Marking its first large-scale launch in the Middle East, where the US has restricted the export of advanced chips to prevent Chinese firms from indirectly obtaining the latest AI technology, Nvidia has signed a deal to deploy its tech at data centers owned by Qatari telecoms group Ooredoo.

Through this deal, Ooredoo has become the first company in the region to allow clients of its data centers in Qatar, Algeria, Tunisia, Oman, Kuwait, and the Maldives direct access to Nvidia’s AI and graphics processing technology. 

The countries where Ooredoo operates can establish local clouds, facilitating the development of local AI ecosystems and applications and reinforcing data security measures. The company can offer GPU-as-infrastructure, allowing its customers to integrate accelerated computing with their cloud solutions or directly host them on-premises. 

“Implementing NVIDIA’s full-stack platform for accelerated computing and generative AI, Ooredoo is equipped to be at the forefront of the AI revolution in MENA, driving digitalization and innovation as the leading digital infrastructure provider in the region. Working with NVIDIA, we aim to meet the significantly growing demand for accelerated computing infrastructure to support advanced AI models,” said Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo, Group CEO of Ooredoo.

According to Reuters, Nvidia’s SVP of telecommunications, Ronnie Vasishta, said that the technology will enable Ooredoo to help customers adopt GenAI applications. Ooredoo is investing $1 billion to boost its regional data center capacity by 20-25 additional megawatts. This is on top of the 40 megawatts the company already has, with plans to nearly triple the figure by 2030.

Ooredoo also intends to shift its undersea cables and fiber network into a separate entity. Details of the deal were not disclosed, such as the value and what type of Nvidia technology Ooreedoo will install in its data centers.