Key Points:
- Nvidia and Ooredoo have signed a deal to deploy AI technology in Ooredoo’s data centers in five Middle Eastern countries.
- It marks Nvidia’s first large-scale launch in a region with restricted U.S. chip exports to prevent Chinese access.
- Ooredoo will provide Nvidia’s AI technology to data centers in Qatar, Algeria, Tunisia, Oman, Kuwait, and the Maldives.
- The partnership allows Ooredoo’s clients to access advanced AI services ahead of competitors by 18-24 months.
Nvidia has entered a significant agreement to implement its artificial intelligence (AI) technology in data centers owned by Qatari telecoms group Ooredoo across five Middle Eastern countries. This collaboration marks Nvidia’s first large-scale venture into a region where Washington has restricted the export of advanced U.S. chips to prevent Chinese firms from accessing cutting-edge AI technology through Middle Eastern back channels.
The agreement, which positions Ooredoo as the first regional company to offer direct access to Nvidia’s AI and graphics processing technology, covers data centers in Qatar, Algeria, Tunisia, Oman, Kuwait, and the Maldives. According to Ronnie Vasishta, Nvidia’s senior vice president of telecom, this move will enhance Ooredoo’s capability to support its clients in deploying generative AI applications.
“Our B2B clients will have access to services that their competitors likely won’t have for another 18 to 24 months,” Ooredoo’s CEO Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo told Reuters. The companies did not reveal the deal’s financial details, which was finalized on the sidelines of the TM Forum in Copenhagen on June 19. Ooredoo also refrained from specifying which Nvidia technologies will be installed, noting that it will depend on availability and customer demand. While the U.S. permits the export of some Nvidia technologies to the Middle East, it restricts the export of the company’s most advanced chips. Nonetheless, this partnership allows Ooredoo to significantly bolster its data center offerings.
Ooredoo is investing $1 billion to expand its regional data center capacity by 20-25 megawatts, supplementing 40 megawatts. By the decade’s end, the company plans to triple its capacity nearly. This expansion is part of Ooredoo’s broader strategy, which includes separating its data centers into an independent entity. This move follows a similar one last year when it created the Middle East’s largest tower company in partnership with Kuwait’s Zain and Dubai’s TASC Towers Holding.
Additionally, Ooredoo plans to separate its undersea cables and fiber network, further optimizing its infrastructure and focusing on its core telecommunications services. This partnership with Nvidia positions Ooredoo at the forefront of AI technology deployment in the Middle East and demonstrates a strategic move to enhance its service offerings and infrastructure capabilities, setting a new standard in the regional telecom and data center markets.
