Microsoft is committing more than $10 billion through 2030 across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, deepening its Gulf presence as regional governments accelerate AI investments and the ongoing Iran conflict puts greater emphasis on resilient digital infrastructure.
The planned spending will cover cloud and AI infrastructure as well as Microsoft's regional operations, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters. He said the company is not scaling back investments planned before the conflict and is instead adding to its spending programme.
The move comes as Gulf states seek to build AI hubs and diversify their economies beyond oil and gas. The region's availability of land and relatively low-cost power has helped attract major technology companies, but attacks and disruption affecting data centres have exposed vulnerabilities.
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Microsoft is therefore putting digital resilience alongside capacity expansion. The company is working with local partners on readiness assessments and protection of critical data, including support provided during the early stages of the conflict.
Microsoft has not disclosed how the more than $10 billion will be divided among the four countries, citing security considerations.
Beyond that investment, the company plans to spend over $400 million on subsea and terrestrial connectivity in the Middle East by 2030, aimed at strengthening the infrastructure underpinning cloud and AI services.
Microsoft is also expanding partnerships with regional AI players. It continues to work with Abu Dhabi-based G42, following its $1.5 billion minority investment in the company in 2024.
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Smith said Microsoft is also working with Saudi Arabia's Humain and Qatar's Qai in selected areas, without plans for capital investments in those firms.
The latest commitment shows Microsoft maintaining an aggressive Gulf expansion strategy despite heightened regional security risks, with AI, cloud capacity, connectivity and digital resilience increasingly being developed as part of the same regional infrastructure push.
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