The three Gulf states are each building AI computing capacity, but in different ways. The UAE is furthest along with a first 200 megawatt phase due in 2026. Saudi Arabia has the largest stated targets, run by one state company. Qatar has announced the money but few physical details. Most figures below are plans, not capacity in service.
This is the comparison post. Country detail lives in two companion explainers: the UAE, G42 and the US chip approvals and Saudi Arabia's Humain. Here each country gets a summary, followed by the 2026 developments that affect all three.
Key numbers at a glance
- UAE, Stargate UAE first phase: 200 MW, targeted for the third quarter of 2026 (Mubadala chief Khaldoon Al Mubarak, quoted by The National, 5 December 2025).
- UAE, Stargate UAE cluster: 1 gigawatt (GW) planned, inside a 5 GW UAE to US AI campus in Abu Dhabi (Gulf News, 16 October 2025).
- UAE, full build of the 1 GW cluster: expected in three years from October 2025 (G42 unit Khazna, The National, 16 October 2025).
- UAE, chip approval: the US Commerce Department authorised G42 to buy the equivalent of up to 35,000 Nvidia GB300 chips, per The National, 5 December 2025.
- Saudi Arabia, Humain first sites: Riyadh and Dammam, up to 100 MW each (Bloomberg, via Arab News, August 2025).
- Saudi Arabia, Humain targets: 1 GW online by 2027 and 6 GW by 2030, per Middle East AI News, 4 September 2026.
- Saudi Arabia, Humain data centre fund: $2.5 billion planned to finance 250 MW (Bloomberg, unconfirmed by the company, reported 3 to 4 September 2026).
- Saudi Arabia, build contract: about 1.88 billion riyals (roughly $501 million), 12 months, signed earlier in 2026 (Middle East AI News, 4 September 2026).
- Qatar, Brookfield and Qai venture: $20 billion, reported by BridgeMena on 10 December 2025 (S&P Capital IQ via MarketScreener dates the announcement 12 September 2025, so the date is uncertain).
- Qatar, Brookfield AI infrastructure programme: up to $100 billion worldwide (same source).
- UAE, export status: moved into US Country Group A:5 with licence free receipt of advanced computing items for approved parties (BIS press release, 10 July 2026).
- Saudi Arabia, grid connected generation capacity: 92,154 MVA in 2024, up 6.9 percent (US International Trade Administration country guide).
First, some terms
A megawatt (MW) is a measure of electrical power. A gigawatt (GW) is 1,000 megawatts. Data centre builders use power, not floor area, as the main size measure, because power limits how many chips can run.
"IT capacity" means the power available to servers and networking. "Total facility power" also counts cooling and losses, so it is higher. When two articles quote different numbers for the same site, check which one they mean.
A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund. In the Gulf these funds, and the companies they own, are the main buyers and builders. That matters because projects can move faster when the owner is also the funder, and because plans can change with state priorities.
The UAE: the earliest large phase
The UAE project is called Stargate UAE. It was announced in May 2025 with OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco and SoftBank as partners, and Khazna Data Centers, a G42 company, as developer, according to Gulf News and The National. It sits inside a larger planned campus of 5 GW in Abu Dhabi, described as a UAE to US AI campus. The cluster itself is planned at 1 GW, built in five phases across roughly 10 square miles, per The National in October 2025.
What has been said about progress. In October 2025, G42 said civil and structural work was well advanced, mechanical and electrical systems were being finalised, and long-lead equipment had been procured with the first mechanical systems delivered to site. In December 2025, Khaldoon Al Mubarak of Mubadala said work was "going full steam ahead" and that the first 200 MW would be ready at some point in the third quarter of 2026. The same report said more than 5,000 workers were on site and the campus covers 19.2 square kilometres.
Here is the gap to keep in mind. As of 19 October 2026, none of the sources cited here reports that the first 200 MW is in service. The latest firm statements on the schedule date from late 2025. So the third quarter 2026 date remains a target, not a confirmed milestone. Check company announcements before quoting it as done.
