Brookfield and Qatar Commit Twenty Billion to Build AI Infrastructure

Brookfield Asset Management and Qai, the newly created national AI company backed by the Qatar Investment Authority, on Tuesday announced a $20 billion joint venture to build large scale AI infrastructure in Qatar and in select international markets. Reuters reported the announcement on December 9, 2025, and said the partners will develop an Integrated Compute center and supporting data centre capacity to serve demanding AI workloads.

Brookfield will invest through its Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Fund, which is targeting up to $100 billion of investments globally. The firms described the joint venture as an effort to provide sovereign and regional compute capacity for firms and governments that require secure, proximate high performance computing resources for training and deploying advanced AI models.

The venture arrives as Gulf states intensify investments in cloud, data centre and compute projects to capture a share of a fast expanding market. Qatar is pitching the project as a strategic pillar of its economic diversification plans tied to the Qatar National Vision, with officials saying the program will include skills training and supply chain development to build local capabilities in data centre operations and engineering.

The announcement has multiple implications. Economically, the investment could spur construction, technology services and professional jobs while attracting multinational companies and research institutions that need large scale compute close to customers in the region. Politically, owning significant compute capacity strengthens state leverage in an era when access to powerful AI infrastructure is increasingly treated as a strategic asset.

The initiative also highlights pressing technical and environmental questions. Large scale AI compute requires vast amounts of electricity and cooling, creating challenges for power provision and emissions management. How the joint venture will meet those needs was not detailed in the initial release. Analysts and environmental groups will likely watch whether the project incorporates renewables, waste heat reuse or other measures to limit carbon intensity.

Regulatory and national security concerns are also central. Countries and firms increasingly seek localized compute to manage data sovereignty, export controls and compliance with privacy rules. By offering sovereign compute options, Qatar aims to attract clients that prefer regional control over sensitive workloads, including firms in finance, energy and public sector domains.

The venture comes amid an international scramble for advanced compute, with major cloud and chip companies expanding capacity and governments weighing incentives and rules to keep AI related technologies and talent domestic. Brookfield’s fund, by aiming for a large global target, signals that private capital will play a major role in meeting demand for physical infrastructure behind AI.

Details remain to be finalized, including project phasing, specific international locations and timelines for center construction. For now the $20 billion agreement sets a high bar and underscores how competition for compute is shaping national strategies and investments across the Gulf and beyond.