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Qareeb Partners With Pantheon For GCC Bitcoin Mining Expansion
The edge data center provider has teamed with the Bitcoin mining leader in a bid to expand regional mining facilities and strengthen digital infrastructure.
The Middle East’s first edge data center provider, Qareeb, has joined forces with Pantheon, a global leader in Bitcoin mining services, to expand mining operations across the GCC. The two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), laying the groundwork for a strategic collaboration that will also strengthen the region’s digital infrastructure.
Under the agreement, Qareeb will take the lead in securing prime locations for Pantheon’s Bitcoin mining facilities, strategically placing them near Qareeb’s existing and upcoming data center sites. Beyond site acquisition, Qareeb will also handle the construction and operational setup of the facilities, ensuring they are fully equipped and supported with engineering, security, and facility management services.
Annemarie van Zadelhoff, Chief Strategy Officer at Qareeb, highlighted the significance of this partnership: “Partnering with Pantheon represents a significant opportunity for Qareeb. By leveraging our expertise in turnkey project management, site acquisition, permitting, and operations, we are proud to ensure Pantheon’s facilities are fully fitted, operational, and supported by our 24/7 regional team. This partnership reflects our shared commitment to building a future-ready digital infrastructure and setting new standards for innovation and resilience in the region”.
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Nick van Houtrijve, COO and Founder of Pantheon, emphasized the strategic nature of this expansion: “Pantheon’s expansion into the GCC is a strategic milestone as we continue to set new benchmarks for operational efficiency and performance. This partnership with Qareeb enables us to establish robust infrastructure in one of the fastest-growing Bitcoin mining markets globally”.
Finally, Jim Niemeijer, Head of Business Development at Pantheon, added: “With Qareeb’s unparalleled regional expertise and our capabilities, we are confident in delivering value to our investors and clients. Together, we’re creating a blueprint for the future of digital finance”.
The Qareeb and Pantheon collaboration marks a significant step in advancing Bitcoin mining capabilities in the Middle East, and will certainly help GCC countries to position themselves as global Bitcoin and crypto mining hubs.
News
Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict
Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.
Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.
“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.
The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.
The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.
Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.
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The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.
So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.
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