Hedge fund legend Ray Dalio sees one of the most powerful AI hubs in the world emerging in the Middle East. Tech giants like NVIDIA are already active on site.
• Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio sees a new Silicon Valley for AI emerging in the Middle East
• The UAE and Saudi Arabia launched multi-billion dollar AI initiatives in 2025
• NVIDIA supplies the chips for the Stargate UAE campus in Abu Dhabi
The Middle East as the new Silicon Valley
Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio compared the rise of the Middle East to the development of Silicon Valley in an interview with CNBC on December 8, 2025. The United Arab Emirates and its neighbors have combined enormous capital reserves with an influx of global talent, creating a magnet for investment managers and AI innovators.
Dalio said the region has a similar buzz to San Francisco when it comes to AI and technology. The region is developing into a “Silicon Valley of capitalists”. Dalio, who has been following the UAE for three decades, described the country as a paradise in an otherwise troubled world, citing the stability, visionary leadership and high quality of life that attracts global talent.
NVIDIA and tech giants build Stargate UAE
Dalio’s assessment is supported by concrete large-scale projects. In May 2025, G42, OpenAI, Oracle, NVIDIA, SoftBank and Cisco announced their partnership to build Stargate UAE – a next-generation AI infrastructure cluster in Abu Dhabi. According to a statement from SoftBank dated May 22, 2025, it is a 1 gigawatt computing cluster built by G42 and operated by OpenAI and Oracle.
NVIDIA is supplying the latest Grace Blackwell GB300 systems for the project. Calling AI the most transformative force of our time, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said Stargate UAE will create the infrastructure to realize the country’s vision – empowering its people, developing its economy and shaping its future. The first 200 megawatt cluster is scheduled to go into operation in 2026. The entire UAE-US AI Campus spans 10 square miles and offers 5 gigawatts of capacity – the largest such facility outside the United States.
Saudi Arabia is also investing heavily: the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund signed a $10 billion deal with Google Cloud in 2025 to establish a global AI hub in the country.
Dalio warns of AI bubble despite optimism
Despite his enthusiasm for developments in the Middle East, Dalio also expressed concerns about the global economic situation to CNBC. He sees the AI market in a bubble phase – an assessment that is also shared by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Nevertheless, the Bridgewater founder advised investors not to exit too quickly.
All bubbles occurred during times of major technological change, Dalio said. Investors should not get out just because there is a bubble, but should pay attention to the bubble bursting. The trigger for such a burst typically comes from a shortage of money supply or a forced sale of assets to cover obligations. Dalio drew parallels to the dot-com bubble of 2000, but emphasized that the current situation is not comparable to 1929.
D. Maier / editorial team finanzen.net
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