Key Takeaways
- • EQT, with more than USD 400 bn in AUM, is in talks with UAE and Saudi sovereign wealth funds to co-invest in AI infrastructure and data centers, according to global chair Jean Eric Salata speaking to The National.
- • EdgeConneX, EQT's 106-facility data center portfolio company, is the primary vehicle for expanding AI infrastructure across the Gulf.
- • Brookfield Asset Management and the Qatar Investment Authority are jointly investing EUR 2.5 bn (USD 3.4 bn) in a UK data center project with Drax Group.
- • The initial UK phase targets up to 100 MW via Drax's existing grid connection in northern England and could go live by 1Q 2028, with later phases through 2031 drawing on Drax's 2.6 GW biomass fleet.
Summary
European private markets firm EQT is in talks with sovereign wealth funds in the UAE and Saudi Arabia to co-invest in AI infrastructure and data centers, according to global chair Jean Eric Salata, who spoke to The National. EQT already co-invests with Adia and Mubadala. Salata framed the Gulf's physical constraints, particularly around chips, energy and data centers, as an opening for long-horizon capital. EdgeConneX, EQT's 106-facility data center portfolio company, would serve as the primary vehicle for expanding AI infrastructure across the region.
Qatari capital is moving in the opposite direction. Brookfield Asset Management and the Qatar Investment Authority are jointly investing EUR 2.5 bn (USD 3.4 bn) in a data center project alongside UK power generator Drax Group. The initial phase targets up to 100 MW through Drax's existing grid connection in northern England and could go live by 1Q 2028. Subsequent phases through 2031 would draw power directly from Drax's 2.6 GW biomass fleet, with Drax seeking 500 MW between 2028 and 2031 using the site's 2.6 GW of dispatchable generation and 4 GW of grid access.
According to EnterpriseAM, appetite for Gulf AI infrastructure has held through a seven-month conflict with Iran, during which Iranian retaliatory drone strikes damaged Amazon data centers. Gulf operators are reportedly buying anti-drone defense systems to protect built and pipeline sites against renewed strikes.
Qatari capital is moving in the opposite direction. Brookfield Asset Management and the Qatar Investment Authority are jointly investing EUR 2.5 bn (USD 3.4 bn) in a data center project alongside UK power generator Drax Group. The initial phase targets up to 100 MW through Drax's existing grid connection in northern England and could go live by 1Q 2028. Subsequent phases through 2031 would draw power directly from Drax's 2.6 GW biomass fleet, with Drax seeking 500 MW between 2028 and 2031 using the site's 2.6 GW of dispatchable generation and 4 GW of grid access.
According to EnterpriseAM, appetite for Gulf AI infrastructure has held through a seven-month conflict with Iran, during which Iranian retaliatory drone strikes damaged Amazon data centers. Gulf operators are reportedly buying anti-drone defense systems to protect built and pipeline sites against renewed strikes.
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