UAE
Moro Hub and Rafay partner for GPU PaaS in Dubai
Dubai’s Moro Hub, the digital arm of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), has partnered with Rafay Systems to develop a sovereign GPU Platform-as-a-Services (PaaS). Hosted within Moro Hub’s 100MW solar-powered data centre at the Mohammed bin Rashid AL Maktoum Solar Park – the world’s largest solar-powered data centre – the new platform will offer enterprises secure, scalable access to AI infrastructure, generative AI services, and ready-to-use applications through the Rafay Platform. The collaboration aims to simplify AI deployment for organisations across the UAE while supporting the region’s digital transformation and sustainability goals…Read more
Saudi
Humain expands global AI ambitions with $3Bn AirTrunk partnership and strategic stake from Aramco
Saudi Arabia’s national AI company, Humain, has announced a landmark $3Bn partnership with AirTrunk (backed by Blackstone) to build hyperscale data centres in the Kingdom, marking AirTrunk’s first move into the Middle East. The deal is part of Humain’s rapid expansion, which this week also saw new collaborations with Qualcomm and the launch of a propriety AI operating system. In a parallel development, Aramco signed a term sheet to acquire a significant minority stale in Humain, signalling deeper alignment between Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund (PIF) and the national energy giant in advancing the country’s AI and digital strategy. Humain, launched in May, aims to establish Saudi Arabia as a global AI powerhouse, with plans to deploy up to 1.9GW of data centre capacity by 2030 and 6GW by 2034. Its partnerships with AMD, Nvidia, and others target up to $10Bn in AI infrastructure investment. The new AirTrunk venture, combining Humain’s end-to-end AI ecosystem with AirTrunk’s hyperscale data centre expertise, will create scalable, secure, and sustainable digital infrastructure to power the Kingdom’s growing AI and cloud computing infrastructure…Read more
MENA
Microsoft report: AI could create 230Mn digital jobs in Africa by 2030
A new Microsoft report projects that AI could enable up to 230Mn digital jobs in Africa by 2030 but warns that progress in digital skills development remains uneven and fragmented. The company calls for a coordinated approach across governments, education, and industry to embed AI across all sectors, with MSMEs – over 44Mn in sub-Saharan Africa – key to scaling impact. Kenya’s AI Skilling Initiative, cited as a model, has trained over 600,000 people, while partnerships with local organisations are helping reach business leaders, gig workers, and over a million micro-entrepreneurs through MESH network. Microsoft urges investment in localised AI tools, African language models, and standardised credentials to turn training into jobs. The company is deepening its regional presence through major infrastructure projects including $297Mn expansion in South Africa and a $1Bn data centre partnership in Kenya with UAE-based G42, underscoring its long-term commitment to Africa’s digital growth…Read more
Interesting News
Anthropic expands Google Cloud partnership with multibillion-dollar TPU deal
AI company Anthropic has announced a major expansion of its partnership with Google Cloud, securing access to up to 1Mn Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) in a deal valued at tens of billions of dollars. The agreements, Anthropic’s largest commitment to date, will add 1GW of AI compute capacity by 2026. Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian highlighted the strong price-performance and efficiency of TPUs, now in their seventh generation ‘’Ironwood’’ design. Anthropic CFO Krishna Rao said the expanded capacity will support the company’s rapid growth and maintain the cutting edge of its Claude AI models, which now power more than 300,000 businesses. Anthropic employs a multi-cloud strategy, using Google TPUs, Amazon’s Trainium chips, and Nvidia GPUs for specialised workloads across training, inference, and research. While Google has invested $3Bn in the company to date, Amazon remains Anthropic’s largest partner, having invested $8Bn and providing custom supercomputing infrastructure through Project Rainier. The partnership underscores Anthropic’s balanced approach to scaling AI infrastructure while maintaining neutrality among hyperscale cloud providers…Read mor
Oracle nears record $38Bn debt deal to fund AI data centres
Oracle is reportedly close to securing a $38Bn debt package to finance its massive AI data centre developments in Texas and Wisconsin, according to Bloomberg. The funding, split into $23.25Bn for the Texas campus and $14.75Bn for the Wisconsin site, would mark the largest AI infrastructure deal to date. The facilities, being developed by Vantage Data Centers, will support Oracle’s role in OpenAI’s Stargate supercomputing project. The Texas campus, already under construction, will deliver 1.4GW of capacity across 10 data centres by 2028, while the newly announced Wisconsin site will add nearly 1GW across 4 data centres. This move follows Oracle’s recent $18Bn debt raise in September, as analysts project the company may need up to $100Bn in financing over the next four years to meet growing compute demands of its partnership with OpenAI…Read more