Microsoft announced at the first Abu Dhabi Global AI Summit on the 3rd that it will invest US$15.2 billion in the United Arab Emirates over the next four years and supply the most advanced NVIDIA GPUs. The Middle East plays an important role in the...
Microsoft announced at the first Abu Dhabi Global AI Summit on the 3rd that it will invest US$15.2 billion in the United Arab Emirates over the next four years and supply the most advanced NVIDIA GPUs.
The Middle East plays an important role in the global AI competition, and this transaction allows Microsoft to expand its presence in the Middle East. In May this year, US President Donald Trump reached an agreement with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan to build an AI data center park in Abu Dhabi. This plan has been delayed due to U.S. export control policies, which restrict NVIDIA GPUs required for AI systems from being sold freely.
Microsoft is the first company to obtain an export license from the U.S. Department of Commerce to export NVIDIA GPUs to the United Arab Emirates since the Trump administration took office this year. The license was approved in September. This positions the UAE as a testing ground for U.S. export control diplomacy while positioning it as a hub for U.S. efforts to promote AI influence. Critics believe that this move may allow China to obtain AI chips through its alliances, thereby affecting the United States' export restriction policy towards China.
Microsoft stated in a statement that it has done a lot of work to meet the strict security and national security conditions required for export licenses. In the past, it has provided computing power equivalent to 21,500 NVIDIA A100 GPUs in UAE. This license allows Microsoft to export an additional 60,400 A100 GPU products, including the more advanced GB300 GPU.
Microsoft further stated that these AI chips are used to provide UAE with the use of OpenAI, Anthropic and Microsoft's own models.
The US$15.2 billion investment includes the funds Microsoft has already invested in the UAE starting from 2023 as part of the UAE’s new AI plan. Microsoft has invested just over $7.3 billion in UAE between 2023 and the end of 2025, including a $1.5 billion equity investment in sovereign AI company G42 and more than $4.6 billion in data center construction.
Microsoft has committed to investing an additional US$7.9 billion in UAE from the beginning of 2026 to the end of 2029, including US$5.5 billion for planned AI and cloud infrastructure expansion. Microsoft hinted that it will disclose more details this week.
Microsoft’s investment in the United Arab Emirates is not limited to building an AI data center, but also to combine the huge AI infrastructure with in-depth investment in local talent, training and governance. Microsoft has committed to training 1 million people by 2027 and using Abu Dhabi as a regional hub for AI research and model development.
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