Amazon expands cloud infrastructure with new EC2 instances, $17.5B loan, and Corning fiber deal

Amazon Web Services has launched EC2 High Memory U7i-8TB instances in the AWS Europe (Paris) region, while Amazon separately secured a $17.5 billion loan for AI data center construction and struck a multibillion-dollar fiber optics deal with Corning. The moves signal a coordinated push to expand compute capacity and network infrastructure for AI workloads.

The U7i-8TB instances, powered by custom fourth-generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors (Sapphire Rapids), offer 8 TiB of DDR5 memory and 448 vCPUs. AWS says they deliver up to 45% better price performance over previous U-1 instances, with 100 Gbps of Amazon EBS bandwidth and 100 Gbps of network bandwidth via ENA Express.

Massive financing for AI data centers

Amazon secured a $17.5 billion loan from a consortium of lenders including Citibank, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase, according to Data Center Dynamics. The funds are earmarked for building out AI data center capacity, a response to surging demand for GPU and high-memory compute clusters.

• Loan led by Citibank, BofA, and JPMorgan Chase
• Funds dedicated to AI data center construction
• Part of Amazon's broader capital expenditure push, which exceeded $75 billion in 2025

Corning fiber deal targets density and customization

Amazon and Corning signed a multibillion-dollar agreement focused on high-density fiber optics for data centers. Light Reading reports the deal emphasizes smaller fibers and connectors that can support more powerful AI nodes. The customized fiber infrastructure is designed to handle the increased bandwidth and low-latency requirements of distributed AI training and inference.

The partnership reflects a trend among hyperscalers to lock in supply chains for specialized components. Corning's technology enables tighter bend radii and higher port counts, which are critical for the dense cabling needed in AI clusters.

What comes next

Amazon's simultaneous moves in compute, financing, and networking suggest a multiyear buildout cycle. The U7i instances target SAP HANA, Oracle, and SQL Server workloads, but the underlying infrastructure will also support AI model training and inference. The $17.5 billion loan and Corning deal provide the capital and physical layer capacity to scale.

Microsoft is also expanding, having purchased 100 acres next to its Goodyear, Arizona campus for $131 million. The competition for land, power, and fiber is intensifying as cloud providers race to meet AI demand. Amazon's integrated approach, from silicon to fiber, positions it to control more of the stack.