ABU DHABI: Microsoft plans to increase its total investment in the United Arab Emirates to $15 billion by the end of 2029 and has received approval from the Trump administration to export Nvidia chips for use in its data centers in the country, a senior executive told Reuters on Monday.
The UAE has been investing heavily to establish itself as a global artificial intelligence hub, leveraging its close ties with Washington to secure access to advanced U.S. technologies, including some of the world’s most powerful AI chips.
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith said that the majority of the investment will go toward expanding AI data centers across the UAE. “From our perspective, this investment is essential to meet the growing demand for AI,” Smith said during an interview at the ADIPEC energy conference in Abu Dhabi.
Microsoft had earlier invested $1.5 billion to acquire a minority stake in Abu Dhabi-based AI company G42, securing a board seat currently held by Smith. G42’s prior connections to China have drawn scrutiny in Washington over potential access to advanced semiconductors. However, Smith noted that G42 has made significant progress in aligning with U.S. legal and regulatory standards.
He said G42 may eventually gain direct access to advanced U.S. chips. In a separate blog post, Smith revealed that licenses approved last year by the Biden administration allowed Microsoft to acquire the equivalent of 21,500 Nvidia A100 GPUs for use in the UAE, including A100, H100, and H200 models.
Following updated technology safeguards, the White House approved additional exports equivalent to 60,400 A100 GPUs, involving Nvidia’s newer GB300 models.
However, some U.S. lawmakers have raised concerns about the growing technological partnership between the UAE and China. Representative John Moolenaar, Chair of the U.S. House Select Committee on China, said that while deeper collaboration with the UAE is welcome, it must come with assurances that the country aligns firmly with the United States.
Smith said the newly approved chips are expected to be delivered within a few months and will be deployed in Microsoft’s UAE data centers.
By the end of 2024, Microsoft will have invested about $7.3 billion in the UAE, with another $7.9 billion planned through 2029 to support further expansion of AI and cloud infrastructure. None of the announced $15.2 billion investment will go toward Stargate UAE, a major data center hub in Abu Dhabi unveiled during President Donald Trump’s Gulf visit in May.
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