The move comes despite US officials slowing down licences for chip manufacturers like Nvidia and AMD to export large quantities of AI accelerators to the Middle East
Ooredoo Group has announced it is becoming an Nvidia Cloud Partner (NCP) and plans to deploy thousands of Nvidia Tensor Core GPUs in its AI data centres to support the region. The move comes amid heightened geopolitical tensions globally that has seen the US Government has been curbing the export of advanced US chips to stop Chinese firms from using Middle Eastern countries as a back door to access the newest AI technology.
Last month, Bloomberg reported US officials had slowed down the issuance of licences for chip manufacturers like Nvidia to export large quantities of AI accelerators to the Middle East while a national security assessment of AI developments in the region was underway.
There was no further info on what “large-scale” exports looked like and the fact the Qatari operator has announced the Nvidia is happening suggests that nation has passed scrutiny and is poised to push ahead of the UAE and Saudi Arabia which are both looking to import significant quantities of chips for AI data centres.
“Our B2B clients, thanks to this agreement, will have access to services that probably their competitors (won’t) for another 18 to 24 months,” Ooredoo’s CEO Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo (above right) told Reuters in an interview.
In January, the US finalised an agreement with Qatar to extend its military presence at the Al Udeid Air Base, its largest military facility in the Middle East, accommodating more than 10,000 American troops.
Ooredoo wants to use Nvidia’s advanced accelerated computing platform to help enable “the AI revolution” in the region. Through this collaboration, governments, enterprises, and startups in Qatar, Algeria, Tunisia, Oman, Kuwait, and the Maldives will have access to Nvidia’s latest full-stack AI platform.
Capitalising on the significant market demand for accelerated computing and hyperconnectivity across its MENA footprint, Ooredoo is developing an AI-ready platform powered by NVIDIA’s full-stack innovation across systems, software, and services. The agreement with Nvidia was signed during TMForum’s DTW24 in Copenhagen.
“Implementing Nvidia’s full-stack platform for accelerated computing and generative AI, Ooredoo is equipped to be at the forefront of the AI revolution in MENA, driving digitalisation and innovation as the leading digital infrastructure provider in the region,” said Ooredoo’s chief executive Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo. “Working with Nvidia, we aim to meet the significantly growing demand for accelerated computing infrastructure to support advanced AI models.”
Ooredoo plans to offer GPU-as-a-Service, which offers on-demand access to “some of the most advanced AI and machine learning tools available”. The telco will also be able to offer GPU-as-infrastructure, giving its customers the flexibility to integrate accelerated computing with their own cloud solutions or directly host them on premises.
“As a trusted regional telecommunications provider, Ooredoo Group combines deep enterprise and consumer relationships with the ability to invest in and deploy AI infrastructure and services,” said Nvidia SVP of telecom Ronnie Vasishta (above left). “By providing NVIDIA’s full-stack AI computing platform to customers, Ooredoo will help make it easier for their customers to deploy generative AI applications and services.”
Ooredoo Group said its collaboration with Nvidia is part of its larger aim to boost AI infrastructure in the MENA region while enabling enhanced security, optimised performance, and customisation to align with local standards. As a result, the countries where Ooredoo operates can establish local clouds, facilitating the development of local AI ecosystems and applications and reinforcing data security measures.
Data centre push
The operator carved out its data centres into a separate company called Mena Digital Hub and last month appointed ex-Microsoft executive Sunita Bottse to become CEO and manage the firms $1bn investment plans to expand the data centre capacity to more than 120MW. Bottse was previously senior director of data centres site acquisition (EMEA) at Microsoft.
Mena Digital Hub has 26 active data centres across Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq and Tunisia. The operator currently sits at around 40MW. Ooredoo also has plans to carve out its undersea cables and fiber network into a separate entity, according to the Reuters report.