Spanish AI and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure provider Submer signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with digital infrastructure company Advanced Communications & Electronics Systems (ACES) this week to accelerate the rollout of high-density, AI-ready data centers across Saudi Arabia.
Under the agreement, Submer and ACES will pursue projects that meet the growing demand for AI and HPC compute. ACES will facilitate local delivery, infrastructure services, and investment, while Submer will contribute engineering and technology across the full project lifecycle.
“The Kingdom’s AI ambitions are moving faster than the infrastructure models supporting them,” said Khalid Aljamed, Submer General Manager for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa. “Rack densities are pushing conventional design to its limits, and customers are too often left coordinating separate parties for engineering, construction, integration and financing. Working with ACES, we can strip out much of that overhead and hand over facilities engineered for dense AI workloads from day one.”
“This agreement brings together exactly what building AI infrastructure here demands,” said Akram Aburas, ACES Group Chief Executive Officer. “Submer offers deep engineering and technology across the project lifecycle; ACES offers proven execution on the ground, market presence and investment strength. Together we can add AI-ready capacity and help Saudi Arabia’s wider digital infrastructure ecosystem keep growing.”
The scope of the agreement covers most, if not all, aspects of an infrastructure buildout, from advisory and consultancy for facility planning to the design and build of sites, as well as the retrofitting of old sites. According to a press release, the agreement also includes the potential to co-invest in Saudi data center capacity.
The Kingdom’s data center market is growing rapidly. According to Mordor Intelligence, the market value is expected to grow from US$ 2.38 billion in 2026 to US$ 4.35 billion by 2031. Long-term commitments from AWS, Microsoft, and Google, as well as the US$ 100 billion PIF-backed sovereign AI initiative HUMAIN, signal there is significant demand for AI and hyperscale capacity.