Microsoft Plans Over $10 Billion Gulf Investment Through 2030
Microsoft plans more than $10 billion in investments across Gulf countries through 2030, focusing on cloud, AI and digital infrastructure.
Microsoft plans to invest more than $10 billion across the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, a senior executive said on Wednesday.
The investment will support cloud services, artificial intelligence infrastructure and the company’s wider operations across the Gulf region.
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters that the spending reflects the company’s continued infrastructure expansion and growing regional operations.
The company is also making digital resilience a key part of its strategy as conflict in the region creates new risks for critical infrastructure.
Gulf countries are investing heavily in artificial intelligence as they seek to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas. They are also competing to become major global technology and AI hubs.
Access to land and relatively low-cost energy has helped attract major cloud and technology companies to the region.
However, the expansion faces challenges, including limited access to advanced chips and security concerns linked to regional conflict. Data centres in Bahrain and the UAE have also faced attacks, according to reports.
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“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we’re in fact adding to them,” Smith said. He described the company’s spending schedule as aggressive.
Digital resilience
Microsoft is helping Gulf countries strengthen digital resilience through measures focused on readiness and protection of critical data.
Smith said the company had supported local partners with digital resilience assessments during the conflict. He said this work began during the first week of the conflict.
Microsoft did not provide a country-by-country breakdown of its planned investment. Smith cited security considerations among the reasons.
The company also plans to invest more than $400 million in subsea and terrestrial connectivity projects across the Middle East by 2030.
Microsoft is further expanding partnerships with national AI companies in the region.
The company invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 in 2024 in exchange for a minority stake. The agreement also gave Microsoft a seat on G42’s board, currently held by Smith.
Microsoft is also working with Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai in selected areas that the companies consider strategic priorities.
Smith said Microsoft does not plan to make capital investments in Humain or Qai.
