Saudi Arabia's Neom secures $5bln deal for AI data center

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Bloomberg
Today 14:26

The $5 billion investment from Saudi Arabia-based DataVolt will fund the initial phase of a sustainable AI data center in Neom’s Oxagon hub.

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In this September 22, 2019, file photo taken with a slow shutter speed, vehicles pass in front of the landmark Kingdom Tower, at left, during celebrations marking Saudi 89th National Day, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP)

Saudi Arabia’s Neom has secured a $5 billion investment from a Saudi-based company, DataVolt, to develop an AI data center, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

The agreement, announced at the LEAP technology conference in Riyadh, will fund the first phase of the project, which is set to launch by 2028. The 1.5-gigawatt facility will be located in Oxagon, Neom’s industrial hub on the Red Sea coast, according to statements from Neom and the Saudi Press Agency.

This investment reportedly supports Saudi Arabia’s broader goal of positioning Neom as a global logistics and AI hub.

The kingdom has already launched AI research centers and ministries and developed large-language models akin to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Additionally, the report has mentioned that Saudi Arabia is planning a new AI initiative backed by up to $100 billion.

Other firms, including Saudi Aramco’s Aramco Digital, Salesforce Inc., Qualcomm Technologies Inc., and AI startup Groq Inc., have also announced plans to expand AI investments in the kingdom.