DataVolt and Saudi Arabian giga-project NEOM have announced a $5bn partnership to establish the first fully sustainble AI data centre in the country.

The data centre will boast of a a capacity of 1.5 gigawatts in Oxagon – the floating industrial city being developed in the Red Sea.

Read: LEAP 2025 starts in Riyadh, unveiling $14.9bn in AI investments

Michael Champion, CEO of Tahaluf, the company which co-organises LEAP with the Saudi Ministry for Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones (SAFCSP), emphasised on the fact, it is halfway though LEAP 2025, that the platform has already surpassed the confirmed investments of previous editions and have surpassed US$40 billion in total confirmed investments since we launched LEAP four years ago.

Important: How LEAP 2025 is shaping Saudi Arabia’s tech ambitions

Other investment announcements

Mobily

Other than the data centre, Mobily, the Saudi Arabian telecommunications services company, announced an investment of $911m in strategic projects to develop digital infrastructure, including submarine cable projects and the development of data centres across the country.

Zoom

Zoom also announced a $75m investment to boost AI and innovation and also establish new data centres in order to create a support structure for tech companies as well as government entities.

Saudi Arabia Railways and SKYFive

The other Saudi entities such as Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) and SKYFive announced the investments of $51m and $100m respectively. Saudi Arabia Railways intends to invest in private fibre-optic networks, while SKYFive, which is the leading telecommunications and internet services provider for aircraft intends to invest in non-terrestrial communications services focused on advocating the advanced air mobility sector.

AI and data centres took the lead at LEAP 2025 this year, with other major investment collaborations between  the local as well as the international businesses.