The Persian Gulf's wealthiest nations are proceeding with multi-gigawatt AI infrastructure projects despite data centers in the region becoming military targets in the U.S.-Iran conflict.
In the United Arab Emirates, state-backed firms continue work on an AI campus in Abu Dhabi designed to add five gigawatts of computing capacity—the largest AI campus outside the United States. The company has implemented additional worker protection measures during the conflict.
Saudi Arabia is advancing parallel projects. Humain, backed by the Public Investment Fund, is raising an initial $2.5 billion from global and domestic investors to build more than six gigawatts of computing capacity within the kingdom. The company said its construction schedule remains on track.
Regional data center capacity is projected to triple from one gigawatt in 2025 to 3.3 gigawatts by 2030, according to industry projections. This expansion reflects a calculated strategy to establish dominance in AI infrastructure outside the United States.
The commitment persists despite tangible military risk. Data centers have been identified as targets in the U.S.-Iran conflict, creating structural vulnerability for large-scale technology investments in the region.
Major technology companies including Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia continue investing in the region's AI development, signaling confidence in long-term returns. Taranis Capital, a DFSA-regulated firm, has committed approximately $2 billion to a program funding campuses sized between 40 megawatts and 50 megawatts per site.
The Abu Dhabi campus represents a bet that geopolitical risk remains acceptable relative to the returns available from positioning the Gulf as a central hub in global AI infrastructure deployment.
