Gulf Business Review Intelligence · Updated 13 September 2026

GCC AI Investment Tracker

Name: GCC AI Investment Tracker 2026
Creator: Gulf Business Review

A living database of major Gulf AI infrastructure, compute, cloud and data-centre projects. The tracker separates financing frameworks, announced capacity, projects under construction and operating infrastructure rather than treating every headline commitment as completed investment.

Database

50 tracked entries

Projects and investment programmes across all six GCC markets, including country-specific projects and regional financing platforms.

Source trail

12 source domains

First-party company and government sources are preferred, with specialist infrastructure reporting and Reuters used where they add material project-stage facts.

Survey context

9,714 GCC respondents

85% reported high or very high confidence in the GCC economy and 61% reported measurable returns from AI in Meridian's 2026 GCC audience survey.

Tracked projects and programmes

Project / programme	Market	Type	Disclosed scale	Stage	Participants	Source
Stargate UAE	UAE	AI campus	$30bn first 1GW cluster; 200MW initial deployment	Construction / deployment	G42, OpenAI, Oracle, NVIDIA, Cisco, SoftBank	Source
UAE-US AI Campus	UAE	AI campus	5GW national-scale programme	Programme redesign / distributed build	G42 and US technology partners	Source
Microsoft UAE AI and cloud investment	UAE	Cloud / AI	$15.2bn through 2029	In progress	Microsoft	Source
Microsoft + G42 data-centre expansion	UAE	AI / cloud infrastructure	200MW	Planned delivery from 2026	Microsoft, G42, Khazna	Source
Microsoft investment in G42	UAE	AI platform / infrastructure	$1.5bn equity investment	Completed / strategic investment	Microsoft, G42	Source
Microsoft + G42 developer fund	UAE	AI ecosystem	$1bn fund	Active programme	Microsoft, G42	Source
Microsoft + du hyperscale data centre	UAE	Hyperscale cloud	$544.5m	Announced / development	Microsoft, du	Source
du + NextGenAI supercluster	UAE	AI compute	13MW+ Nvidia B300 cluster	Operating / expanded	du, NextGenAI	Source
Khazna AUH4 Mafraq	UAE	Data centre	30MW initial capacity	Under construction	Khazna, ADIO	Source
Khazna AUH8 Masdar City	UAE	Data centre	Part of 60MW AUH4/AUH8 programme	Under construction	Khazna	Source
Khazna AUH6 Masdar City	UAE	Data centre	31.8MW; 7MWp solar	Operating	Khazna	Source
Khazna QAJ1 Ajman	UAE	AI-optimised data centre	100MW	Under development	Khazna	Source
Khazna bank financing	UAE	Digital infrastructure financing	$2.62bn	Financing secured	Khazna, ADCB, First Abu Dhabi Bank	Source
Khazna MGX + Silver Lake investment	UAE	Digital infrastructure financing	Undisclosed minority investment	Completed	Khazna, MGX, Silver Lake, G42	Source
Khazna 1GW expansion roadmap	UAE / Saudi Arabia	Data-centre expansion	1GW+ additional capacity over five years	Planned / under development	Khazna	Source
Core42 + e& sovereign AI cloud	UAE	Sovereign AI cloud	Scale not disclosed	Partnership / deployment	Core42, e&	Source
Gulf Data Hub + KKR regional expansion	UAE / GCC	Data-centre platform	More than $5bn investment programme	Expansion programme	Gulf Data Hub, KKR	Source
Gulf Data Hub UAE expansion pipeline	UAE	Data centres	Four additional UAE facilities within 90MW under-construction pipeline	Under construction / development	Gulf Data Hub	Source
Microsoft 365 Copilot in-country processing	UAE	Sovereign AI services	Investment value not disclosed	Launched / local processing rollout	Microsoft	Source
HUMAIN + DataVolt Oxagon	Saudi Arabia	AI data centre	100MW jointly developed within 360MW first phase	Construction underway	HUMAIN, DataVolt, NEOM Oxagon	Source
DataVolt Oxagon master programme	Saudi Arabia	AI data centre	$5bn; 1.5GW ultimate capacity; 300MW first phase	Development	DataVolt, NEOM Oxagon	Source
HUMAIN + AMD + Cisco AI infrastructure	Saudi Arabia	AI compute	Up to 250MW next phase; long-term 1GW ambition	Production compute live / expansion planned	HUMAIN, AMD, Cisco	Source
HUMAIN + National Infrastructure Fund	Saudi Arabia	AI infrastructure financing	Up to $1.2bn financing framework supporting up to 250MW	Financing framework	HUMAIN, Infra	Source
SDAIA Hexagon Data Center	Saudi Arabia	AI / government compute	480MW planned	Development	SDAIA	Source
MIS data-centre expansion programme	Saudi Arabia	Data centres	Approx. $1.2bn; capacity target 192MW	Investment programme	Al Moammar Information Systems	Source
