Head of International Data Center Authority to Asharq Al-Awsat: Saudi Arabia leads AI race
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is leading the Middle East in attracting artificial intelligence data center investment, thanks to its abundant energy resources, economic scale and long-term diversification strategy, according to Mehdi Paryavi, founder and CEO of the International Data Center Authority.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Paryavi said the Kingdom is expected to attract the largest share of regional data center investment, followed by the UAE.
He described data centers as the backbone of the digital economy, calling them “the refineries of the modern era” because they process what he described as humanity’s most valuable resource: data.
The Kingdom, home to the world’s largest oil production facilities, is therefore well positioned to lead the next generation of AI data centers, he stated.
