President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that Dubai-based DAMAC Group plans to invest $20 billion to build data centers across the United States. Emirati billionaire Hussain Sajwani, founder and chairman of the Dubai-based real estate group, said that the company may increase this investment further depending on market conditions.
During the announcement, Trump explained that the first phase of DAMAC’s project will take place in Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. “The investment will support massive new data centers across the Midwest, the Sun Belt area, and also to keep America on the cutting edge of technology,” he added.
Trump’s election win attracts major investments
Following his election victory, Trump has focused on increasing investments in domestic industries and proposed higher tariffs on Chinese goods in a bid to curb China’s access to the chips needed for advanced data centers. Last month, Trump and SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son announced the Japanese tech investor would invest $100 billion in the U.S. over the next four years, focusing on AI.
Trump attributed the major investments by DAMAC to his election win. “He [Hussain Sajwani] was very inspired by the election. They wouldn’t do it without that election. I can tell you a lot of people wouldn’t,” he stated.
“We have been waiting for four years to increase our investments in the U.S. to a very large amount of money,” stated Sajwani during the announcement at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida. Hussain Sajwani added the investment would go towards data centers that cater to AI and cloud businesses.
DAMAC expands data center investments
Hussain Sajwani added that DAMAC has expanded its investments in data centers to 10 countries across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. In February, DAMAC’s Edgnex Data Centres partnered with British telecoms operator Vodafone to invest $100 million in a new data center project in Turkiye.
The introduction of OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT in late 2022 kicked off a wave of investment in generative AI technology and the pricey infrastructure required to support it, including power generation and transmission. Demand for data centers also grew during the COVID-19 pandemic as companies increasingly moved their business to the cloud.
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Trump-gulf ties grow
DAMAC owns the Middle East’s only Trump-branded golf course in Dubai, which opened in 2017. The Trump Organization is continuously expanding its GCC footprint, recently launching the highly anticipated $533 million Trump Tower Jeddah in Saudi Arabia which has been in the works with Dar Global for months.
The Trump Organization’s investments in the GCC region extend beyond Saudi Arabia and the Trump Tower Jeddah. In recent years, the company has taken an interest in the region, launching the $500 million Trump International Oman in Aida, Oman.
This year, the organization also unveiled the Trump Signature Villas at Trump International Oman, a ground-breaking project featuring luxury villas within Oman’s elite gated community and premier golf destination.
In addition to projects in Saudi Arabia and Oman, the Trump Organization is establishing the iconic Trump Tower Dubai.
