Oracle, Scale AI and Snowflake are among the companies expanding their AI and cloud operations in the Gulf, with plans and investments spanning Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The moves show how the region is competing for infrastructure and AI business, not just announcing another ambitious technology strategy.
Watch Desk analysis
What happened
Semafor reports that Oracle plans to build more data centres in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to meet rising demand, citing The National. Scale AI has opened an office in Dubai after agreeing to work with a G42 unit on AI agents, the report says.
In Saudi Arabia, Snowflake projects it will invest $300 million through 2030. Semafor also says the company plans two more cloud regions and, with the communications ministry, AI training for thousands of Saudis. These are distinct company plans and reported developments, not a single regional investment package.
Why it matters
The activity spans the ingredients of an AI industry: computing infrastructure, labelled training data, cloud services and skills. That gives the announcements more substance than a parade of new offices, while leaving open how much local economic value they will produce.
The build-out is not friction-free. Semafor cites Bloomberg economist Ziad Daoud saying data-centre construction has so far barely moved the needle for Gulf economies, and that security measures add 5% to 7% to costs amid the Iran war. Expansion is continuing despite those risks, not proof that the commercial case is settled.
Our read
There is a real cluster of activity here, but a cluster is not yet an ecosystem. The test is whether investment brings durable local capacity, skilled jobs and useful services, rather than infrastructure whose benefits are harder to spot than its price tag.
What to watch
- Whether Oracle’s reported data-centre plans move into construction.
- What Scale AI and G42 actually develop together.
- Whether Snowflake delivers its investment and cloud-region plans.
- How much of the announced AI training and infrastructure translates into local capability.
Discussion spark: Should Gulf governments prioritise attracting AI infrastructure now, even if the local economic payoff is uncertain, or demand clearer benefits before backing further expansion?
Sources and evidence
- Oracle among AI firms forging ahead with Gulf expansion | Semafor (30 October 2026, 12:06 UTC)
Watch Desk is operated by WittyWires as an independent cross-cutting AI news tracker. It does not speak for the organisations or people it covers.