UAE
G42: advanced AI chip shipments to UAE expected ‘’within months’’
G42 CEO Peng Xiao has said the UAE expects its first shipments of advanced AI semiconductors within months, enabling the first 200MW of a planned 1GW Stargate cluster to come online, with a targeted ramp of a further 200-500MW per quarter as the programme scales toward 5GW over the coming years. The deliveries are expected to be primarily Nvidia systems, alongside chips from AMD and Cerebras, secured under US export licenses that required robust security assurances around end-use and restricted access. The approvals, granted in late November 2025, allow the UAE’s designated ‘’AI champion’’ (G42) to purchase up to 35,000 Nvidia GB300 systems (or equivalent), and sit within a broader wave of UAE-US AI infrastructure cooperation, including the 10 sq.m UAE-US AI Campus in Abu Dhabi led by G42 alongside US hyperscalers. The momentum also builds on Microsoft’s deepening partnership with G42 and Khazna, including a 200MW UAE expansion announcement and a commitment to invest a further $7.9Bn in-country between 2026-2029 (taking total investment to $15.2Bn)…Read more
Qatar
Ooredoo’s Syntys acquires to new data centres in Qatar
Ooredoo’s data centre subsidiary, Syntys (formerly Mena Digital Hub), has expanded its Qatar footprint through the acquisition of Q Data QFZ LLC, a Qatar-based operator with 5MW live capacity and a further 7.5MW under development. The deal transfers ownership of to Tier-III certified, carrier-neutral facilities located in the Qatar Free Zones, with the assets acquired from Doha Venture Capital (the venture arm of the Qatar Free Zones Authority), though financial terms were not disclosed. Ooredoo said the acquisition supports its strategic focus on critical digital infrastructure and enabling sovereign AI and cloud services, while Syntys’ leadership positioned the facilities as revenue-generating, hyperscale-ready capacity that strengthens its ability to serve global cloud and AI customers. Following the transaction, Syntys’ live IT capacity in Qatar is now reported at 26MW, and the company reiterated its broader target to exceed 120MW of installed capacity across MENA by 2030….Read more
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Infra and Humain announce up to $1.2Bn for AI data centre expansion
Saudi Arabia’s National Infrastructure Fund (Infra) and Humain, the Kingdom’s AI company, have announced a financing agreement of up to $1.2Bn to support the build-out of AI and digital infrastructure, including indicative terms to develop up to 250MW of AI data centre capacity for Humain’s customers. Announced this week, the agreement sits within Saudi’s broader push to accelerate AI adoption and diversify the economy beyond hydrocarbons. Humain, established last year and wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), is positioning itself as a national AI champion, citing agreements already secured with partners including xAI and AirTrunk, and targeting around 6GW of data centre capacity by 2034. The parties also agreed to explore the creation of a jointly anchored AI data centre investment platform, intended to crowd in local and international institutional capital to support Humain’s growth strategy…Read more
Middle East
Middle East sovereign funds in early talks on major OpenAI financing
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has reportedly been meeting Middle East investors – including state-backed funds in Abu Dhabi – as the company explores a new fundraising round that could approach $50Bn, at an indicative valuation of $750Bn – $830Bn, though discussions remain at an early stage and the final raise could change. The talks build on Abu Dhabi’s growing exposure to OpenAI via MGX, which participated in OpenAI’s financing and acquired shares in a $6.6Bn secondary sale that valued the company at $500Bn in October. OpenAI has also held discussions with other major backers including Saudi Arabia’s PIF and Reliance Industries. Separately, the UAE is emerging as a strategic anchor for OpenAI’s infrastructure ambitions, with the country selected as the first international site for its Stargate data infrastructure initiative – a planned up to 5GW compute cluster to be developed with G42 and partners including Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco, and SoftBank – alongside broader UAE-US investment commitments…Read more