Oracle among AI firms forging ahead with Gulf expansion - Semafor

US artificial intelligence firms are expanding in the Gulf, a sign that some companies are not shying away despite increased risks to digital infrastructure. Oracle plans to build more data centers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to meet rising demand, The National reported. And Scale AI, which is 49% owned by Meta and sells labeled data for model training, opened an office at the Dubai International Financial Center, following an agreement to work with a G42 unit to develop AI agents.

In Saudi Arabia, New York-listed Snowflake projects it will invest $300 million in the kingdom through 2030; its customers there include dairy company Almarai and PIF-backed developer Red Sea Global. Led by former Google Ads chief Sridhar Ramaswamy, it has plans for two more cloud computing regions and, with the communications ministry, AI training for thousands of Saudis.

So far, data center construction has “barely moved the needle for Gulf economies,” according to Bloomberg economist Ziad Daoud. The Iran war makes building that infrastructure pricier and riskier; he wrote that hardened security adds 5% to 7% to costs. Still, it appears there is willingness to absorb the new premium.