OpenAI, UAE to build massive AI center in Abu Dhabi
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OpenAI will partner with United Arab Emirates to build Stargate UAE, a massive new Middle East data center that's part of the company's OpenAI for Countries push, the deal's participants announced Thursday.
Why it matters: The deal is a huge AI bet by the Emirates, which will also secure ChatGPT Plus subscriptions for its entire population, making it the first country to do so.
Driving the news: OpenAI and its partners will build a one gigawatt AI computing cluster in Abu Dhabi, with 200 megawatts of that expected to go live next year.
- This new cluster will be part of the larger 5 gigawatt Abu Dhabi data center that Trump and Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed announced last week.
- Also, for every dollar the UAE invests in Stargate UAE and the broader data center project in Abu Dhabi, UAE will invest an additional dollar in U.S. AI infrastructure as well — including Stargate.
- A source tells Axios' Dan Primack that the new UAE investments, via Emirati-based AI investment vehicle G42, could total $20 billion, with expected outlays in the Gulf and the U.S. at $8 to $10 billion each.
The deal is a partnership with Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco, SoftBank and G42, a Middle East-based AI startup backed by Microsoft and others.
- The U.S. government, which has a say over such deals via its export control authority, also gave its approval to the effort.
The big picture: Trump's trip to the Gulf brought a slew of AI infrastructure announcements intended to forge a new AI alliance between the U.S. and the region's energy-rich powers.
- The Trump administration sees these deals as opportunities to spread U.S. power and counter Chinese influence.
- Critics fear the flow of American chips and know-how into nations like UAE — which has had close ties to China — will make it easier for China to gain access to U.S. technology.
What they're saying: "By establishing the world's first Stargate outside of the U.S. in the UAE, we're transforming a bold vision into reality," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a statement. "It's a step toward ensuring some of this era's most important breakthroughs — safer medicines, personalized learning, and modernized energy — can emerge from more places and benefit the world."
Chris Lehane, OpenAI vice president of global affairs, told Axios that OpenAI hopes the deal will help "lead as many countries as possible onto the U.S. rails, into the U.S. AI system. This is a real moment in time to do that — this is an important first brick in the road. There are two countries in the world that can build this at scale, and the U.S. has a lead."
What's next: OpenAI says it wants the UAE deal to be the first of many such arrangements.
- OpenAI chief strategy officer Jason Kwon will kick off a road show across the Asia Pacific region next week, meeting with governments and potential private-sector partners.
