Dubai-based investment firm Taranis Capital has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Emaar Executive Company (EEC) to develop a portfolio of 40–50MW data center campuses in Saudi Arabia.

The Taranis Data Centre Fund targets $2 billion in private investment for the development and operation of carrier-neutral data center infrastructure in the country.

The agreement, which is backed by the Saudi Investment Promotion Authority (SIPA), is driven by a rising demand for digital and financial infrastructure across the kingdom.

The companies will develop, construct, and operate an unspecified number of “strategically located” data center campuses designed to support cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and enterprise workloads.

Taranis Capital said the facilities will incorporate advanced cooling technologies and Nvidia’s next-generation GPU architectures.

As the government entity attracting national and foreign investment, SIPA is expected to assist with regulatory approvals and licensing.

SIPA’s involvement signals official support for this initiative in the context of the country’s Vision 2030 - a major modernization initiative launched in 2016 to diversify the oil-dependent economy and establish the kingdom as a technology hub.

Nicholas Bingham, CEO of Taranis Capital, said: “This partnership brings together exactly the right combination of capabilities to deliver on the enormous data center opportunity in Saudi Arabia. EEC has an unmatched track record of building and operating hyperscaler-grade facilities in the kingdom, and with SIPA’s support, we are positioned to move rapidly from planning to execution.”

Milan Radia, partner of data center strategy at Taranis Capital, added: “What is missing in the Saudi market is the connectivity ecosystem model that made companies like Equinix, Telecity, and Interxion so successful in Europe. No one in the region has yet built a true community-of-interest environment. With EEC’s construction capabilities, design and operational expertise, we have the right partner to create that model - starting with strategically positioned sites near key connectivity points and subsea cable landing stations.”

Karthik Ramaswamy, COO of EEC, said: “We are proud to partner with Taranis Capital on this transformational initiative. EEC brings over a decade of experience delivering complex technology infrastructure projects in Saudi Arabia, with our own certified workforce on the ground.”

Taranis Capital was founded in 2023 as a venture capital and strategic investment firm regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority. It manages fund products across biotech, data center infrastructure, disruptive technology, real estate, and green biotechnology.

EEC was established in Riyadh in 2016 as an information technology and services company that provides advanced technical solutions.

According to DataCenterMap, Saudi Arabia currently has 60 data centers across 11 markets, the largest of which is Riyadh, followed by Dammam. The kingdom is home to several large data center projects. Throughout 2025, the likes of xAI and Humain have agreed to build a 500MW data center in the country, STC is developing 1GW of capacity also with Humain, while Khazna has detailed a 1GW data center growth pipeline, just to name a few.

Learn more about the data center market in Saudi Arabia and meet with other executives and experts in the region at the DCN Riyadh event next year.