Alibaba Cloud Opens Second Dubai Data Center to Boost AI Growth

Alibaba Cloud has launched its second data center in Dubai, marking a major step in its regional expansion and reinforcing its growing investment in global cloud and AI infrastructure. The announcement was made during GITEX Global 2025, the region’s flagship technology event, and reflects Alibaba Cloud’s deepening commitment to support digital transformation across the Middle East.

The new facility builds on Alibaba Cloud’s first data center in Dubai, established in 2016, and comes as part of the company’s RMB 380 billion (US$ 53 billion) investment plan over the next three years to strengthen its AI and cloud computing capabilities worldwide. The new data center will play a critical role in meeting the surging demand for cloud-native and AI-powered services from enterprises, startups, and public sector organizations in the region.

According to the company, the second Dubai facility will enhance the scalability, resilience, and performance of Alibaba Cloud’s infrastructure, providing customers with improved cloud availability, reduced latency, and advanced disaster recovery capabilities. Its expanded product portfolio includes elastic computing, big data analytics, AI services, storage, database, and networking solutions, allowing businesses to accelerate their digital transformation while maintaining security and compliance with local data regulations.

The move also underscores Dubai’s strategic importance as a regional digital hub connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa. With the Middle East witnessing rapid cloud adoption across sectors such as finance, logistics, retail, and government, Alibaba Cloud aims to position itself as a key enabler for organizations looking to deploy scalable AI models, automate workflows, and modernize their IT infrastructure.

“The Middle East’s advantageous position in fast-tracking AI adoption and its collaborative ecosystem are crucial enablers for private and public sector companies to thrive,” said Eric Wan, Vice President of Alibaba Cloud International and General Manager for the Middle East, Turkey, and Central Asia. “Launching a new data center in Dubai, along with announcing innovative partnerships at GITEX Global 2025, are important milestones in our ongoing expansion. We look forward to enabling more local and global businesses to succeed with our robust infrastructure and advanced AI solutions in the region.”

Collaboration with City University of Hong Kong

The company also announced a major educational collaboration with City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) to promote AI innovation, cloud technology advancement, and digital skills development. The two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on October 8 to jointly establish the CityUHK x Alibaba Cloud AI Digital Learning Lab, a new initiative focused on integrating generative AI research with academic training.

Through this partnership, Alibaba Cloud will leverage its Alibaba Cloud Academy platform to co-develop curricula and provide industry-aligned educational content, ensuring that students gain hands-on experience with real-world AI applications. The collaboration will also include internship opportunities, cross-regional exchanges, and AI competitions designed to expose students to enterprise-level technology environments and global best practices.

CityUHK and Alibaba Cloud said the initiative will cultivate digital talent with a global outlook, bridging the gap between academia and industry while accelerating research in generative AI and cloud computing. The program is part of Alibaba Cloud’s broader effort to nurture technology ecosystems and workforce capabilities in key innovation hubs around the world.

The launch of the new data center and the education-focused MoU reflect Alibaba Cloud’s dual strategy of infrastructure expansion and ecosystem development. As the company scales its footprint across EMEA and Asia-Pacific, it continues to compete with hyperscale rivals such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud by leveraging its integrated AI and cloud services portfolio.

With its second Dubai data center now operational, Alibaba Cloud strengthens its position as a key infrastructure provider for the region’s fast-growing AI economy.