- Saudi Arabia’s Neom has signed a $5 billion deal to build an AI data center.
- Neom, which was launched in 2017, is a key part of Vision 2030 to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy.
- Saudi Arabia and UAE have been competing to become the Gulf’s AI superpower.
Saudi Arabia’s futuristic Neom project has signed a deal to develop a multibillion-dollar artificial intelligence data center, per a Saudi Press Agency report.
Under the agreement with DataVolt, a Saudi-based international developer and operator of data centers, the first phase will receive an investment of $5 billion. The 1.5-gigawatt factory is expected to be online by 2028 and will be built in Neom’s Oxagon industrial hub.
The Neom megacity, launched in 2017 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is a key step in achieving Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the country’s economy away from fossil fuels and transform it into a luxury tourism destination and innovation hub.
Investing in the data center comes as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates compete to become the Gulf’s AI superpower, with both boosting investments in data centers. Last week, the UAE and France said they would commit between $31 billion and $52 billion to build Europe’s largest AI data center.
Estimates for Neom’s overall cost have reached as high as $1.5 trillion, while official communications put the cost closer to $500 billion.
Its high-tech centerpiece, the Line, is expected to accommodate 9 million people — and even more robots. There are plans to build a year-round ski resort with artificial snow and a number of theme parks.
The project has come under international scrutiny for alleged human rights abuses against local tribespeople. In 2023, the United Nations said it had concerns about the possible executions of members of the Howeitat tribe, whose people live in the area in which Neom is being built.
Neom did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