The rest of the cluster has no confirmed schedule. Gulf News reported in October 2025 that there was no confirmed completion timeline for the remainder of the 1 GW cluster or the 5 GW campus. G42 said in the same period that the full 1 GW build was expected in about three years.
Chips and export approvals
Computing capacity is useless without chips, and the most advanced chips are subject to US export rules. The National reported on 5 December 2025 that in November 2025 the US Commerce Department authorised G42 to buy the equivalent of up to 35,000 Nvidia GB300 chips, and that the UAE then had only "a couple of thousand" chips, in Al Mubarak's words. This is a good example of why a building plan and a chip approval are two separate things.
Not yet published: the power source for the campus, the cooling method and the efficiency target. The tbreak construction update said no power or cooling specification had been published at that time and listed these as things to watch.
Saudi Arabia: the largest stated targets
Saudi Arabia's vehicle is Humain, a company owned by the Public Investment Fund and launched in May 2025, per Arab News (Bloomberg report, August 2025). Humain offers data centres, cloud, and its own AI models.
The first sites. Bloomberg reported in August 2025 that construction had begun on data centres in Riyadh and Dammam, each with initial capacity of up to 100 MW, expected to start in early 2026 or the second quarter of 2026 (the reports give both). No operator statement cited here confirms that these sites are operating, so treat them as planned until one appears.
The bigger plan. Middle East AI News reported on 4 September 2026 that Humain's stated targets are 1 GW online by 2027, described as the first phase using two of six 1 GW plots at a campus called Al Sa'ad in east Riyadh, and a 6 GW network by 2030. The campus covers 24 square kilometres and construction began in March 2026, according to that report. An older Folio3 article quoted a different set of targets, 1.9 GW by 2030 and 6.6 GW by 2034, at a cost of about $77 billion. Those targets conflict with the later ones, and the Folio3 page has inconsistent dates of its own, so both sets are shown here. Humain itself is the source to check.
How it is being paid for
Middle East AI News (4 September 2026) summarised the financing so far: a planned $2.5 billion fund for 250 MW, reported by Bloomberg from unnamed sources and not confirmed by the company in size; a 12 month build contract worth about 1.88 billion riyals; and up to $1.2 billion of non-binding financing from the National Infrastructure Fund. Non-binding means no one is yet legally obliged to provide the money, so such figures are best described as agreed in principle. The Humain explainer sets out each item.
Chips and partners
Arab News reported that Nvidia said in May 2025 it would sell hundreds of thousands of AI chips in Saudi Arabia, with a first tranche of 18,000 Blackwell chips going to Humain, and that AMD announced a $10 billion collaboration. Capacity Global, on 26 August 2025, quoted Amin saying US government approvals were still pending and described them as formalities. Middle East AI News lists partnerships with AMD, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Cisco, xAI and Together AI. These are announced agreements, not delivered hardware.
Qatar: money first, details later
Qatar's route is through Qai, an AI company owned by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). Brookfield Asset Management and Qai announced a $20 billion joint venture for AI infrastructure in Qatar and selected other markets (BridgeMena, 10 December 2025; S&P Capital IQ via MarketScreener dates it 12 September 2025, so the dates disagree), with an integrated compute centre to widen regional access to high performance computing. The venture uses Brookfield's new AI infrastructure fund, part of a programme aiming to mobilise up to $100 billion globally. The Government of Qatar is to give support on skills and the supply chain.
What is not stated. The published announcements give no ownership split, no launch date, no site locations and no megawatt target. That makes Qatar the hardest of the three to compare on physical capacity. If you are planning around Qatari capacity, ask the operators for dates and megawatts, not headline dollars.
