Elon’s “King Kong” Unleashed On The Middle East

Thirty-five years ago,Dell engineers put a giant 25-foot gorilla on their headquarters' roof.

The prank didn't get them fired. It got them promoted.

When Michael Dell shared this story on X earlier this month, Elon (who now posts on X under the handle “Kekius Maximus”) responded with a laughing emoji.

He's laughing all the way to the bank.

That same bold, rule-breaking spirit is now powering Musk's AI revolution – from Memphis to the Middle East, where Dell Technologies (DELL) has been quietly building its empire for over two decades.

Dell Saw It Coming

"Saudi's abundant and inexpensive energy makes it a good hub to host power-intensive AI training data centers," Michael Dell declared last year at Dell Technologies World.

His foresight was remarkable: "Just as artificial intelligence goes where there is data, it will go where there is energy."

That prediction is now reality.

Saudi Arabia currently operates 24 data centers with 123 MW capacity, with another 37 facilities in the pipeline. But that's just the beginning.

Dell has been actively developing Saudi talent for this AI future. "A lot of new skills will be needed to drive AI growth," Dell noted last year, adding that his company is helping build that expertise.

The Saudi-Musk AI Alliance

When Musk joined President Trump in Saudi Arabia last week, he supercharged an already-brewing AI revolution.

The kingdom is building a $40 billion AI-focused fund – potentially the world's largest – with AI projected to contribute $135 billion to Saudi's economy by 2030.

The first major initiative? Humain, a new Saudi AI company building 500 megawatts of AI Factories – Dell's exact terminology for its AI infrastructure solutions.

The initial order: 18,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips, with "several hundred thousand" more coming over five years.

Dell's Home Field Advantage

While competitors scramble to establish Middle Eastern connections, Dell already has boots on the ground.

Their new merge and logistics fulfillment center in Riyadh becomes operational this year. It's handling all product lines and slashing customer lead times.

Partnerships with regional players like AlJammaz Technologies and TeleNoc give Dell an infrastructure network that spans Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Jordan.

This isn't a company trying to break into the Middle East. This is a company that helped build it.

Armed for Desert Deployment

The Saudi desert presents unique challenges for AI infrastructure. Traditional air cooling fails when temperatures regularly exceed 120°F.

Dell's newest weapons were just unveiled at this year’s Dell Technologies World: PowerEdge XE9780L and XE9785L servers with direct-to-chip liquid cooling.

Each rack supports up to 256 NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs – precisely what's needed for the massive AI deployments planned across the region.

Michael Dell understood the energy equation before most: AI data centers require enormous power. Saudi Arabia has that power in abundance, at costs competitors can't match.

The Musk Connection

This regional opportunity builds on Dell's established partnership with Musk's xAI.

In February, Dell secured a $5 billion agreement to supply AI servers with Nvidia's cutting-edge GB200 GPUs to Musk's xAI. 

With Musk's influence now extending into Saudi Arabia's AI ambitions, Dell stands at the perfect intersection:

• Trusted by Musk to build his AI infrastructure
• Deeply established in Saudi Arabia
• Already aligned with Saudi Vision 2030 initiatives

The Bottom Line

The relationship between Musk, Dell, and Saudi Arabia creates a perfect triangle of opportunity:

• Musk provides the AI vision and global influence
• Saudi Arabia provides the capital and energy resources
• Dell provides the infrastructure expertise and regional presence

This alignment of interests positions Dell to capture a significant portion of the region's $22.84 billion AI infrastructure spending by 2030.

From a college dorm startup to building the backbone of global AI, Dell's 25-foot gorilla has evolved into a worldwide technological force.

The company that was bold enough to put a gorilla on a roof is now constructing the infrastructure that will power humanity's AI future across the energy-rich Middle East.

And Musk's laughing emoji might just be the most profitable investment signal of 2025.