EQT eyes Gulf SWFs for data center agreements as QIA invests in UK capacity

European private markets firm EQT is in talks with sovereign wealth funds in the UAE and Saudi Arabia to co-invest in AI infrastructure and data centers, its global chair Jean Eric Salata told The National. EdgeConneX — EQT’s 106-facility data center portfolio company — serves as the primary vehicle to expand its AI infrastructure footprint across the Gulf. Salata framed the region’s physical constraints, particularly around chips, energy, and data centers, as a prime opening for long-horizon capital. EQT, which has more than USD 400 bn in AUM, already co-invests with Adia and Mubadala.

Qatari capital, meanwhile, is going the other way. Brookfield Asset Management and the Qatar Investment Authority are jointly investing EUR 2.5 bn (USD 3.4 bn) in a data center project alongside UK power generator Drax Group. The initial phase — targeting up to 100 MW via Drax’s existing grid connection in northern England — could go live by 1Q 2028, while subsequent phases through 2031 will draw power directly from Drax’s 2.6 GW biomass fleet. Drax wants 500 MW between 2028 and 2031, drawing on the site’s 2.6 GW of dispatchable generation and 4 GW of grid access.

Appetite for Gulf AI infrastructure has held through the seven-month war on Iran, during which Iranian retaliatory drone strikes damaged Amazon data centers, as our AI + Innovation desk reported last month. Gulf operators are buying anti-drone defense systems to protect built and pipeline sites against renewed strikes.