Microsoft will make investments $15.2 billion within the United Arab Emirates over the subsequent 4 years, the corporate introduced Monday on the first annual Abu Dhabi World AI Summit. The funding will embody the first-ever shipments of essentially the most superior Nvidia GPUs to the UAE.
As a part of the deal, the U.S. has granted Microsoft a license to export Nvidia chips to the UAE, a transfer that positions the nation as each a proving floor for U.S. export-control diplomacy and a regional anchor of American AI affect.
The deal permits Microsoft to broaden its foothold into the Center East, a key area within the international struggle for AI dominance. In Could, President Donald Trump struck a cope with UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to construct an AI knowledge heart campus in Abu Dhabi. The challenge was delayed as a consequence of U.S. export controls, which restricted the sale of highly effective Nvidia chips wanted to run superior AI programs.
Microsoft grew to become the primary firm to obtain a license from the U.S. Commerce Division to ship the chips to the UAE in September. The transfer comes as critics say the deal undermines the logic of the U.S.’s export restrictions to China by introducing doable again channels by a Chinese language ally.
In an announcement, Microsoft stated it carried out substantial work to fulfill the sturdy cybersecurity and nationwide safety situations required by the licenses, which has enabled the agency to build up the equal of 21,500 Nvidia A100 GPUs within the UAE, based mostly on a mix of A100, H100, and H200 chips.
Microsoft stated it’s utilizing the chips to offer entry to AI fashions from OpenAI, Anthropic, open supply suppliers, and itself.
The $15.2 billion determine contains cash Microsoft started spending within the UAE beginning in 2023 as a part of a brand new AI initiative within the nation. Between 2023 and the top of 2025, Microsoft could have spent simply over $7.3 billion within the UAE, together with a $1.5 billion fairness funding in G42, the UAE’s sovereign AI firm, and greater than $4.6 billion in capital towards knowledge facilities.
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As a part of the brand new deal, Microsoft pledges to spend $7.9 billion extra within the UAE from the beginning of 2026 to the top of 2029, together with $5.5 billion in capital bills for ongoing and deliberate growth of AI and cloud infrastructure. Microsoft hinted at new steps it’ll share publicly in Abu Dhabi this week.
Microsoft’s work within the UAE goes past constructing knowledge facilities. The corporate says it’s pairing large AI infrastructure with deep funding in native expertise, coaching, and governance. The agency is pledging to coach 1,000,000 residents by 2027 and use Abu Dhabi as a regional hub for AI analysis and mannequin improvement.
The funding comes the identical day that Microsoft signed a $9.7 billion cope with Australia’s IREN for AI cloud capability.
