A Saudi Arabian data center operator is racing to export high-performance compute capacity from its NEOM facility to international clients.

Nanda previously served as chief financial officer and chief investment officer at ACWA POWER, a power plant developer also backed by Abunayyan. During his tenure, he played a key role in raising billions of dollars in debt to finance projects globally, an experience he intends to leverage for DataVolt’s expansion. Founded in 2023, Riyadh-based DataVolt was established by Vision Invest, a vehicle created by two prominent Saudi families: Abunayyan Holding and Al Muhaiadib Group.

The company has committed to completely excluding Chinese firms from its supply chain. “My infrastructure will not use Chinese components, Chinese supply chain, and Chinese technology,” Nanda said.

Despite stringent U.S. export controls on advanced American-made semiconductors, DataVolt does not expect delays in securing the chips required for its data centers. “We do not anticipate any challenges getting the chips we need,” Nanda said. This confidence follows a strategic cooperation agreement on artificial intelligence signed between the Saudi and U.S. governments last year. While the specifics of the deal and any allocated chip quotas remain undisclosed, Nanda declined to elaborate on its terms.

Nanda also dismissed concerns of a bubble in AI infrastructure investments, which encompass the data centers and chips central to DataVolt’s operations. He argued that any potential bubble would instead reside in the valuations of startups developing new applications. “What I can say with confidence is the world is out of compute capacity for the next 10 years, and the kind of shortage that exists in compute has the ability to slow down the economy,” he said.