Why are countries investing in giant data centres?

Why are countries investing in giant data centres?

From Technology Now by Hewlett Packard Enterprise

March 19, 2026 · 20 min · Episode 151

About this episode

This episode explores the investment of countries in giant data centres and their implications on data strategies and sovereignty.

How are data centres tied to countries’ data strategies? This week, Technology Now takes a step back to look at why and how countries are investing in AI projects. We ask how large data centres are funded, built and powered, we explore how technology is procured for these projects, and we examine the impact of these giant structures on data sovereignty. Talal al Kaissi, interim CEO of Core 42, tells us more. This is Technology Now, a weekly show from Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Every week, hosts Michael Bird and Sam Jarrell look at a story that's been making headlines, take a look at the technology behind it, and explain why it matters to organizations. About Talal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/talal-m-al-kaissi-20059a5/?originalSubdomain=ae Sources: https://www.cargoson.com/en/blog/number-of-data-centers-by-country https://regional.chinadaily.com.cn/hohhot/2022-06/08/c_793607.htm https://www.seas.upenn.edu/about/history-heritage/eniac/ https://www.vailwilliams.com/from-first-generation-to-hyperscale-the-whirlwind-evolution-of-data-centres/…

People in this episode

Hosts: Michael Bird, Sam Jarrell

Guest: Talal al Kaissi

Topics covered

  • data centres
  • AI projects
  • data strategies
  • data sovereignty
  • technology procurement

Keywords

  • data centres
  • AI investment
  • data sovereignty
  • technology procurement
  • Core 42

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Core 42, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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