The UAE is expanding as a hub for AI and cloud infrastructure. According to Blackridge Research’s global data center market report, the Middle East currently hosts about 185 data centers with capex investments above USD 10 million, and nearly 99 projects are either planned or under construction.

The top data center companies in UAE, such as Khazna Data Centers, Gulf Data Hub, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du), Equinix, and Amazon Web Services, are central to the region’s AI and hyperscale ecosystem. Major players are expanding facilities and partnering with global technology firms to support cloud computing, AI workloads, and enterprise digital transformation across the United Arab Emirates.

This article explores the five largest data center companies operating in the UAE, examining their key facilities, infrastructure capacity, and recent developments.

List of the Top 5 Largest Data Center Companies in the UAE

Khazna Data Centers

Stargate project UAE

Khazna Data Centers is the largest data center company in the UAE and one of the leading hyperscale infrastructure operators in the Middle East and North Africa. The company holds more than 70% of the UAE data center market and operates over 30 data centers, supporting cloud platforms, AI computing, and enterprise digital transformation. 

Following the 2021 merger with the data center operations of G42 and e&, Khazna has become the country’s national digital infrastructure champion.

Key Data Center Locations

Major hyperscale campuses are located in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ajman, forming the backbone of the UAE’s cloud and AI infrastructure.

Capacity / Infrastructure

Khazna operates 30+ hyperscale data center facilities and plans to add more than 1GW of new data center capacity globally over the next five years. The company is also developing a 100 MW AI-optimized data center in Ajman, designed with 20 data halls delivering 5 MW each to support next-generation AI workloads.

Key Features or Services

Khazna is one of the largest hyperscale data center companies in the world with AI-ready facilities, high-density computing support, and sustainable data center design. Its platforms support cloud providers, government workloads, and large enterprises while enabling advanced data center liquid cooling technology for high-performance AI clusters.

Recent Developments

1. Feb 2026: A 100 MW AI-optimized data center in Ajman (QAJ01) received Tier III design certification from Uptime Institute, designed with liquid cooling for AI workloads.

2. Oct 2025: Khazna announced plans to expand operational capacity by more than 1GW across the Middle East and Europe, including projects in Saudi Arabia and Italy.

3. Apr 2025: Investment firms MGX and Silver Lake acquired minority stakes in the company, while e& exited its ownership.

4. Khazna is also developing the infrastructure for the Stargate UAE AI cluster, a 1-GW AI data center within a planned 5-GW AI campus in Abu Dhabi, in partnership with OpenAI, Oracle, NVIDIA, Cisco, and SoftBank.

Gulf Data Hub

Gulf Data Hub (GDH) is one of the largest independent carrier- and vendor-neutral data center platforms in the Middle East. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Dubai, the company provides colocation, cloud, disaster recovery, SaaS, and IaaS infrastructure for enterprises and hyperscale customers. 

GDH focuses on high-availability facilities built to international standards, including compliance with Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)- 942 guidelines and Tier III certifications.

Key Data Center Locations

The company’s primary UAE data center hub is located in Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), where multiple hyperscale-ready facilities support regional cloud and enterprise workloads.

Capacity / Infrastructure

GDH operates six data centers in Dubai Silicon Oasis, including several facilities with 16 MW capacity each, alongside an earlier 4 MW site. Across the region, the company has around 62 MW of operational IT capacity and is developing 15 additional facilities totaling about 240 MW as part of its expansion pipeline.

Key Features or Services

The platform provides carrier-neutral colocation, cloud connectivity, disaster recovery infrastructure, and hyperscale-ready deployments. GDH facilities are designed for high reliability, energy efficiency, and scalable cloud and AI workloads, supporting enterprises and digital service providers across the Gulf region.

Recent Developments

1. Jan 2025: Global investment firm KKR formed a strategic partnership with GDH to expand hyperscale data center capacity across the Middle East.

2. The partnership includes over USD 5 billion in planned investment to develop new facilities in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait.

3. GDH continues expanding its Dubai Silicon Oasis data center campus, strengthening its position as one of the UAE’s largest independent colocation providers.

du (Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company)

du is a major telecom and digital infrastructure provider in the UAE that operates a growing network of carrier-neutral data centers supporting cloud, AI, and enterprise workloads. Founded in 2006, the company delivers connectivity, cloud services, and digital infrastructure for government, financial services, gaming, and hyperscale customers. 

Its facilities form hyper-connected digital hubs designed to support digital transformation and regional cloud adoption.

Key Data Center Locations

du operates a network of five interconnected data centers across Abu Dhabi and Dubai, providing geographic redundancy and high-speed connectivity between facilities.

Capacity / Infrastructure

The company’s facilities are engineered for 99.999% uptime and exceed Tier III design standards. The sites feature carrier-neutral connectivity, direct links to global cloud providers, and dedicated network fabrics with less than 5 ms latency between locations, enabling high-performance workloads across the UAE.