One investor view is worth noting with attribution. BridgeMena, summarising a Reuters interview, reported that QIA's head of funds, Mohsin Pirzada, cited Qatar's gas production as an advantage as data centre power demand grows, and warned of a possible "shakeout" in the sector comparable to the dot-com crash. That is one investor's view, not a forecast.
What changed in 2026
Three developments in 2026 matter across the region, and they are not reflected in the late 2025 construction updates above.
US export status for the UAE. On 10 July 2026 the US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced it would remove the UAE from Country Groups D:3 and D:4 and reclassify it into Country Group A:5. Country groups are the lists in US export rules that set how strictly shipments to a country are checked. Per the release, A:5 status allows licence free exports and transfers of certain items under a provision called License Exception STA. The release says that under the May 2025 US and UAE AI framework, Commerce is approving the UAE Government and certain companies to receive advanced computing items, including chips and servers, without a licence. It points to Federal Register document 2026-14132 for the implementing rules. G42 said on 17 July 2026 that BIS had approved G42 and Core42 as authorised recipients under the framework. That names two companies; it is not a full list, and licence free status applies to approved parties, not to everyone in the UAE.
Saudi chip approvals. The BIS release is specific to the UAE. No comparable BIS release for Saudi Arabia is cited here, so the Saudi chip position rests on company statements and press reports of local approval for 18,000 chips. That gap is one of the clearest differences between the two countries in 2026.
Physical security. World Nuclear News reported on 18 May 2026 that the UAE told the International Atomic Energy Agency a drone strike had caused a fire in an electrical generator outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah nuclear plant. The UAE regulator reported no injuries and no release of radioactive material, and emergency diesel generators were powering Unit 3 at the time. The same report says US and Israeli strikes on Iran began on 28 February 2026, that Iran retaliated against neighbouring states, and that a ceasefire was in place for talks. For data centre planners, the lesson is that power and site security are now part of any Gulf capacity question, alongside chips and money.
Power: what each country brings
All three states have large domestic energy resources, which is a central part of their pitch to data centre builders. The sourced detail differs.
Among the sources cited here, Saudi Arabia has the most detailed grid figures. The US International Trade Administration's country guide says grid connected generation capacity rose 6.9 percent in 2024 to 92,154 MVA (megavolt amperes, a measure of apparent power that is close to but not the same as megawatts). The national utility directly owns 56.4 GW, about 61 percent of the total, and is developing 11 generation projects totalling 23.4 GW. The government has pledged 50 percent renewable electricity by 2030, and the Ministry of Energy's spending on power and renewables is expected to reach $293 billion by 2030, per the same guide. None of those figures says how much of the grid AI campuses will use, but a 6 GW data centre target set against a 56 GW utility fleet shows why new generation has to come with the campuses.
The UAE has the Barakah nuclear plant on its grid, the site affected by the May 2026 incident, but the Stargate UAE campus's own power source has not been published. Qatar's case rests on gas: Pirzada's remarks, as reported, frame gas production as the country's advantage, though no megawatt figure for Qatari AI capacity has been announced.
How the three differ
- Lead builder: UAE, G42 through Khazna, with US partners. Saudi Arabia, Humain, state owned. Qatar, Qai with Brookfield.
- Visible progress: UAE has the most detailed construction reporting. Saudi Arabia has a start of construction at Al Sa'ad reported for March 2026. Qatar has an announced venture.
- Targets: UAE, 1 GW cluster inside a 5 GW campus. Saudi Arabia, up to 6 GW by 2030 in the latest report. Qatar, none stated.
- Chips: UAE has a stated US approval for up to 35,000 GB300 equivalents (November 2025) and A:5 status with named approved recipients (July 2026). Saudi Arabia has 18,000 Blackwell chips described as approved locally with US steps pending at the time. Qatar, none stated.
