Microsoft and Abu Dhabi-based AI powerhouse G42 have announced a significant expansion of data centre capacity in the UAE, totaling 200 Megawatts (MW), as part of a colossal plan to invest over US$15 billion in the country’s cloud and Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure. This massive investment, which represents one of the largest foreign technology commitments in the Middle East, is designed to rapidly scale the UAE’s computing power to meet the accelerating demand for large language models (LLMs) and cloud services across the MENA region.
The partnership, established in April 2024, is pivotal to the UAE’s national ambition to become a global AI and cloud-computing hub under the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 and Vision 2031. By attracting investment of this scale from a global titan like Microsoft, the UAE is securing the high-end infrastructure necessary for its own government entities, local startups, and multinational corporations to deploy sophisticated AI applications and services. The capacity is being rolled out across multiple locations, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi.The strategic collaboration is not limited to physical infrastructure; it also focuses on talent development, advanced AI governance, and ethical deployment. The partnership includes a joint commitment to building the talent pool needed to manage this infrastructure and ensuring that AI adoption adheres to ethical guidelines, cementing the UAE’s position at the forefront of the Global South’s digital transformation.
