Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced on Monday that it plans to launch an AWS infrastructure region in Saudi Arabia in 2026, and pledged to invest more than US$5.3 billion in the country.
The new AWS region will consist of three Availability Zones at launch, which AWS says will give developers, startups, entrepreneurs, enterprises, healthcare, education, gaming, and nonprofit organizations greater choice for running their applications and serving end users from data centres located in Saudi Arabia, ensuring that customers who want to keep their content in-country can do so.
“The new AWS Region will enable organizations to unlock the full potential of the cloud and build with AWS technologies like compute, storage, databases, analytics, and artificial intelligence, transforming the way businesses and institutions serve their customers,” said Prasad Kalyanaraman, vice president of Infrastructure Services at AWS.
Part of that US$5.3 billion investment will include upskilling initiatives – particularly for women – to spur growth in cloud adoption in Saudi Arabia.
For example, AWS said it is launching “AWS Saudi Arabia Women’s Skills Initiative,” in partnership with Skillsoft Global Knowledge, to train up to 4,000 women on AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials, free of charge, through classroom trainings with AWS-certified professionals.
AWS will also continue to invest in upskilling students, local developers and technical professionals, nontechnical professionals, and the next generation of IT leaders in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through offerings such as AWS Academy, AWS Educate, AWS re/Start, and AWS Skill Builder.
The company also plans to establish two new innovation centres and provide startups in the Middle East and North Africa with technical mentorship and trainings on AWS technologies such as AI and ML. AWS will also make grants available to fund graduate student research and provide free AWS Skill Builder subscriptions for up to 4,000 individuals working for small and medium enterprises established in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) will collaborate with Amazon through MCIT’s Future Skills initiative to encourage Saudi talent to sign up for the skills development academy, which is operated by Saudi Digital Academy (SDA) and TUWAIQ Academy.
AWS currently has 105 Availability Zones across 33 geographic regions globally. AWS said it also has plans to launch 18 more Availability Zones and six more AWS Regions in Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and the AWS European Sovereign Cloud.