The United Arab Emirates is taking the lead in artificial intelligence with Stargate UAE, OpenAI’s first international AI infrastructure installation. Stargate UAE was launched as part of the new “OpenAI for Countries” initiative to develop sovereign AI capabilities in coordination with the U.S. government.
This major project relates to a massive 1-gigawatt AI compute cluster in Abu Dhabi, where 200 megawatts will be fully operational by 2026. One of the leading UAE AI firms, G42 will build the facility; OpenAI and Oracle will run it. The project is partnered with some of the world’s leading tech partners including NVIDIA which is supplying its Grace Blackwell GB300 systems; Cisco which is providing zero-trust AI security and SoftBank Group.
Transforming AI Diplomacy and Innovation
Aside from infrastructure, the UAE will be the first country in the world to enable ChatGPT nationwide, giving citizens access to advanced AI tools. The UAE will simultaneously invest in Stargate infrastructure based in the U.S, reinforcing the UAE-U.S. AI Acceleration Partnership which is an integral part of their $1 trillion economic relationship.
The Stargate initiative fits within the wider UAE vision for AI: it appointed a Minister of AI in 2017, launched the world’s first AI University (MBZUAI) in 2020 and launched the Falcon LLM in 2023.
The significant partnerships formed both with the UAE and the US, demonstrating each country’s intent to be partners in these advanced technologies including Cleveland Clinic and robotic surgeries, Nvidia and the Earth-2 Climate Lab and Microsoft’s Responsible AI Foundation bring their AI development forward, across all sectors of the UAE economy. From semiconductors to space, smart governance to green data centers, this nation is not just ushering in the future of AI, it is leading it.
