Picture a chessboard—not for a casual game, but one where billions of dollars, thousands of jobs, and the future of many industries are at stake. On this board sit two giants: the US and China, dominating AI and seemingly untouchable. 

In recent years, the GCC countries—especially the UAE and Saudi Arabia—have been investing heavily in AI to prepare for the AI era. But it’s not just about investing; it’s about who adapts quickly enough to stay ahead. In chess, positioning matters most.

The GCC is like the Knight—the piece that moves in unexpected ways and can jump over obstacles. That’s exactly what the GCC is doing, thanks to national AI strategies and significant capital.

No matter what the piece the GCC represents now, what matters most is the move it makes next.

The UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia plan to spend over $250 billion combined by 2030 to boost their AI development. This shows how the AI race will speed up. The GCC countries are investing more, buying expensive chips, building huge facilities, and acquiring networking technology to connect everything.

Since early 2024, the UAE has invested $148 billion in AI projects both locally and internationally, including $27.2 billion for the Stargate data center. The country is leading in data center capacity and attracting foreign investment. Microsoft plans to invest $15 billion in the UAE by 2029 and will supply Nvidia chips for its data centers there.

Saudi Arabia has set aside over $40 billion for AI investments, including expanding infrastructure and building global tech partnerships. In 2024, the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority announced a $14.9 billion investment to boost AI infrastructure, develop talent, support research, and help industries deploy AI at scale.

The country is focusing on AI as a new growth area. Former Saudi Arabia’s Minister for Investment, Khalid Al Falih, told CNBC last year that Saudi Arabia will be a “key investor” in developing AI applications and large language models. The country also plans to build data centers “at a scale and at a competitive cost not achieved anywhere else.”

Qatar is no longer sitting in the stands. Last December, Brookfield and Qai, an AI company owned by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, created a $20 billion joint venture to build AI infrastructure in the country, joining massive investments in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as part of the region’s broader efforts to diversify away from oil revenues.

A REGION-WIDE AI STACK

As GCC countries work on adopting AI individually, there’s a call for a region-wide AI infrastructure. This would include everything needed to develop and run the technology at scale, like advanced chips, large data centers, and data-processing facilities. Such shared infrastructure would help the region reach its AI goals and benefit neighboring countries by providing access to computing power, pooling talent, and strengthening the regional economy and technology framework.

But is it possible to build a unified AI bloc in the GCC?

“A robust Gulf AI stack demands a foundation of AI-optimized data centers, advanced networking capabilities, and security integrated from the outset, complemented by comprehensive observability for scalability,” says Mohannad Abuissa, Cisco’s Managing Director of Solutions Engineering and CTO for the Middle East, Africa, Turkey, Romania, and CIS.

And realizing a unified regional AI platform, he adds, will require collaborative progress in data governance, interoperability, and workforce development. “They are key pillars for long-term success.”

So far, what both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have done well, according to Mohammed Al Khairy, Director Business Development for MEA at Qualcomm, “is investing in world‑class digital infrastructure, cloud capacity, semiconductor supply, and advanced R&D hubs while also applying local expertise, regulatory frameworks, and talent development to align technology with national strategic goals.”

Dr. Adel Alsharji, COO of Presight, says Abu Dhabi is leading the way with a strong AI ecosystem that combines world-class computing power with strategic partnerships led by G42 and a governance model designed for responsible innovation. “What distinguishes the UAE’s approach is not only the scale of investment, but its commitment to modernizing the foundations of regulation and public policy for the Intelligence Age.”

A great example is the Regulatory Intelligence Platform, an AI-powered system that transforms static laws into a dynamic, adaptive framework. Strong public leadership, private-sector innovation, and clear regulations are working together to build a cohesive and scalable AI model.

While headlines often highlight infrastructure spending, Dr. Alsharji points out that the real return on investment comes from “applied intelligence and how effectively AI is integrated into decision-making, operations, and public services to deliver measurable results.”

“At Presight, our role is to convert advanced AI into scalable intelligence systems that generate exponential returns: economic, operational, and societal,” he adds.

Building a unified Gulf AI bloc means combining each country’s strengths in shared connectivity, data center locations, common technical standards, aligned regulations, and joint talent development.

“Compute is foundational, but without robust data management, advanced software orchestration, domain-specific models, and highly skilled talent, infrastructure alone does not translate into value,” says Dr. Alsharji. 

KEY CHALLENGES

However, building a regional AI bloc isn’t easy. Before it happens, the GCC must tackle key challenges, such as managing data effectively, securing scarce advanced chips, advanced software platforms to operationalize AI models, end-to-end security for data and workloads, and attracting top talent in a tough global market. 

These factors, more than money or ambition, will decide if a unified GCC AI stack becomes a reality.

