Key Takeaways
- • EQT, Europe's largest private markets investment firm with $400 billion in assets, is in talks with UAE and Saudi sovereign investors about joint AI and infrastructure co-investments, according to The National, citing the company's global chair Jean Eric Salata.
- • EQT's focus is data infrastructure and data centres, where it says it has one of the largest global footprints, delivered through portfolio company EdgeConneX, which owns more than 106 data centres across 25 countries.
- • The Gulf states have announced AI investment plans worth $120 billion since last year, exceeding 5 per cent of GDP, per IMF estimates, including Saudi Arabia's $100 billion Project Transcendence and Qatar's $20 billion Qai partnership.
- • EQT opened its first Middle East office in Abu Dhabi's ADGM in September, joining BlackRock, State Street, Blackstone, PGIM, Nuveen and Capital Group, and sees forty portfolio companies already present in the Gulf.
- • Salata described the sector as capital constrained, with the key bottleneck being physical (chips, energy and data centres), and positioned EQT's 15-year horizon capital as a fit for that need.
Summary
EQT is holding discussions with sovereign investors in the UAE and Saudi Arabia about potential joint artificial intelligence and infrastructure investments, according to The National, which cited the firm's global chair, Jean Eric Salata. The Stockholm-based firm, which oversees $400 billion in assets, is focusing on infrastructure, particularly data infrastructure and data centres, where Salata said EQT has one of the largest global footprints. He said this focus aligns with the strategic goals of the UAE.
EQT plans to expand its AI infrastructure presence in the Gulf through portfolio company EdgeConneX, which owns more than 106 data centres across 25 countries. The firm manages over $100 billion in digital and energy assets across its markets. Salata said many conversations with potential partners are ongoing in the UAE and elsewhere in the region, and described the sector as capital constrained, with the main constraint being physical, involving chips, energy and data centres. He argued that strong demand for compute supports investment in power generation and data infrastructure, and that long-term capital able to invest on a 15-year horizon is well positioned.
The Gulf states are central to AI-led economic diversification. According to International Monetary Fund estimates, the three Gulf states have announced AI investment plans worth $120 billion since last year, exceeding 5 per cent of their combined gross domestic product. The UAE is advancing a planned five-gigawatt UAE-US AI campus in Abu Dhabi that includes Stargate UAE, a 1GW computing cluster anchored by a $20 billion data centre investment, with Khazna and G42 working alongside OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco and SoftBank. Saudi Arabia has introduced Project Transcendence, a $100 billion scheme, and its $1 trillion Public Investment Fund has established Humain to build national cloud infrastructure. Qatar Investment Authority has launched Qai, a $20 billion AI infrastructure partnership. Blackstone, with $1.3 trillion in assets, has struck a $3 billion deal with Humain, and Microsoft has committed more than $10 billion across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030.
EQT opened an office in Abu Dhabi's ADGM in September, joining BlackRock, State Street, Blackstone, PGIM, Nuveen and Capital Group. Salata said the office gives the firm a base to work with sovereign funds, large family offices and institutional partners. EQT already works closely with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), which Salata described as one of EQT's most important partners; the firm manages investments for ADIA in its funds and engages in substantial co-investing. In June, ADIA and Mubadala Development Company joined EQT's PS9.5 billion acquisition bid for the UK's Intertek Group. Mubadala has also co-invested with EQT in deals including the 2022 acquisition of Envirotainer and took a $600 million stake in Nord Anglia Education in 2025.
Forty EQT portfolio companies already have a presence in the Gulf, and Salata said the firm expects more investment from regional sovereign investors to flow into them. Over a five to 10-year horizon, he believes the number of portfolio companies brought to the Gulf could grow two or three-fold, in sectors including infrastructure, education, health care, technology and energy, where government policy is supportive.
EQT plans to expand its AI infrastructure presence in the Gulf through portfolio company EdgeConneX, which owns more than 106 data centres across 25 countries. The firm manages over $100 billion in digital and energy assets across its markets. Salata said many conversations with potential partners are ongoing in the UAE and elsewhere in the region, and described the sector as capital constrained, with the main constraint being physical, involving chips, energy and data centres. He argued that strong demand for compute supports investment in power generation and data infrastructure, and that long-term capital able to invest on a 15-year horizon is well positioned.
The Gulf states are central to AI-led economic diversification. According to International Monetary Fund estimates, the three Gulf states have announced AI investment plans worth $120 billion since last year, exceeding 5 per cent of their combined gross domestic product. The UAE is advancing a planned five-gigawatt UAE-US AI campus in Abu Dhabi that includes Stargate UAE, a 1GW computing cluster anchored by a $20 billion data centre investment, with Khazna and G42 working alongside OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco and SoftBank. Saudi Arabia has introduced Project Transcendence, a $100 billion scheme, and its $1 trillion Public Investment Fund has established Humain to build national cloud infrastructure. Qatar Investment Authority has launched Qai, a $20 billion AI infrastructure partnership. Blackstone, with $1.3 trillion in assets, has struck a $3 billion deal with Humain, and Microsoft has committed more than $10 billion across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030.
EQT opened an office in Abu Dhabi's ADGM in September, joining BlackRock, State Street, Blackstone, PGIM, Nuveen and Capital Group. Salata said the office gives the firm a base to work with sovereign funds, large family offices and institutional partners. EQT already works closely with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), which Salata described as one of EQT's most important partners; the firm manages investments for ADIA in its funds and engages in substantial co-investing. In June, ADIA and Mubadala Development Company joined EQT's PS9.5 billion acquisition bid for the UK's Intertek Group. Mubadala has also co-invested with EQT in deals including the 2022 acquisition of Envirotainer and took a $600 million stake in Nord Anglia Education in 2025.
Forty EQT portfolio companies already have a presence in the Gulf, and Salata said the firm expects more investment from regional sovereign investors to flow into them. Over a five to 10-year horizon, he believes the number of portfolio companies brought to the Gulf could grow two or three-fold, in sectors including infrastructure, education, health care, technology and energy, where government policy is supportive.
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