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PURE DATA CENTRES AND DUNE VAULTS TO DEVELOP MULTIPLE HYPERSCALE DATA CENTRE CAMPUSES IN SAUDI ARABIA
Pure Data Centres ( Pure DC ), a leading global provider of data centre infrastructure , and Dune Vaults , an innovationdriven digital infrastructure platform , have announced a joint venture to develop hyperscale data centres in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia .
The joint venture plans to develop multiple 100 + MW-capacity campuses of best-in-class facilities , making it one of the largest data centre providers in the region , poised to meet growing local and international customer demand .
Saudi Arabia is the fastest-growing data centre market in the Middle East , driven by government digitalisation efforts , a ‘ Cloud First ’ policy and a favourable regulatory environment .
With the growth of mega and giga projects in Saudi Arabia , significantly increased demand for AI technology and cloud services is anticipated .
This demand is further bolstered by an abundance of stable , low-cost and renewable power , land and a government focused on the development of the technology and AI sectors .
The new venture marks a significant milestone for Pure DC ’ s expansion in the region as it seeks to meet the growing demand from its global customer base for secure , low-latency connections to support real-time applications and services , including support for the growing demand for AI technology .
With this strategic expansion , Dune Vaults ’ aims to diversify its portfolio by addressing the surging demand for end-toend wholesale data centre services and develop critical data centre infrastructure in Saudi Arabia to cement the Kingdom ’ s digital leadership in the region .
AI and Generative AI ( GenAI ) are driving rapid increases in electricity consumption , with data centre forecasts over the next two years reaching as high as 160 % growth , according to Gartner . As a result , Gartner predicts 40 % of existing AI data centres will be operationally constrained by power availability by 2027 .
“ The explosive growth of new hyperscale data centres to implement GenAI is creating an insatiable demand for power that will exceed the ability of utility providers to expand their capacity fast enough ,” said Bob Johnson , VP Analyst at Gartner . “ In turn , this threatens to disrupt energy availability and lead to shortages , which will limit the growth of new data centres for GenAI and other uses from 2026 .”
Gartner estimates the power required for data centres to run incremental AI-optimised servers will reach 500TWh per year in 2027 , which is 2.6x the level in 2023 .
“ New larger data centres are being planned to handle the huge amounts of data needed to train and implement the rapidly expanding Large Language Models ( LLMs ) that underpin GenAI applications ,” said Johnson . “ However , short-term power shortages are likely to continue for years as new power transmission , distribution and generation capacity could take years to come online and won ’ t alleviate current problems .”
GARTNER PREDICTS POWER SHORTAGES WILL RESTRICT 40 % OF AI DATA CENTRES BY 2027
In the near future , the number of new data centres and the growth of GenAI will be governed by the availability of power to run them . Gartner recommends organisations determine the risks potential power shortages will have on all products and services .
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