Gulf States Advance AI Investments Despite Iranian Drone Strikes on Data Centers

US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff spoke at the Future Investment Initiative summit in Miami in late March 2026.

' Semafor reported these remarks as part of discussions on regional investments. Iranian drones struck Amazon facilities in Bahrain and the UAE on March 1, 2026. Three data centers were affected by the strikes.

There are 233 data centers operating across the Gulf. Gulf states' defence architectures have taken down more than three times the amount of missiles and drones lobbed on Israel since the conflict began.

After Attacks Public Investment Fund (PIF) entered a $10 billion partnership with Google Cloud.

Brookfield Asset Management confirmed its $20 billion AI infrastructure partnership with Qatar Investment Authority one week after the March 1, 2026 attacks. There is a 5 gigawatt Stargate UAE campus project. Major Gulf sovereign wealth funds across Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE collectively manage close to $6 trillion.

Sovereign investors deployed $66 billion into AI and digitalization in the previous year, with Middle East funds leading globally, according to Global SWF.

The UAE government stated there was 'no change' to its investment plans or long-term economic priorities after the March 1, 2026 attacks.

PIF Governor Yasir al-Rumayyan said at the Miami summit: 'We measure our returns not in quarters, but in decades.'

Bill Ford of General Atlantic articulated that a negotiated settlement could produce an integrated Middle East economic zone with the Gulf as the anchor of a stabilized digital economy.

The Future Investment Initiative summit in Miami in late March 2026 featured these statements on long-term strategies.