GCC Must Secure Critical AI Chokepoints to Protect Gulf’s $260 Billion Economic Opportunity: Strategy&

The GCC’s rapid rise as a global AI leader has created a new strategic challenge for the region: how to protect access to the technologies, infrastructure and capabilities on which an estimated US$260 billion economic opportunity will depend by 2030.

A new report from Strategy& Middle East, part of the PwC network, outlines that the global AI value chain contains significant chokepoints, from advanced semiconductors and physical infrastructure to cloud platforms, frontier models and specialist talent. Heavy concentration among a relatively small number of global providers means countries that cannot secure continued access could face both economic and strategic risks.

But Strategy& argues the answer is not for GCC countries to attempt to own and operate the entire AI value chain themselves. Excessive localisation can create its own vulnerabilities, as witnessed during the 2026 Middle East conflicts, which saw disrupted cloud infrastructure in the UAE and Bahrain.

Instead, the report calls for