Saudi Aramco to build Zoom’s first global data center in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Aramco will be partnering with Zoom Global to build its first global data center in Saudi Arabia as part of the Kingdom’s efforts to support the digital transformation ecosystem, the oil company announced on Monday.

Aramco’s new strategic partnership with Zoom is set to explore the joint development of innovative technology solutions for the energy sector and contribute to the digital transformation of various market sectors, such as energy, industry, education, and healthcare, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

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“Our establishment of a diversified network of partners has helped us maintain a track record of reliability, and our new strategic partnership with Zoom is expected to further enable innovative solutions focusing on the digital transformation ecosystem,” Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser said.

The announcement came at the second edition of LEAP, a major international technology conference held annually in the Kingdom, according to SPA.

At LEAP, Aramco also announced that it would be allocating additional funds to Wa’ed Ventures – increasing the size of its Kingdom-focused venture capital arm from $200 million to $500 million.

The extra funding aims to help the company to deliver an accelerated investment performance both regionally and globally, SPA reported.

Wa’ed Ventures aims to localize global frontier technologies to advance the Kingdom’s innovation ecosystem, expand investments in mid and growth-stage startups, and fund underserved domains such as environmental, social and governance, the metaverse and quantum computing.

“With an expanded fund size, Wa’ed Ventures aims to facilitate the cross-pollination of innovation between the global and local markets,” Nasser said at the conference.

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