The Exchange

Infrastructure

ADNOC put AI across its whole rig fleet, and the critical data never leaves the country

The software is American. The cloud is Emirati. That pairing is becoming the default shape of Gulf AI deals.

A rendering of a drilling rig connected to a remote operations centre

Chandni Melwani · UAE · Aug 6, 2026

Policy

Canada and the UAE closed a trade agreement in 47 days, and the AI money started moving eight months before it

The agreement covers goods, services and investment barriers. The instrument the Gulf capital actually runs on was signed in Abu Dhabi last November.

Shipping containers stacked at a container port

Chandni Melwani · Canada · Jul 31, 2026

Infrastructure

Nvidia is helping pay for the data centre that will buy its chips

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.

A data centre hall with rows of black and white cabinets under blue overhead cabling

Chandni Melwani · South Korea · Jul 24, 2026

Infrastructure

The UAE spent two years winning access to American AI chips. Now it is renting them out.

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.

Executives from e& UAE and Core42 signing a partnership agreement

Chandni Melwani · UAE · Jul 22, 2026

Infrastructure

Microsoft is paying to put Azure's European customers on compute it does not own

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.

An aisle between rows of metal electrical control cabinets in a factory

Chandni Melwani · Europe · Jul 21, 2026

Policy

Before the UAE won license-free access to US AI chips, the CIA sent a spy to vet G42

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.

A grid of dozens of identical box surveillance cameras mounted in rows across a grey brick wall

Chandni Melwani · UAE · Jul 20, 2026

Policy

Canada is pointing its pension funds at Saudi Arabia, with AI on the target list

The capital that usually flows into US and global markets is being turned toward the Gulf, and AI is named as a sector.

Aerial view of a large solar power plant, with rows of photovoltaic panels stretching across arid ground to the horizon

Chandni Melwani · Canada · Jul 19, 2026

Infrastructure

Microsoft's Copilot is plugging into the UAE's sovereign AI, and the government data stays in the country

The US productivity layer now runs on Gulf sovereign infrastructure, a template for how American software stays inside GCC government AI.

Yellow fibre-optic patch cords crossing between green connectors on a numbered termination panel

Chandni Melwani · UAE · Jul 18, 2026

Policy

The UAE can now buy advanced US AI chips without asking each time — with one condition

The chips under the Gulf's AI build-out are American. Washington just opened the gate, and attached a nine-month condition.

Close-up of a green circuit board with surface-mounted components and gold-toned ribbon connectors, shallow depth of field

Chandni Melwani · UAE · Jul 17, 2026

Infrastructure

A US infrastructure fund just committed up to $2 billion to the systems that keep Gulf data centers running

The money is split between digital infrastructure and district cooling, the two layers a data center in the Saudi heat can't run without.

Dense insulated pipework, valves and pressure vessels inside an industrial plant room, in black and white

Chandni Melwani · Saudi Arabia · Jul 16, 2026

Infrastructure

Saudi Arabia wants to run its own AI. It's turning to Canada's Cohere to build it.

Cohere and PIF-backed Humain will deploy 50MW of AI compute in Saudi Arabia for sovereign and Arabic-language foundation models, marking Cohere's first major international expansion.

A Saudi city skyline at night, high-rise towers lit above dense low-rise blocks and traffic

Chandni Melwani · Saudi Arabia · Jul 10, 2026

Capital

Abu Dhabi MGX Closes $49B AI Fund, Invests in OpenAI, xAI

Abu Dhabi's MGX closed Fund I at $49 billion, exceeding its $45B target. The fund holds positions in OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI, targeting $100B AUM.

Abu Dhabi's high-rise skyline seen from a sand beach across turquoise water

Chandni Melwani · UAE · Jul 8, 2026

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