DataVolt is poised to invest $5 billion to develop a new 1.5 GW net zero AI campus at NEOM’s Oxagon, with the first phase expected to go live by 2028. 

NEOM is the planned city that is currently under construction in Saudi Arabia, which promises a range of amenities from a floating industrial complex to hotspots for tourism. The plan is for the whole city to be powered by renewable energy sources, although developing a brand-new state-of-the-art city in the middle of the desert comes at a cost – with its estimated cost reaching $1.5 trillion. 

While the city has been criticised for being too ambitious, and has been marred by reports of poor treatment for migrant workers, the plans will see a range of districts, with the most famous being aptly named ‘The Line’. Other regions include the tourism hubs of Trojena and Sindalah, as well as the Oxagon region – which is where DataVolt is set to invest in an AI hub – and is the previously mentioned ‘floating industrial complex’. 

What is DataVolt planning to build in NEOM? 

DataVolt has leased a plot of land in the Oxagon region where it will host a 1.5 GW AI-ready data centre campus that it says will be entirely powered by renewable energy. Its commitment to spend $5 billion on this project alone is bold, especially considering it committed $5 billion just last year to build and operate 300 MW worth of data centres in Saudi Arabia by 2030. 

Interestingly, this new project may not have any new money behind it over what was announced last year – because rather conveniently the initial capacity of the NEOM data centre is expected to be 300 MW. The ultimate goal is to grow that capacity in the coming years to 1.5 GW, but that will likely come long after that 2030 deadline. 

Of course, that would mean spending the whole of its committed $5 billion budget in one area, but as NEOM is the prized project of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, it’s unsurprising to see DataVolt focus its investment there. 

The company has also argued that NEOM’s planned deployment of renewable energy capacity makes it an attractive investment opportunity, especially for a net zero AI campus that claims that it will be powered ‘entirely by renewables’ – which includes ‘green hydrogen’. Additionally, the Oxagon is expected to be connected to sub-sea cables supplying high-speed fibre connectivity. 

Just because it’s committing the big bucks towards NEOM doesn’t mean that the company isn’t also exploring other options, however. In fact, the Saudi-based firm has also stated that it will spend a further $660 million towards the construction of a 55,000 square meter data centre in the country’s capital of Riyadh. 

Rajit Nanda, CEO of DataVolt, commented, “This agreement with NEOM and Oxagon underscores our unwavering commitment to support the Kingdom’s vision of becoming a regional digital and AI hub. The Kingdom’s strategic location, coupled with its abundant green energy resources, aligns perfectly with DataVolt’s mission in providing state-of-the-art sustainable data centres. This project marks a significant milestone in advancing the Kingdom’s leadership as a digital powerhouse in the region.”

Vishal Wanchoo, CEO of Oxagon, added, “The Kingdom is at the forefront of the global energy transition. At Oxagon, we are accelerating a renewable energy industrial ecosystem that is set to power businesses with green energy and technology solutions. The agreement with DataVolt highlights the potential impact of the sustainable infrastructure Oxagon offers its tenants and sets the foundations for the first green-AI workload to come on-stream in KSA along with the necessary computing power for regional and global impact.”