- Microsoft pledges $10 billion to support the Middle East’s technological ambitions
- A $400m subsea cable expansion is also in the works
- The company stressed push for its educational support schemes
Microsoft has revealed plans to spend more than $10 billion in the Middle East between now and 2030, spread across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.
Although the company already has substantial infrastructure already rooted in the region, including cloud regions for the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, it hopes that further investment will help increase regional access to its cloud and AI tools.
Microsoft President Brad Smith noted the region’s ongoing digital transformation, appearing to also acknowledge the impacts of geopolitical conflicts. “We will build on the work we have done to stand by these countries’ governments and people through a period of significant challenges,” Smith wrote in a blog post.
Microsoft invests $10bn to support Middle East technological transformation
The company also announced a series of initiatives that will fall under the $10 billion plans, including expanding cloud and AI infrastructure, improving local digital resilience, strengthening cybersecurity and backing educational schemes.
“Our responsibility is not only to invest in the technology that enables that progress, but to help provide the digital resilience, security and continuity it depends on,” Smith added in another post.
Naturally, clean energy generation and a close eye on both water consumption and replenishment are core to the company’s upcoming projects.
On the resilience front, Microsoft plans to invest a further $400 million in subsea and terrestrial cables by the end of the decade, building on top of its existing SeaMeWe-6 subsea cable which has points in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Microsoft is just one of the 16 companies that look after the cable, which stretches from Singapore to France.
In a bid to pacify job concerns, Microsoft also asserted that it will upskill more than 4.2 million people across the Middle East by 2030 – around 8% of the four countries’ combined populations (but a bigger percentage if you only consider working citizens).
