening Japan's AI Ecosystem
Japan is accelerating investments in semiconductor and AI technologies, with plans to invest 10 trillion yen* or more in these sectors by 2030. As AI adoption expands across industries, enterprises require infrastructure capable of supporting high-density, performance-intensive workloads while maintaining operational efficiency and resilience.
The DRIL in Japan will provide Digital Realty's local partners and customers with a production-grade environment to test and optimize AI and hybrid cloud architectures under real-world conditions. By enabling hands-on evaluation of infrastructure configurations – including both air-cooled and direct liquid-cooled environments – customers can validate performance, power density and cooling strategies before full-scale deployment.
Designed to support advanced AI and high-performance computing use cases, the facility features racks equipped with direct liquid cooling capabilities that enable high-power-density workloads. As of launch, over 20 partner companies are using the DRIL to explore integrated infrastructure to enable faster AI and hybrid cloud implementation.
"We're seeing strong global demand for infrastructure that can support complex, high-density AI workloads. Japan is uniquely positioned as a growth engine for AI innovation, combining advanced technology infrastructure with access to the broader Asia Pacific market, home to nearly 60 percent of the global population. Expanding DRIL into Japan reflects the market's digital maturity and gives customers hands-on access to test AI-ready infrastructure, reduce deployment risk, and scale with confidence," said Chris Sharp, Chief Technology Officer, Digital Realty.
Chris Han, Chief Operating Officer of MC Digital Realty, added, "In Japan, accelerating AI adoption is driving demand for infrastructure capable of supporting increasingly high‑density workloads. This facility enables enterprises to evaluate both air‑cooled and direct liquid‑cooled environments and identify the optimal configuration for their requirements before full‑scale deployment. Leveraging Digital Realty's world‑class operational expertise and design capabilities, we will continue to deliver solutions tailored to Japan's evolving digital landscape."
Connecting Japan's AI Workloads to the Global Platform
Tokyo's DRIL will enable businesses in Japan to test performance, optimize configurations, and seamlessly connect to cloud and network providers via ServiceFabric®, Digital Realty's global interconnection and orchestration platform.
By leveraging Digital Realty's global operational experience and its Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx®) methodology, customers can evaluate AI deployments, while maintaining flexibility to scale regionally and globally across PlatformDIGITAL®.
Consistent with the global network of DRILs, key features of the Tokyo DRIL include:
- High-density AI and HPC testing – Support for AI and high-performance computing workloads with high-density colocation, accommodating deployments of up to 150kW per cabinet.
- Energy and cooling-aware testing – Enables enterprises to evaluate AI performance, power density, and efficiency trade-offs before full-scale deployment.
- AI infrastructure optimization – Enables businesses to explore AI-specific power, cooling, and GPU resource requirements in an environment optimized for AI workloads.
- Hybrid cloud validation – Direct cloud connectivity allows enterprises to refine hybrid strategies and seamlessly onboard through ServiceFabric®, Digital Realty's interconnection and orchestration platform.
- AI workload orchestration – Customers can orchestrate AI workloads across Digital Realty's Private AI Exchange (AIPx) to enable secure, low-latency integration across distributed environments.
- Latency testing across locations – Enterprises can test latency scenarios, ensuring seamless performance across multiple locations as well as cloud destinations.
The Tokyo facility joins Digital Realty's plans for a global DRIL network, which supports a growing ecosystem of customers and partners, including AMD, Cisco, and Lenovo, and reinforces Digital Realty's commitment to enabling AI-ready infrastructure across key digital markets worldwide.
About Digital Realty
Digital Realty brings companies and data together by delivering the full spectrum of data center, colocation, and interconnection solutions. PlatformDIGITAL®, the company's global data center platform, provides customers with a secure data meeting place and a proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx®) solution methodology for powering innovation, from cloud and digital transformation to emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), and efficiently managing Data Gravity challenges. Digital Realty gives its customers access to the connected data communities that matter to them with a global data center footprint of 300+ facilities in 55+ metros across 30+ countries on six continents. To learn more about Digital Realty, please visit digitalrealty.com or follow us on LinkedIn and X.
About MC Digital Realty
MC Digital Realty, Inc., established in September 2017, is a 50/50 joint venture between Mitsubishi Corporation and Digital Realty. The company provides the full spectrum of data center services in Japan, including colocation and interconnection solutions, by leveraging MC's real estate and infrastructure investment expertise and customer network, as well as Digital Realty's leading global data center platform, PlatformDIGITAL®, with 5,000+ customers across 300+ data centers on six continents. For more information about MC Digital Realty, please visit https://www.mc-digitalrealty.com/ or follow us on LinkedIn.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially, including statements related to the company's partnerships and expected benefits, expected completion dates, emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, ServiceFabric®, the APAC market, customer demand and the company's strategy. For a list and description of risks and uncertainties, see the reports and other filings by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/806daefd-c19b-4ed9-a50c-dc7d4e9de622
For Additional Information Media Contacts Joyce Ng Digital Realty [email protected] Investor Relations Jordan Sadler / Jim Huseby Digital Realty +1 (214) 231-1350 [email protected]
