Saudi Arabia announces $2.5bn wave of data center investments

Day two of the LEAP 2026 technology conference in Riyadh, on September 2, 2026, saw the announcement of major investments and launches worth a combined total of roughly $2.5 billion, spanning data centers, cloud services, technology localization and research and development, according to Economy Middle East. Al Moammar Information Systems (MIS) topped the day's announcements with a $1.2 billion investment to expand data centers in Saudi Arabia and raise its total operational capacity to 192 megawatts, to meet growing demand for computing and AI services.

$880 million for a data center in Khuzam Digital Valley

NHC Innovation, the digital and technology arm of Saudi Arabia's National Housing Company, announced the development of a data center in Khuzam Digital Valley, with investments totaling SAR 3.3 billion (about $880 million), targeting an IT load of up to 65 megawatts by 2033, according to Asharq Al-Awsat. The center is intended to build digital infrastructure supporting cloud services and advanced technologies, with services including hosting and leasing, managed services, cloud computing and IT, power and connectivity, and value-added services.

To support the center's readiness and attract global technology partnerships, the company signed cooperation agreements with BytePlus, the technology arm of China's ByteDance, and South Korea's NAVER Innovation, allocating capacity to both as the data center's first customers, alongside technical services supporting their operations and digital needs.

The company's technology investments had expanded from platforms and digital services to deeper enabling capabilities, including data, AI, infrastructure, data centers and technologies supporting smart cities.

Alaql said the company's platforms serve more than 35 million direct and indirect users through an ecosystem of more than 15 digital platforms linked to housing, municipal services and real estate regulation, and that usage patterns have shifted markedly in recent years: users no longer turn to these platforms merely to complete a single procedure, but increasingly rely on them to make decisions, compare options and follow their journey more clearly. He pointed to the Sakani platform as an example, saying the goal is to help users identify options closest to their needs and financial capacity rather than confronting them with thousands of choices at once, stressing that the company treats AI as a foundational enabling layer rather than a standalone product.

A broader wave: from MIS and HUMAIN to Nokia and HPE

The day's announcements were not limited to the two main data centers. Vision Invest and Africa Finance Corporation announced a $300 million strategic investment in WIOCC to support the expansion of digital infrastructure in Africa, while Mobily and BytePlus announced a joint investment of more than $150 million to launch BytePlus cloud services in Saudi Arabia. Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced the expansion of its "Saudi Made" program to cover localized integrated technology solutions, alongside the launch of the Saudi Innovation Center with Intel, while Nokia opened its first research and development center in the Kingdom to accelerate AI-driven network automation technologies.

According to Economy Middle East, these announcements reflect the Kingdom's growing appeal to domestic and international technology investment, and the expansion of its ecosystem to cover data centers, cloud services, R&D and technology localization, with the impact of its investments extending to global markets such as Africa.

What this wave means for the wider Gulf

The announcement comes in the same week the UAE reworked its plan for a 5-gigawatt AI data center megaproject in Abu Dhabi (Stargate UAE), showing that the Gulf's AI infrastructure race is no longer confined to a single giant project but is spreading across dozens of mid-sized and large projects run by state and quasi-state companies, from housing firms to telecom operators and IT providers. Unlike the headline-grabbing AI megaprojects, investments like the Khuzam Digital Valley center show that demand for digital infrastructure is now reaching traditional sectors such as housing and real estate, which are turning their data and services into a direct consumer of cloud computing and AI rather than a mere end-user of ready-made technology.

For regional companies in the real estate and housing sectors specifically, the NHC Innovation model shows that building dedicated digital infrastructure, rather than simply renting off-the-shelf cloud services, has become an option even for organizations not traditionally classified as part of the technology sector — a shift that could reshape how housing and real estate players across the region handle data.