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Alibaba Opens Second Dubai Data Centre to Expand Middle East Cloud and AI

The opening marks a concrete step in Alibaba's three-year, 380 billion yuan drive to build AI and cloud capacity.

Overview

  • Alibaba Cloud launched a second Dubai data centre nine years after its first as part of its pledged 380 billion yuan investment program.
  • At GITEX Global, the company announced new regional tie-ups, including Abu Dhabi‑backed digital lender Wio Bank, to accelerate AI deployment using local infrastructure.
  • Eric Wan of Alibaba Cloud highlighted the Middle East’s position to fast‑track AI adoption across public and private sectors.
  • Alibaba Cloud is cutting prices for its Elastic Compute Service by up to 10.2% in select international markets, including Dubai, effective October 30, to spur overseas uptake.
  • Reuters reported, citing sources, that the UAE’s planned AI campus with Nvidia and OpenAI has not been finalised due to U.S. security concerns over advanced semiconductor access.