What’s crucial is skilled talent, from researchers and engineers to product teams, who turn AI capabilities into real business results, says Al Khairy. He adds that the entire ecosystem relies on national policies, regulations, and close collaboration among government, industry, and academia to ensure innovation moves forward responsibly and efficiently.

“Last December, we concluded the first edition of our Design in Saudi Arabia with AI, launched in partnership with Aramco and Saudi Arabia’s Research, Development, and Innovation Authority. The program supports the next generation of AI startups by providing technical guidance, training, and access to advanced tools that help accelerate AI‑driven innovation.”

Talent is the key driver, and Abuissa stresses that broadening this skill base is crucial to reaching the region’s AI goals, which Al Khairy adds are advancing quickly thanks to local universities, global partnerships, and national upskilling programs.

GCC HAS AN ADVANTAGE

Training AI models requires advanced chips, enough money to buy them in bulk, energy systems to run them, and robust connectivity to handle huge datasets efficiently.

The GCC states have a special advantage here because they control several key resources, like energy, especially renewable energy that is reliable, scalable, and affordable. In addition, the Gulf states are strategically investing in nuclear power, a crucial long-term solution for energy-intensive AI workloads.

The region not only has abundant energy but also capital to invest. Its sovereign wealth funds supply the money needed to handle large investments, something most countries can’t match. Three of the six GCC countries rank among the top 20 richest in the world by GDP per capita, and the region hosts four of the world’s 10 biggest sovereign wealth funds.

Equally important is the strategic ambition of regional governments to lead in advanced technologies like AI. Al Khairy says this vision has brought government, industry, and academia into strong alignment. “It accelerated the rollout of advanced infrastructure, forward-leaning regulation, and national investment programs that reduce barriers for innovators.” 

Dr. Alsharji explains that the UAE brings together government needs, business adoption, and national AI capabilities into one ecosystem. This setup lets AI be built right into public services and national platforms.  “This integrated approach where infrastructure, policy, and application evolve together, creates a durable competitive advantage in global AI leadership.”

Abuissa says that the GCC’s strategic advantage also lies in its capacity to rapidly execute large-scale infrastructure initiatives through strong public-private collaboration, such as Stargate and Humain. “While abundant energy provides a supportive backdrop, the region’s real differentiator is its commitment to leveraging that resource efficiently through state-of-the-art data centers, high-performance networks, and embedded security.”

“Cisco observes the region accelerating toward a comprehensive, future-ready AI infrastructure,” he adds.

COLLABORATION IS KEY

To boost regional capacity across the AI value chain, the GCC needs to coordinate globally and align AI infrastructure growth in key areas like knowledge and technology transfer, data management, and governance. This will help everything grow together and avoid bottlenecks. 

“Collaboration is the key here,” says Abuissa. “Adopting consistent security and compliance standards across borders enhances trust and streamlines the delivery of AI services globally.” 

The UAE has struck deals with US companies such as Microsoft, OpenAI, and Nvidia to secure advanced chips, which could enable it to host a large share of new global AI computing power over the next five years. Likewise, Saudi Arabia is set to expand its capacity significantly through partnerships with AWS and Nvidia.

While the UAE and Saudi Arabia are taking a comprehensive approach to building long‑term AI capacity, from chip supply to attracting global talent, alignment on protocols and standards is complex, Al Khairy says. “It is a global challenge that will require international coordination. What is notable is that the region is already pioneering elements of these frameworks.”

For example, he adds, the work on “digital embassies” demonstrates how policy innovation and technical architecture can enable data sovereignty and trusted cross‑border AI operations. “Initiatives like this show how the region is helping define governance models that could shape how AI and data are managed globally.”

At the October 2025 Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Qualcomm announced its advanced AI accelerators will power Humain’s next-generation data centers across Saudi Arabia—delivering high-performance AI inference to enterprises worldwide. As Al Khairy says, the move highlights a truly global AI value chain, from chip design and fabrication to deployment and commercialization.

Qualcomm also collaborated with Aramco Digital on Industrial IoT and on-prem AI, and with e& to roll out sector-specific AI and 5G-enabled solutions—modernizing manufacturing, logistics, and public services through edge computing and automation.

“Together, these efforts show that the region is not just assembling the technical components of an AI stack—it is building a unified technological foundation grounded in global partnerships, national ambition, and a rapidly maturing talent ecosystem,” says Al Khairy.

Creating a unified AI bloc will take ongoing investment and policy coordination over several years to position the region as a major player in the global AI scene.

“Long-term success will depend on sustained execution: strengthening data readiness, deepening talent pools, and building interoperable systems that convert infrastructure into measurable public and economic value,” adds Dr. Alsharji.

Even more important, the GCC should create a roadmap that outlines not just what infrastructure to build but also why it matters and how it connects to goals: better capabilities, a more diverse economy, stronger roles in global tech supply chains, positive impacts on neighboring countries, and real influence in an AI-driven world.