Yazılar

Iraq-UAE Plan $700M AI Data Cable Route

/in /tarafından

An Iraqi-UAE consortium is preparing a $700 million data cable project linking the United Arab Emirates to Turkey through Iraq, aiming to strengthen regional connectivity as demand for AI infrastructure accelerates.

The project, known as WorldLink, will combine a subsea cable from the UAE to Iraq’s Faw peninsula with a land route running north to the Turkish border. It is being backed by Tech 964, DIL Technologies and UAE-based Breeze Investments.

Planned as a privately funded five-year rollout, the system is designed to ease congestion on existing data routes and provide a faster alternative to traditional connections passing through the Suez Canal.

The initiative reflects intensifying regional competition to become digital and AI infrastructure hubs, with Gulf states investing heavily in data centers and connectivity.

WorldLink follows closely on the announcement of a Saudi-backed fibre-optic network in Syria, part of a broader push to position the region as a strategic data bridge between Asia and Europe.

Huawei-Backed Aito Enters Middle East With UAE Dealer Deal

/in /tarafından

Chinese automaker Seres said its electric vehicle brand Aito has signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi-based dealer group Performance Plus Motors to begin sales in the United Arab Emirates, marking the brand’s first export move outside China. The partnership gives Aito an initial foothold in the Middle East as it looks to expand beyond China’s highly competitive EV market.

Performance Plus Motors, a unit of Abu Dhabi Motors, will handle sales, delivery and after-sales service of Aito’s luxury intelligent vehicles in the UAE. Seres did not provide a timeline for the official launch, but said vehicles have already arrived at Dubai port and test drives of the flagship Aito 9 SUV are underway.

Aito is the most successful brand under Huawei’s Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance and has rapidly grown in China. Seres said the UAE agreement represents a key step in Aito’s globalization strategy, with plans for broader Middle Eastern expansion that could support entry into neighboring markets.

Previously sold only in China, Aito showcased its global lineup at the Munich car show last September. The brand sold more than 420,000 vehicles in 2025, becoming the main growth driver for Seres, whose total EV sales rose more than 10% last year.

Microsoft and G42 to Add 200 MW of Data Center Capacity in $15 Billion UAE Investment Push

/in /tarafından

Microsoft and Abu Dhabi’s G42 announced plans on Wednesday to expand data center capacity in the United Arab Emirates by 200 megawatts, marking a major milestone in the U.S. tech giant’s $15 billion investment drive across the Gulf region.

The new capacity will be delivered through Khazna Data Centers, a G42 subsidiary, and is expected to begin operations before the end of next year, the companies said in a joint statement. The project forms part of a sweeping effort to transform the UAE into a global hub for artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

Microsoft said its total investment in the UAE will reach $7.3 billion between 2023 and the end of 2025, with another $7.9 billion planned for 2026 through 2029. The expansion underscores the deepening ties between the company and G42, following Microsoft’s $1.5 billion investment last year for a minority stake in the Abu Dhabi-based AI and cloud firm.

G42, backed by Mubadala, Silver Lake, and billionaire Ray Dalio’s family office, has emerged as one of the Middle East’s leading AI players. The UAE government has been channeling billions into the sector to boost economic diversification and technological self-reliance.

The companies also confirmed that the Trump administration has approved exports of Nvidia’s advanced chips for data centers in the Gulf country — a key step in enabling large-scale AI model training and cloud services.

“The expansion strengthens Microsoft Azure’s secure, scalable, and sovereign cloud infrastructure in the UAE,” the firms said.