The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region stands at the precipice of a digital revolution, one that will be fundamentally reshaped by the convergence of sovereign capital, venture investment, and advancements in regional infrastructure. Phoenix Group, an established player in the IHC portfolio, has taken a significant step forward, announcing a strategic partnership with DC Max to establish a groundbreaking 18MW AI data centre in Lyon, France. This development signals a profound shift in the landscape of digital infrastructure in the MENA region, highlighting the pivotal role it is poised to play in the global AI economy.
The partnership marks the inaugural deployment of the European Data Centre Platform, which has ambitious targets of over 1GW combined AI and High-Performance Computing (HPC) capacity across Europe and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. With Phoenix Group’s base in Abu Dhabi, the move underscores the UAE’s national AI ambitions to bring regional expertise to the forefront of global digital infrastructure. Munaf Ali, co-founder and group CEO of Phoenix Group, emphasizes that this venture represents not only an extension of the UAE’s influence but also a genuine inflection point in the global narrative of AI infrastructure.
The European market, particularly Lyon, offers a unique opportunity for Phoenix to establish a leading presence in the AI data center infrastructure, owing to its strong industrial base, robust electrical infrastructure, and cost-effective land, compared to other European markets. The clearest gap in the market is the rapidly surging demand for AI compute in Europe that is outpacing supply, with enterprises and hyperscalers securing capacity years in advance. Phoenix’s strategic move into Lyon is thus an attempt to address this gap, ensuring that the MENA region becomes a critical player in shaping the global AI economy.
Phoenix Group’s partnership with DC Max is also formulated as a scalable, repeatable development model rather than a singular transaction, with a pipeline of over 1GW of AI data centre opportunities. This approach allows for a future-proof strategy that’s focused on long-term infrastructure development, scaling up the capabilities to meet the increasing demands for AI resources. Such a platform in Europe is complemented by Phoenix’s existing capacity of 550MW across multiple locations, including the UAE, Oman, North America, and Ethiopia, demonstrating its ambition to become a globally recognized digital infrastructure operator.
The collaboration between Phoenix, a regional powerhouse in the MENA region, and DC Max, an expert in French data centre operations, underscores the power of partnering across borders to capitalize on the unmet needs in the global AI data centre infrastructure market. As Phoenix continues to secure significant capabilities and investments in Europe, further projects are anticipated in the coming years, promising a more vibrant and competently equipped digital infrastructure ecosystem in the MENA region.