What it means if you buy or run software there
Customers and software teams should think about three things. First, where data and models will sit. The UAE and Saudi Arabia both have personal data laws with transfer rules; the explainers on the UAE PDPL and sector localisation and on the Saudi PDPL transfer rules cover what to check. Second, the difference between residency and sovereignty, covered in data residency vs sovereignty vs localisation. Third, supply chain exposure: a new data centre is built from thousands of software and firmware components, and each needs an inventory.
For the cost side of these builds, see AI data centre cost per megawatt and per gigawatt. For the US side of the Stargate name, see OpenAI compute commitments and Stargate.
What is firm and what is uncertain
Firm, because several reports or official releases agree:
- Stargate UAE has named partners, a 1 GW cluster plan and a 200 MW first phase target for 2026.
- Humain exists, is state owned, and has announced Riyadh, Dammam and Al Sa'ad sites.
- Brookfield and Qai announced a $20 billion venture, though sources disagree on the date.
- The UAE moved into US Country Group A:5 in July 2026, with G42 and Core42 named as approved recipients.
Uncertain:
- Whether the UAE first phase met its third quarter 2026 target. No report either way is cited here.
- Which Humain target is current, because sources give 1.9 GW by 2030, 6 GW by 2030 and 6.6 GW by 2034.
- The size and close of Humain's $2.5 billion fund, which is a Bloomberg report from unnamed sources.
- Any Qatari megawatt figure.
- Private and state company numbers are not audited, and some come from secondary outlets.
What to watch next
- A company or Abu Dhabi government statement that the first 200 MW is energised, and how many chips are running.
- Further US export approvals for the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
- Regulatory approval and closing of the Humain data centre fund.
- Site, megawatt and timing details for the Qatar venture.
- Any BIS release on advanced chip approvals for Saudi Arabia.
- The security situation around Gulf energy sites after the 2026 conflict.
- Whether other US cloud and chip firms commit to the remaining capacity of the UAE campus, which G42 said in 2025 was still in discussion.
New infrastructure brings new software suppliers, and Safeguard's free dependency scan at https://gold.safeguard.sh/scan is one way to start an inventory.
Quick check
Is Stargate UAE running yet?
Not confirmed as of 19 October 2026. The last firm statements, from late 2025, targeted the third quarter of 2026 for the first 200 MW. Check G42, Khazna or OpenAI announcements for current status.
Which Gulf state has the biggest AI data centre plan?
By stated target, Saudi Arabia, with up to 6 GW by 2030 in the latest report cited here. The UAE plans a 1 GW cluster inside a 5 GW campus. Qatar has not published a megawatt target. These are plans, not operating capacity.
Is the $20 billion Qatar figure all for data centres in Qatar?
No. The announcement covers AI infrastructure in Qatar and selected other markets. The announcements give no split by country and no timeline.
Sources
- Stargate UAE's first phase to be completed in third quarter of 2026, The National, 5 December 2025
- G42 unit Khazna targets full build out of 1GW Stargate UAE in three years, The National, 16 October 2025
- Stargate UAE first phase of 200MW to complete by 2026, Gulf News, 16 October 2025
- G42 Stargate UAE construction update, tbreak
- Saudi Arabia's Humain to launch data centers with US chips, Arab News (Bloomberg report), August 2025
- Humain data centre construction, Capacity, 26 August 2025
- Humain seeks $2.5 billion for data centres, Middle East AI News, 4 September 2026
- Saudi AI firm launches data centre expansion, Folio3 AI Pulse
- Brookfield and Qai launch a $20 billion AI infrastructure joint venture, BridgeMena, 10 December 2025
- Department of Commerce Eases Export Controls for UAE, BIS, 10 July 2026
- G42 welcomes a new milestone in the US-UAE AI partnership, G42, 17 July 2026
- IAEA concern after drone strike close to Barakah nuclear power plant, World Nuclear News, 18 May 2026
- Saudi Arabia power sector, US International Trade Administration country commercial guide
- Brookfield Asset Management and Qai form $20 billion partnership, S&P Capital IQ via MarketScreener, 12 September 2025
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
