As the joint US-Israel military operations escalate, the Middle East has become a high-risk battleground for global tech giants. An Amazon data center was directly hit by a drone, NVIDIA closed its Dubai office, Google employees were stranded locally, casting a shadow over regional AI investment plans worth tens of billions of dollars.
According to reports, two Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers in the UAE were directly attacked by drones, and a facility in Bahrain was also damaged by a nearby explosion. This is reportedly the first known instance of a major US tech company's data center being disrupted due to military action.
This situation impacts the tech companies' Middle East strategies: Microsoft planned to invest $15.2 billion in the UAE between 2023 and 2029. Google Cloud and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund announced a joint $10 billion investment to build a global AI hub in Saudi Arabia. Oracle also plans to invest $1.5 billion to expand its cloud infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.
The data center attacks have introduced greater uncertainty regarding the implementation of these investment commitments.
Data centers suffered their first military strikes, leading to operational disruptions. Reports indicate that Amazon operates warehouse facilities and data centers in both the UAE and Bahrain, which were directly impacted. It was specifically noted that the attack on Amazon's data center marks the first known operational disruption of a major US tech company's data center due to military action, making it a significant event.
Amazon currently has corporate offices across the Middle East, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Turkey, and Israel, and has been consistently expanding its regional operations in recent years. Following the escalation of conflict, the company has shifted entirely to remote work and instructed employees to follow local government safety guidelines.
NVIDIA has temporarily closed its Dubai office, with relevant employees switching to remote work. Notably, NVIDIA has approximately 6,000 employees in Israel, which is its largest research and development base outside the United States. This operational footprint exposes the company to heightened geopolitical risk during this round of conflict.
Google has also been affected. Reports state that dozens of Google employees were stranded in Dubai after attending a sales conference, with the affected personnel primarily being regional staff rather than US-based employees.
Dubai serves as a core hub for Google's cloud and sales businesses serving the Middle East and North Africa region, and Tel Aviv is also an important regional operations center for Google. The company had previously announced the expansion of its new headquarters in the ToHa2 tower in Tel Aviv, Israel, a project expected to become one of Google's largest office locations globally.
The data center attacks have prompted a reassessment of the tech giants' massive investment plans in the Middle East.
Reports indicate that Microsoft is advancing its total $15.2 billion investment in the UAE, spanning from 2023 to 2029, relying on its deepening partnership with sovereign AI company G42.
Google Cloud jointly announced with the Saudi Public Investment Fund a $10 billion investment to build and operate a global AI hub in Saudi Arabia in collaboration with local tech firm Humain.
Oracle plans to invest $1.5 billion to expand its cloud infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, Oracle and NVIDIA announced deepened cooperation by the end of 2025 to jointly advance sovereign AI strategy, including collaboration with the Abu Dhabi government's enablement sector to develop AI-centric government systems.
These investment plans were all finalized before the regional situation sharply deteriorated. With US-Israel military actions continuing, whether the Middle East can evolve into a core node for global AI infrastructure as previously anticipated has now become a key question requiring reassessment by investors.
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