AI capital and compute crossing borders — worldwide, closest on the Gulf and North America
AI capital and compute crossing borders — worldwide, closest on the Gulf and North America
M&A
SLB has signed an agreement to acquire Kelvion, a German maker of industrial heat exchangers and data-centre cooling systems, from Apollo and Triton funds for $3.4bn in cash plus $0.7bn in assumed debt. It is signed, not closed; regulatory approvals are still outstanding.
Chandni Melwani
US · Aug 31, 2026
Capital
Mistral and HUMAIN announced a sovereign-AI collaboration in Riyadh on August 24, sized in euros but carrying an exploratory compute leg and no binding contracts yet.
Chandni Melwani · Saudi Arabia · Aug 28, 2026
Infrastructure
A data centre with its chips installed still cannot switch on without a power transformer, and in the US the order book for those runs about 30 months.
Chandni Melwani · GCC · Aug 20, 2026
Capital
The guarantee only pays out if OpenAI defaults, and OpenAI has agreed to reimburse Nvidia for anything Nvidia pays.
Chandni Melwani · US · Aug 17, 2026
Infrastructure
The software is American. The cloud is Emirati. That pairing is becoming the default shape of Gulf AI deals.
Chandni Melwani · UAE · Aug 6, 2026
Policy
The agreement covers goods, services and investment barriers. The instrument the Gulf capital actually runs on was signed in Abu Dhabi last November.
Chandni Melwani · Canada · Jul 31, 2026
Infrastructure
A Korean internet company, an American chipmaker and a Canadian asset manager are building Korea's national AI capacity together. Look at who is funding whom.
Chandni Melwani · South Korea · Jul 24, 2026
Infrastructure
For a Gulf bank, the question was never whether sovereign AI was a good idea. It was what it costs, and who has to file the export paperwork. There is finally an answer to both.
Chandni Melwani · UAE · Jul 22, 2026
Infrastructure
Europe is trying to build its own AI sovereignty and rent it back. A US hyperscaler is underwriting the capex, and structuring the cheque to stay clear of Brussels.
Chandni Melwani · Europe · Jul 21, 2026
Policy
The price of US trust turned out to be ripping Chinese telecom and surveillance gear out of the UAE's flagship AI company, and cutting its ties to China.
Chandni Melwani · UAE · Jul 20, 2026
Policy
The capital that usually flows into US and global markets is being turned toward the Gulf, and AI is named as a sector.
Chandni Melwani · Canada · Jul 19, 2026
Infrastructure
The US productivity layer now runs on Gulf sovereign infrastructure, a template for how American software stays inside GCC government AI.
Chandni Melwani · UAE · Jul 18, 2026
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