Nvidia has signed a deal with Qatari telco Ooredoo Group to deploy its artificial intelligence (AI) technology in data centers across the Middle East.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ooredoo’s data center clients in Qatar, Algeria, Tunisia, Oman, Kuwait, and the Maldives will have direct access to Nvidia AI processors.

Neither the financial terms of the deal nor the technology that Nvidia will provide to the telco has been disclosed. According to a report from Reuters, Ooredoo said the latter would be determined by availability and customer demand.

In an interview with Reuters, Ooredoo's CEO Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo said: "Our B2B clients, thanks to this agreement, will have access to services that probably their competitors (won't) for another 18 to 24 months.”

He added that the telco is also planning to boost its regional data center capacity through a $1 billion investment, adding 20-25 additional megawatts to the 40MW it currently has, with the hope of almost tripling that capacity by the end of the decade.

Ooredoo Group currently has 26 data centers in operation across Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, and Tunisia. According to the company’s website, it has generated revenues of QAR 23 billion ($6.3bn) since December 2022.

In August 2023, the Biden Administration banned exports of Nvidia and AMD's latest GPUs to some countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and the United Arab Emirates. At the time, it was believed the restrictions were brought about by China's deepening ties to some Middle Eastern nations.