As the race to build AI infrastructure expands beyond traditional hyperscale markets, Mindstream Energy is assembling an infrastructure model in Jordan that puts power availability at the center of compute deployment. The company says its planned Al-Risha Sovereign AI & Digital Infrastructure Campus will combine energy-backed modular data center capacity with high-capacity connectivity and lifecycle infrastructure services from Orange Jordan and Park Place Technologies.
The location of tomorrow’s AI infrastructure may depend as much on electricity and fiber as it does on GPUs.
That is the premise behind Mindstream Energy’s Al-Risha project in Jordan, where the company is developing an energy-backed digital infrastructure campus designed for sovereign AI, high-performance computing (HPC), advanced compute and other power-intensive workloads.
Mindstream says the campus could ultimately scale toward approximately 400 megawatts (MW) as customer demand develops. Rather than building the entire capacity upfront, its model is modular, allowing compute infrastructure to be deployed in line with customer requirements.
The company summarizes the strategy as “Build compute where the energy exists.”
That approach reflects a growing constraint in the global AI infrastructure market. Training and operating increasingly sophisticated AI models requires large quantities of electricity, while established data center hubs are facing limitations around grid capacity, permitting, land and connection timelines.
For emerging AI markets, the opportunity is therefore not simply to build another data center. It is to create an integrated infrastructure ecosystem that combines power, compute, networking, cooling, maintenance and operational expertise.
Mindstream’s latest collaborations are aimed at filling two pieces of that equation.
The company has signed a Strategic Collaboration Framework Agreement with Park Place Technologies, creating a framework to explore opportunities involving AI infrastructure, HPC, cloud computing, modular data centers, networking, cybersecurity and edge computing.
Park Place Technologies specializes in maintaining and optimizing complex IT and data center infrastructure. Its services include infrastructure maintenance, monitoring, managed services and network optimization.
For an AI campus, those capabilities matter because high-density compute infrastructure introduces operational requirements that extend well beyond initial deployment. GPU clusters, networking equipment, storage and supporting systems need continuous monitoring and maintenance if operators are to maintain availability and control operating costs.
Mindstream Chairman and CEO Mark F. Thimmig described that lifecycle element as an important part of the company’s infrastructure strategy.
The second relationship is with Orange Jordan, which Mindstream has selected as its planned fiber-optic communications provider for Al-Risha.
Connectivity is increasingly becoming a strategic component of AI infrastructure.
Large AI deployments need substantial bandwidth to move data between compute clusters, storage systems and external customers. Enterprises also increasingly expect access to cloud platforms, content networks and regional markets without relying exclusively on international connectivity routes.
Orange Jordan brings domestic telecommunications infrastructure alongside access to Orange’s broader regional and international network.
For Al-Risha, Mindstream says that combination is intended to connect the campus’s energy and compute resources with customers in Jordan, the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and international digital markets.
The two agreements are separate. Park Place Technologies and Orange Jordan are not being described as partners with each other.
Instead, they illustrate a broader infrastructure strategy: assemble specialized providers around a modular compute platform rather than treating the data center as a standalone facility.
That distinction could become increasingly important as AI infrastructure moves into new geographies.
Traditional data center development has often followed concentrations of enterprise demand and network infrastructure. AI is changing that equation because power availability is becoming a first-order consideration.
The largest AI infrastructure projects require enormous amounts of electricity. That has increased attention on markets with available generation capacity, renewable energy resources, land and favorable infrastructure conditions.
Jordan is positioning itself as a potential regional technology hub because of its geographic location and telecommunications connections. Mindstream is attempting to extend that proposition into sovereign and advanced computing infrastructure.
The sovereign AI element is particularly relevant for governments and enterprises that want greater control over where sensitive data is processed and where AI workloads are hosted.
A sovereign AI infrastructure model can support requirements around data residency, regulatory compliance and national control of critical digital capabilities. But sovereignty is not simply a matter of putting servers inside national borders. Customers also need dependable power, resilient networks, security controls, operational expertise and access to the software and hardware ecosystems required to run modern AI workloads.
That makes Mindstream’s ecosystem approach strategically logical, although the project’s ultimate significance will depend on execution.
The company has yet to demonstrate that a campus approaching 400 MW is fully built or operating at that scale. Its stated capacity represents a development target that is expected to expand as customer demand materializes.
There is also a broader competitive question.
Jordan will be competing indirectly with established AI infrastructure markets across the Gulf and wider MENA region, where governments and technology companies are investing heavily in data centers, cloud computing and AI capabilities. Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and NVIDIA are all part of a global ecosystem pushing AI compute closer to enterprise and national markets.
For Mindstream, differentiation will therefore depend on more than available megawatts.
The combination of energy-backed deployment, modular capacity, connectivity and third-party infrastructure support could offer an alternative model for organizations seeking regional AI capacity. The proposition becomes stronger if the campus can provide reliable power, predictable deployment schedules, strong network connectivity and access to the broader AI technology ecosystem.
The project also reflects a larger shift in how AI infrastructure is being planned.
The first phase of the AI boom was dominated by demand for GPUs and cloud capacity. The next phase is increasingly about where that compute can physically operate.
Energy, grid access, cooling, fiber and regional data sovereignty are becoming strategic constraints. That makes infrastructure partnerships potentially as important as the compute hardware itself.
Al-Risha is Mindstream’s attempt to combine those elements into a single platform for Jordan and the wider MENA market.
If the company can translate its planned 400-MW ambition into operational capacity and secure sustained demand from AI and HPC customers, the project could become part of a broader regional effort to diversify where the world’s AI workloads are processed.
Market Landscape
The AI infrastructure market is increasingly shifting from a GPU availability problem to an infrastructure availability problem.
Three trends are particularly relevant:
- Power: AI data centers require substantially more electricity than conventional enterprise facilities, making energy availability a major site-selection factor.
- Sovereignty: Governments and regulated industries increasingly want AI workloads processed within jurisdictions they can control.
- Connectivity: AI clusters require resilient, high-capacity networks connecting compute resources with customers, cloud services and global data markets.
The emerging MENA market is particularly competitive. Countries across the region are investing in cloud, data center and AI infrastructure as part of broader digital-economy strategies.
For enterprise customers, the key evaluation criteria will extend beyond raw compute capacity. They will include power reliability, network latency, data residency, cybersecurity, cooling, disaster recovery, GPU availability, service-level agreements and the ability to scale capacity without lengthy infrastructure delays.
Mindstream’s modular approach attempts to address that last requirement by aligning infrastructure deployment with customer demand.
Top Insights
- Mindstream is developing Al-Risha as an energy-backed AI campus in Jordan, targeting up to 400 MW for sovereign AI, HPC and advanced compute workloads.
- Orange Jordan is planned as the campus’s fiber provider, connecting regional compute capacity with customers, cloud services and international digital markets.
- Park Place Technologies adds data center maintenance, monitoring and infrastructure optimization capabilities aimed at supporting AI environments throughout their operational lifecycle.
- The project highlights how electricity, connectivity and data sovereignty are becoming strategic constraints as enterprises deploy increasingly power-intensive AI infrastructure.
- Al-Risha will face growing competition across MENA, making reliable power, deployment speed, connectivity and enterprise-grade operations critical to customer adoption.
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