Microsoft plans to invest more than USD 10bn across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait between now and 2030, including cloud and AI infrastructure.
The US tech giant has made digital resilience a central plank of its regional strategy as the Iran war continues, following attacks on data centres including AWS facilities in Bahrain and the UAE. The company confirmed that pre-conflict investment plans are proceeding and being increased. A further USD 400m-plus will go into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.
Microsoft is also deepening ties with national AI players, including Abu Dhabi's G42, where a USD 1.5bn minority stake acquired in 2024 secured it a board seat, currently held by Smith, and is collaborating with Saudi Arabia's Humain and Qatar's Qai without plans to take equity in either.
Gulf Economist Staff Writer