Magna AI and Emaar Executive Company (EEC) signed a strategic agreement on June 30, 2026, in Riyadh to plan, develop and deliver sovereign AI data centres and AI factories across Saudi Arabia, with potential expansion into wider MENA markets. The deal pairs AI platform expertise with in-Kingdom engineering and construction delivery, creating a direct pipeline of data centre projects for the region's construction sector.
The framework was formalised at the Global AI Show by Dr Moataz BinAli, CEO of Magna AI, and Karthik Ramaswamy, CEO of Emaar Executive Company. Magna AI was established through a partnership between Trend Micro and Wistron Digital Technology Holding Company (WDH) and is backed by NVIDIA.
A build programme tied to national digital strategy
Saudi Arabia's push to advance its digital transformation is making trusted AI infrastructure a priority. Sovereign AI data centres and AI factories let organizations train, fine-tune, deploy and operate advanced AI models while keeping control over data, workloads, governance and compliance. That creates sustained demand for construction firms capable of delivering highly specialised, secure facilities on time and to exacting technical standards.
EEC brings ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certifications and a dedicated in-Kingdom workforce to the partnership. The collaboration covers the full project lifecycle: site identification, feasibility studies, business-case development, systems integration, energy and cooling optimisation, and long-term facility operations aligned with Saudi data-residency and cybersecurity requirements. The scope reflects the growing overlap between large-scale AI infrastructure programmes and specialised construction delivery - a shift that matters for firms working in the AI for Real Estate & Construction space.
Who delivers what
Under the agreement, Magna AI leads AI Factory architecture, platform development, and AI security and governance. EEC delivers the engineering and construction backbone: EPC execution, data centre construction, civil, mechanical, electrical and low-voltage systems integration, on-site project management, facility support, and regulatory coordination. The target client base spans government entities, regulated industries, enterprises, startups and academic institutions.
"Sovereign AI is only as strong as the infrastructure beneath it, and that infrastructure has to be built and operated to the highest engineering standards, in-Kingdom," said Dr BinAli. "Emaar Executive Company brings the proven construction and engineering discipline to turn AI ambition into operational data centres on the ground. Together, we can give Saudi Arabia's government and enterprise organizations AI infrastructure they own, control and can scale with confidence."
Ramaswamy framed the partnership as a convergence of engineering discipline and AI capability. "Building national-scale AI infrastructure calls for engineering discipline, local capability and trusted delivery," he said. "By combining our EPC systems-integration strengths with Magna's AI Factory expertise, we are positioned to build and operate the data center infrastructure that underpins the Kingdom's AI agenda, to the standards national and enterprise institutions require."
Why this matters for Real Estate & Construction professionals
Sovereign AI infrastructure is not a software-only play. It demands physical assets - purpose-built facilities with specialised power, cooling, security and connectivity requirements - and that means multi-year construction and engineering contracts. For EPC firms, MEP contractors, project managers and real estate developers, data centre build-outs represent a growing segment with higher technical barriers to entry and stronger margins than conventional commercial construction. This agreement signals that Saudi Arabia intends to keep that work in-Kingdom, with local workforce and certified local partners, rather than importing turnkey facilities from abroad. Firms that develop data centre construction credentials now stand to capture repeat business as AI infrastructure scales across government and regulated industry clients.
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