Over $21 billion in data centre investments were pledged last month in Saudi Arabia We're all following the AI and digital evolution hype across the globe ⏺ But what is driving such an incredible volume of investment in the region? ✳️ First, a snapshot of the recent investments: → Equinix: Investing $1B in a 100MW data center in Saudi Arabia to support hyperscale and enterprise demand → ServiceNow: Launching data centers in Saudi Arabia by 2026 to support the mission to enable digital transformation across the region → Microsoft & National Information Technology Academy: Launching a Data Center Academy in Saudi Arabia to train local talent → DataVolt: Developing a fully sustainable 1.5GW data center campus in NEOM as part of its $5 billion Saudi expansion → Zoom & center3: Deploying Zoom’s first node in Saudi Arabia and leveraging Oracle Cloud in Riyadh for AI inferencing → KKR & Gulf Data Hub: Investing $5B+ to expand hyperscale data center footprint in KSA and the GCC → DataVolt & Modon: Leasing 55,000 sqm in Riyadh for an AI-ready data center as part of broader Saudi investment → Groq & aramco digital: Secured $1.5B to expand AI inference infrastructure and Dammam data center → Tencent Cloud: Launching its first Middle East cloud region in Saudi Arabia with a $150M investment and two availability zones → Alibaba Cloud & stc: Invested $238M in cloud infrastructure to enhance digital services and AI capabilities → Oracle Cloud: Opened second Saudi cloud region in Aug 24, expanding AI and cloud infra → Amazon Web Services (AWS) & Microsoft: Developing cloud regions in Saudi Arabia, set to launch by 2026 → Nokia & stc: Achieved a record-breaking 1Tbps data transmission over an 850km optical network, enhancing Saudi data center scalability → Saudi AI Startups: Raised $494M from STV, Rua Growth Fund, BECO Capital, and Wa'ed Ventures to drive fintech, AI, and deep tech innovations → Dune Vaults & Pure DC: Developing multiple 100+ MW hyperscale data centers, backed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. & Saudi investors → Netskope & Salam: Formed 2-year partnership for data center colocation & low-latency internet --- ⏺ Entire industries are being built in a matter of years across the region Between automotive, advanced manufacturing, space, telecoms and AI - over $300B in investment by public entities has been earmarked over the coming years ✳️ That's not counting private sector investment or the many other sectors in focus → King Salman Automotive Cluster announced last month aiming to house brands like Ceer, Lucid Motors and Hyundai Motor Company (현대자동차) → National space strategy expects $2B in investments including through newly established vehicles like the Neo Space Group → Alat is partnering with the likes of Lenovo, TK Elevator, Carrier and Softbank for local manufacturing The combination of industrial development and nationwide digital transformation will continue to create enormous demand for cloud infrastructure
Man, KKR coming in heavy. Shows their belief in the Kingdoms potential
Thank you, Ali. It makes me happy to watch the entire region rise. It is much better than arguing :-)
Saudi’s $21B+ investments aren’t just big numbers they’re a clear sign of how fast the region is scaling AI and digital transformation. Having worked on large-scale innovation, I see this as a smart, long-term play that’s setting the stage for something huge.
Electrification scale-up and data centers it all makes sense now. Saudi is a giant in terms of capabilities to scale both of these together. Looking forward to seeing the industry grow exponentially over the next decade.
AWS and Saudi were talking about datacenter for at least 5 years…. since then they opened in Bahrain, Alibaba opened in KSA. there is too much empty hot air in this talk
Opportunity abhors a vacuum. Those who fill it, lead.
The only thing missing is Trump's sanctions for not investing in the USA. 🤔
I believe sovereign AI ambitions, industrial digitization, and energy-driven sustainability converges into a closed-loop ecosystem where industrial growth (Lucid Motors, Ceer) directly fuels—and is fueled by—cloud-native innovation within Saudi.
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1dAli Raza I guess Saudi isn’t building data centers for the “hype”, they’re locking in digital dominance. $21B+ in AI and cloud infra? That’s a power move. AI needs compute. Industries need scale. Saudi’s making sure it owns both 👍