The desert sun beats down relentlessly on the United Arab Emirates, a land synonymous with towering ambition and rapid transformation.
Yet, beneath this scorching sky, a different kind of heat is being generated – the immense computational power required to fuel the next frontier of human innovation: artificial intelligence.
At the heart of this audacious endeavor stands Khazna, a data center giant quietly, yet rapidly, constructing the very backbone of what promises to be a global AI powerhouse: the Stargate venture.
When former U.S. President Donald Trump first heralded the arrival of the colossal Stargate artificial intelligence initiative in the UAE, the wheels were already in motion at Khazna.
This wasn’t merely an expansion; it was a profound metamorphosis for a company that began its journey in the realm of cloud computing.
Hassan Alnaqbi, Khazna’s Chief Executive Officer, articulated this seismic shift to Newsweek with an almost breathless urgency.
“It’s completely changed, completely changed. They need it now, maximum six months. And this is why I think my biggest challenge is developing Stargate in record time,” he stated, underscoring the breakneck pace demanded by the AI revolution.
The numbers speak volumes about this monumental scale-up.
From a modest 28-megawatt operation in 2021, Khazna has swelled to a formidable half-gigawatt (500 MW) capacity today.
But this is merely a stepping stone.
The demands of Stargate necessitate an staggering five gigawatts (5,000 MW) of power, a metric by which data centers are increasingly measured.
Alnaqbi’s observation that “the data center became sexy only after AI became the norm” encapsulates a fundamental shift in perception.
Once the quiet, unglamorous plumbing of the digital world, data centers are now the indispensable infrastructure, the very “foundation layer” upon which the new “intelligence grid” is being built, requiring colossal energy, advanced GPUs, and intricate support systems.
The Stargate UAE project itself is a constellation of tech titans.
Operated by OpenAI and Oracle, it boasts a formidable lineup including Cisco, Japan’s SoftBank Group, and NVIDIA, which will supply its cutting-edge Grace Blackwell GB300 systems – a testament to the lifting of previous restrictions on advanced chip exports to the UAE.
This high-profile collaboration solidifies the UAE’s position, already one of the world’s most connected societies, as a burgeoning epicenter for digital services and AI development.
The nation’s commitment is palpable, evidenced by a dedicated Minister for AI and the forthcoming formal advisory role of its National Artificial Intelligence System within the cabinet.
Yet, the UAE’s ambition for AI extends far beyond its own borders.
Alnaqbi candidly admitted that the nation likely doesn’t need five gigawatts of GPU intelligence for its domestic consumption.
The surplus, he revealed, is designed to be “a platform for all the collective ecosystem building here to actually export it.”
The grand vision is to transform AI into a utility, as ubiquitous and accessible as electricity, particularly for regions currently lacking the necessary infrastructure.
Khazna is already laying groundwork in France, Italy, and Turkey, but its sights are firmly set on industrializing countries of the Global South, with Kenya and Egypt identified as strong prospects.
Closer to home, the strategic importance of Saudi Arabia looms large.
“Saudi for us, is a very strategic market. It’s bigger than UAE from all aspects, consumer industries, but also it’s an underserved market,” Alnaqbi explained.
He sees Khazna as a complementary force to the Saudi government’s ambitious digitalization and AI initiatives, bringing a proven track record to help construct the foundational infrastructure.
However, building massive data centers, particularly those optimized for the intense computational demands of AI, in one of the world’s hottest countries presents a unique paradox.
With summer temperatures routinely hovering near 100 degrees Fahrenheit, cooling becomes an immense challenge.
Compounding this, the UAE is committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, transitioning from a natural gas-dependent energy grid to one powered increasingly by nuclear and solar.
Khazna, however, is not merely acknowledging these challenges; it’s actively innovating to overcome them.
Alnaqbi proudly stated that despite the harsh climate, Khazna’s power usage effectiveness (PUE) is already on par with data centers in cooler European climes.
Their secret weapon: a shift from traditional air-cooling to advanced water-based solutions.
This transition promises up to 70% energy savings.
Furthermore, in a remarkable display of resourcefulness, the water utilized for cooling is treated sewage water, not potable drinking water – a truly sustainable approach in a water-scarce region.
The irony, Alnaqbi noted, is that the expanding AI capabilities themselves will contribute to optimizing power usage.
“I’m 100% sure not every company, not every industry is utilizing the power to the full potential,” he mused.
“I can help you optimize that. This is the foundation layer of the new digital economy.”
In the heart of the desert, Khazna is not just building data centers; it is forging the very arteries of a global intelligence grid.
It’s a testament to the UAE’s audacious vision: to not only embrace the AI revolution but to power it, export it, and, in doing so, redefine its own strategic importance on the world stage, transforming a scorching landscape into a cool, powerful engine of the future.
