The Gulf’s AI Boom Has an Undersea Cable Problem

The Gulf’s AI ambitions depend on something surprisingly fragile: a handful of undersea cables running through some of the world’s most volatile waterways.

Countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have spent billions building AI infrastructure, attracting hyperscalers and positioning themselves as future exporters of compute capacity. But as the region shifts from oil wealth to AI-driven economies, the infrastructure carrying that data is increasingly becoming a strategic vulnerability.

Undersea cables have long powered the global internet. Now, they are becoming geopolitical assets.

Following the escalation between the US, Israel, and Iran earlier this year, experts warned that regional conflict could threaten critical cable infrastructure in the Gulf. In May, media reports claimed Iran was considering taking control of all seven undersea cables running through the Strait of Hormuz.

Undersea cables carry an estimated 95 percent of all internationaldata traffic. For the Gulf, the problem is concentration: Much...

Copyright of this story solely belongs to wired.com. To see the full text click HERE