AWS Saudi cloud region	Saudi Arabia	Cloud / AI infrastructure	More than $5.3bn planned investment	Region scheduled for 2026	AWS	Source
AWS + HUMAIN AI Zone	Saudi Arabia	AI compute / cloud	Up to 50MW HUMAIN capacity by 2028 within wider AWS investment	Planned	AWS, HUMAIN	Source
Google Cloud + PIF AI Hub	Saudi Arabia	AI hub / cloud	$10bn joint investment	Development	Google Cloud, PIF, HUMAIN	Source
center3 1GW expansion plan	Saudi Arabia	Data centres	$10bn planned; 1GW target by 2030	Expansion programme	center3 / stc	Source
center3 Khurais Riyadh expansion	Saudi Arabia	Data centre	9.6MW added capacity	Completed expansion	center3 / stc	Source
Oracle Riyadh cloud region	Saudi Arabia	Cloud / AI	Part of $1.5bn Saudi investment programme	Operating	Oracle, center3	Source
Oracle Saudi ten-year investment	Saudi Arabia	Cloud / AI	$14bn over ten years	Investment commitment	Oracle	Source
Oracle Jeddah cloud region	Saudi Arabia	Cloud infrastructure	Investment included in wider Oracle Saudi programme	Operating	Oracle	Source
Oracle NEOM cloud region	Saudi Arabia	Cloud infrastructure	Value not separately disclosed	Planned	Oracle, NEOM	Source
Khazna Dammam campus	Saudi Arabia	AI-ready data centre	Up to 200MW	Land acquired / development	Khazna	Source
Taranis + EEC Saudi campuses	Saudi Arabia	Data centres	$2bn fund; 40-50MW campus portfolio	MoU / development	Taranis Capital, EEC	Source
Alfanar four-centre programme	Saudi Arabia	Data centres	$1.4bn across four sites	Announced	Alfanar Global Development	Source
MIS + Saudi Data Center Fund 1	Saudi Arabia	Data centres	48MW across Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam	Feasibility / MoU	MIS, Saudi Data Center Fund 1	Source
DataVolt Saudi capacity programme	Saudi Arabia	Data centres	More than $5bn; around 300MW referenced programme	Investment programme	DataVolt	Source
Desert Dragon	Saudi Arabia	Data centre	187MW	Construction underway	ICS Arabia	Source
stc + HUMAIN AI data-centre JV	Saudi Arabia	AI data centres	Up to 1GW	MoU / JV development	stc, center3, HUMAIN	Source
Syntys regional data-centre platform	Qatar / GCC	Data-centre platform	$1bn initial capital; 120MW+ ambition	Expansion programme	Ooredoo / Syntys	Source
Syntys Q Data acquisition	Qatar	Data centres	5MW live + 7.5MW under development	Acquired / expansion	Syntys, Q Data	Source
Ooredoo Qatar AI Cloud	Qatar	AI cloud	Nvidia Hopper GPU platform; capacity not disclosed	Operating	Ooredoo, Syntys, Nvidia	Source
QAI + Brookfield AI infrastructure venture	Qatar	AI infrastructure	$20bn joint venture	Launched / investment programme	QAI, Brookfield	Source
Microsoft Qatar Azure region / M-VAULT 4	Qatar	Cloud infrastructure	Three availability zones; project value not disclosed	Operating	Microsoft, Meeza	Source
Ooredoo Salalah data centre + cable landing station	Oman	Data centre / connectivity	125 racks initially; scalable to 500 racks	Operating / phased expansion	Ooredoo Oman	Source
Beyon Data Oasis White Space Data Centre	Bahrain	Data centre	6,000 sqm within 140,000 sqm Data Oasis	Operating	Beyon / Batelco	Source
Ooredoo / Syntys Kuwait portfolio modernisation	Kuwait	Data-centre platform	Part of $552m regional financing and 26-centre portfolio	Expansion / modernisation	Ooredoo, Syntys	Source
Ooredoo regional AI and data-centre financing	Qatar / Kuwait / Oman	Digital infrastructure financing	$552m financing facility	Financing secured	Ooredoo, QNB, Doha Bank, Masraf Al Rayan	Source

Methodology

Projects enter the tracker when a named operator, investor, government body or high-quality specialist source provides an identifiable GCC location and a material AI, compute, cloud or data-centre commitment. Capacity, financing and investment values remain in their original units.

Parent programmes and child facilities are deliberately shown as separate records when that helps explain the structure of an investment, but they are not added together to create a headline total. Announced financing is not treated as money already spent. Planned, under-construction and operating states remain distinct.

The database includes both physical facilities and enabling investment programmes because AI infrastructure in the Gulf is increasingly financed through platform-level commitments, sovereign partnerships and multi-site expansion plans rather than single-site announcements.