A new data center has been launched within the UAE’s Innovation City, a Free Zone in Ras Al Khaimah, marking a strategic move to bolster sovereign cloud capabilities for artificial intelligence startups in the region. The facility is operated by Siada, a sovereign cloud provider, and is designed to offer tenants in the innovation hub direct access to high-performance computing resources under strict data residency controls.
While specific details regarding the size and capacity of the data center were not disclosed, the facility is already operational, allowing companies inside Innovation City to rent Nvidia B200 GPUs. According to Siada, users can access these chips “by the hour, inside the Emirates, with residency you can prove down to the moment you were billed.” This model is intended to provide AI startups with flexible, on-demand access to some of the world’s most sought-after hardware without requiring large upfront capital investments.
In a press release, Siada emphasized the immediate benefits for the local tech ecosystem, stating that “Innovation City's AI companies get immediate access to the world's most sought-after GPUs.” The company further noted that “founders and enterprises inside Innovation City can access this power by the hour, reserve long-term capacity, or deploy fully managed on-premises environments where Siada runs their models in isolated, sovereign infrastructure from day one.” This approach is designed to meet the growing demand for secure, localized compute power as AI development accelerates across the Middle East.
Siada’s expansion plans extend beyond this single facility. According to a post on X by IOPn, an Emirati technology company, “additional sites to follow across the UAE and the wider region” are already in the pipeline. This signals a broader push to establish a network of sovereign data centers that cater to enterprises and governments requiring strict control over their data and workloads.
Innovation City, previously known as RAK Digital Assets Oasis, is positioning itself as a dedicated AI startup hub, and the arrival of sovereign cloud infrastructure is a key part of that strategy. The development comes despite recent geopolitical tensions that briefly threatened the UAE’s reputation as a safe data center hub. In March, Iran attacked several AWS facilities in the country, raising concerns about regional stability. However, investment in the sector has continued apace. In April, Pure DC announced it would expand its data center from 41MW to 48MW, and last month, the Dominican private bank Asprofin proposed a large-scale data center program valued at up to $12 billion. The opening of Siada’s facility reinforces the UAE’s ongoing commitment to becoming a leading destination for sovereign and AI-focused data infrastructure.
Source: datacenterdynamics