A high-ranking executive told Reuters on Wednesday that Microsoft intends to invest over $10 billion in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait by 2030. These investments will be directed, in particular, towards developing infrastructure in the field of cloud technologies and artificial intelligence.
Vice President and CEO of the American tech giant, Brad Smith, told Reuters that this investment activity reflects both the current infrastructure build-up and the company's expansion in the region. This is part of a strategy to ensure digital resilience amid the ongoing war with Iran.
The Gulf countries are actively investing billions in AI development. Their goal is to become global centers that promote the diversification of economies away from oil and gas. They expect the abundance of land and access to inexpensive energy to attract major cloud services, including Microsoft.