In a bid to bypass global tech supply bottlenecks and tighten data security, United Arab Emirates (UAE) tech enterprise Siada and Innovation City announced July 6 the launch of the country’s first fully operational sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) data center. The facility, located within the Innovation City free zone in Ras Al Khaimah, provides immediate access to high-performance Nvidia B200 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs).

The deployment comes amid a global shortage of AI chips, with waitlists for Nvidia’s advanced hardware currently stretching into 2027. Operating as a subsidiary of parent company IOPn, Siada will own and run the compute infrastructure. Innovation City, a dedicated free zone for tech companies, will serve as the commercial launch partner.

In a media release, the companies stated that the data center represents the first node in a planned network of sovereign AI facilities across the UAE and the broader Gulf region.

“This partnership with Siada proves what makes Innovation City different,” Paul Dawalibi, CEO of Innovation City, said. “We are solving [tech company pain points] head-on with sovereign compute infrastructure that no one else delivers at this scale.”

The launch coincides with stricter regulatory scrutiny across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regarding cross-border data transfers. By routing and processing all information locally, the data center aims to guarantee compliance with emerging domestic data residency laws.

Under the service structure, businesses operating within the free zone can rent computing power hourly, secure long-term capacity, or use managed on-premises environments. The infrastructure targets industries with heavy data regulation or high-performance requirements, including financial technology, gaming, and AI development.

“Sovereignty isn’t just about where data sits—it’s about who gets to decide,” Mojtaba Asadian, CEO of IOPn, said. He noted that the facility aligns with the UAE’s strategic focus on data safeguarding, describing the deployment as a blueprint for how institutions can maintain control over data and digital identity.

Financial terms of the infrastructure build and the specific size of the initial GPU allocation were not disclosed.

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