Microsoft plans to invest more than $10 billion in cloud, data centre and artificial intelligence infrastructure across the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait by 2030.
The investment, which includes both new and previously announced spending, is part of the company’s efforts to expand its infrastructure and strengthen the resilience of digital services across the Middle East.
In a blog post, Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith said the company would also spend more than $400 million on subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the region during the period.
“This investment will expand capacity, strengthen regional data flows, and support Microsoft’s growing cloud and AI infrastructure footprint across the region,” Smith said.
Microsoft is also launching a Middle East digital resilience initiative aimed at helping organisations reduce disruption and restore services more quickly.
According to Smith, the initiative will provide assessments, technical guidance and continuity planning to help organisations identify vulnerabilities, protect critical data and test recovery systems.
The announcement represents Microsoft’s first significant update on its Middle East business since the outbreak of the US war with Iran, Bloomberg reported.
However, the more than $10 billion figure includes a $7.9 billion investment pledge Microsoft made for the UAE last year, meaning about $2 billion of the commitment represents new spending.
Smith said Microsoft was continuing investments planned before the conflict and increasing them rather than scaling back its expansion in the region.
Microsoft has been expanding its presence in the Middle East through investments and partnerships. In 2024, the company invested $1.5 billion for a minority stake in UAE-based G42, securing a seat on the company’s board of directors.
The company also reached an agreement to use a data centre in the UAE as part of its regional infrastructure expansion.
