DAMAC Targets 10GW Data Centre Pipeline by End of 2027, Up From About 6GW

Sajwani gave the target at the Bloomberg Invest Dubai 2026 conference on November 12, according to Middle East AI News, which drew on the Emirates News Agency and the company. He also said about $9 billion of the group's $20 billion US data centre investment programme has already been spent.

The new goal means adding about 4GW of planned capacity in roughly 13 months, expanding the pipeline by about two-thirds just as construction gets more expensive. Sajwani said data centre development costs have risen about 30% and could climb a further 20% to 30%, with the US and Europe among the most expensive markets. He said the bigger problem is supply-chain disruption and delays in equipment deliveries. Land, power and delivery schedules for equipment will decide how quickly the new capacity is built.

The pipeline is held by DAMAC Digital, the group's data centre arm, formerly known as Edgnex. It has sites in 14 countries and concentrates on large facilities starting at around 100MW, mostly using liquid cooling for AI chips and other high-density computing. Sajwani said liquid cooling can also make water use more efficient.

Of the current 6GW, about 1GW is in the US, 2.5GW in Europe and 2.5GW in Asia. Expansion markets include Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Finland, Spain, Greece, Italy, Türkiye and the US. DAMAC is in serious talks over a large site in Australia and is also looking at the UK. The group plans more land purchases outside the US over the next 12 to 18 months.

The 6GW mark was itself recent. In June, DAMAC Digital said it had built a landbank of 6,000MW of planned IT capacity across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

The US commitment goes back to January 2025, when Sajwani appeared with Donald Trump, then president-elect, to announce a $20 billion investment by Edgnex. That plan targeted 2GW over four years. Its first 500MW phase was spread across Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. DAMAC said at the time it would fund the build-out with its own equity, bank debt and possibly third-party capital, and that the sum could double if demand held. The company now says US work will continue as suitable land and power become available.

Sajwani said he expects the US to remain the largest data centre market, although limits on power, land and the environment could push investment abroad. He said he wanted practical answers to concerns about energy and water rather than restrictions on development. He called AI a long-term transformation but expects valuations to go through corrections in the coming years, adding that their timing and size are hard to predict.

Alongside building infrastructure, the group invests in AI developers. Its portfolio includes Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI, Databricks, ByteDance, Together AI and Reflection AI, as well as stakes in about 100 US funds. Sajwani has said the Anthropic stake, bought less than two years ago, has produced gains comparable to about three decades of his earlier business. Anthropic is preparing for a Nasdaq listing.