Key Features or Services

du data centers provide colocation, hyperscale cloud infrastructure, sovereign cloud platforms, and AI-ready computing environments. The facilities offer dual access to local and international networks, subsea cable connectivity, and certified security frameworks, including ISO 27001 and PCI DSS, supporting regulated and mission-critical workloads.

Recent Developments:

1. Apr 2025: Announced a AED 2 billion (USD 544 million) hyperscale AI data center project in partnership with Microsoft to expand cloud and AI capacity in the UAE.

2. Jul 2025: Launched the National Hypercloud platform built on Oracle Alloy infrastructure, offering sovereign cloud services with 200+ OCI capabilities.

3. The platform integrates accelerated computing technologies from NVIDIA to support AI workloads and generative AI applications for government and enterprise customers.

Equinix

Equinix is one of the world’s largest data center companies and operates a network of carrier-neutral data centers that enable global interconnection between enterprises, cloud providers, and networks. 

In the UAE, Equinix runs International Business Exchange (IBX) facilities that act as major connectivity hubs linking regional and international digital ecosystems. The company’s platform supports enterprises, financial institutions, and cloud providers that require high-performance infrastructure and secure interconnection across the Middle East.

Key Data Center Locations

Equinix operates four IBX data centers in the UAE: DX1, DX2, DX3 in Dubai, and AD1 in Abu Dhabi. The Dubai campus functions as a regional transit hub that connects international networks and digital platforms across the MENA region.

Capacity / Infrastructure

The UAE facilities provide high-density colocation environments and private interconnection to major global clouds, networks, and enterprises. The DX3 facility in Dubai provides capacity for up to 1,800 cabinets across two phases and spans around 12,000 square meters, making it one of the company’s largest data centers in the region.

Key Features or Services

Equinix offers carrier-neutral colocation, private cloud connectivity, and AI-ready infrastructure designed for low-latency workloads. The data centers connect customers to 50+ networks and more than 30 cloud and IT service providers, supporting multicloud strategies and digital ecosystems.

The facilities also operate on 100% renewable energy and meet global standards, including ISO 27001, ISO 14001, SOC 2, PCI DSS, and LEED certifications.

Recent Developments:

1. May 2023: Opened the DX3 data center in Dubai, investing about USD 60 million in the first phase with capacity for 900 racks.

2. The Dubai campus operates as a regional connectivity hub for MENA, linking international networks, enterprises, and digital platforms.

3. Equinix continues to expand AI-ready interconnection infrastructure to support finance, media, AI, and compliance-sensitive workloads across the region.

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

Amazon Web Services is one of the world’s largest cloud and hyperscale infrastructure providers, operating a global network of data centers that support enterprise, government, and digital services platforms. 

In the UAE, AWS runs a dedicated cloud region that enables organizations to deploy workloads locally while maintaining global connectivity. The infrastructure supports mission-critical applications across sectors such as finance, public services, energy, and digital commerce.

Key Data Center Locations

AWS operates the Middle East (UAE) Region (me-central-1), which includes multiple data centers across Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The region consists of three Availability Zones, each located in separate geographic areas to ensure redundancy and business continuity for high-availability applications.

Capacity / Infrastructure

The UAE region uses a multi-Availability Zone architecture where each zone contains one or more data centers with independent power, cooling, and networking infrastructure. This design allows applications to run across multiple facilities for high availability, rapid failover, and scalable cloud deployments.

Key Features or Services

AWS provides a full portfolio of cloud services, including infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and AI-enabled workloads. The distributed Availability Zone architecture supports fault-tolerant computing, low-latency applications, and large-scale enterprise deployments across the Middle East.

Recent Developments:

1. 2022: AWS launched the Middle East (UAE) Region with three Availability Zones to support regional cloud demand.

2. 2024-2026: Enterprises and government organizations across the UAE expanded deployments on AWS infrastructure to support digital transformation initiatives.

3. Mar 2026: Outages at two UAE AWS data centers during regional attacks highlighted the strategic importance of hyperscale cloud infrastructure and prompted discussions around enhanced resilience and power redundancy for future data center campuses.

Conclusion - Future of Data Center Projects in the UAE

Looking ahead, the UAE’s data center sector is expected to grow further as hyperscale cloud providers deepen their regional investments. Projects such as the expansion pipeline of Khazna Data Center, partnerships between Microsoft, G42, and Khazna for large-scale AI capacity, and the planned Stargate UAE AI campus in Abu Dhabi, backed by companies including Alibaba cloud, OpenAI, Oracle, NVIDIA, Cisco, and SoftBank, show the scale of future deployments. 

The UAE is also seeing increased funding, including billions of dollars raised for new hyperscale campuses and AI-optimized facilities expected to come online through 2026. At the same time, geopolitical risks in the Middle East are becoming an important consideration for digital infrastructure operators. 

Rising regional tensions and the increasing strategic importance of digital infrastructure have raised concerns about the potential targeting of critical facilities such as data centers, telecom hubs, and energy infrastructure during conflicts. Despite these risks, strong government backing, sovereign investment, and sustained demand from global technology firms suggest that the UAE will remain one of the fastest-growing data center markets in the region.

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