FILE PHOTO: The first phase of a massive new AI data center in the UAE will come online in 2026, likely with 100,000 Nvidia chips.
| Photo Credit: THB

The first phase of a massive new artificial data center in the United Arab Emirates will come online in 2026, likely with 100,000 Nvidia chips.

The “Stargate UAE” project is part of a deal brokered last week by U.S. President Donald Trump to build the world’s largest set of AI data centers outside the United States, despite previous U.S. restrictions on sending advanced technology to the UAE because of its close ties to China.

The 10-square-mile (26-sq-km) site in Abu Dhabi will eventually host 5 gigawatts worth of data centers.

The first phase of that project will be the 1-gigawatt Stargate UAE project, built by state-backed UAE firm G42 in partnership with U.S. firms OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia and Cisco Systems, as well as Japan’s SoftBank Group.

The companies on Thursday said that the Stargate UAE project will use Nvidia’s Grace Blackwell GB300 systems, currently the most advanced AI server that Nvidia offers.

The first 200 megawatts of capacity will go live in 2026, the companies said. The group did not give a number of servers, but analyst firm TrendForce estimates that GB300 servers with 72 chips each consume about 140-kilowatts of power, which equates to about 1,400 servers or 100,000 Nvidia chips.

This first-in-the-world platform will enable every UAE government agency and commercial institution to connect their data to the world’s most advanced AI models,” Larry Ellison, Oracle’s chief technology officer and chairman, said in a statement.

The Trump administration earlier this month rescinded a rule put in place by President Joe Biden that would have restricted the flow of AI chips to countries such as the UAE.

The U.S. Commerce Department, which oversees export controls, has not said what will replace the rule but said last week that it will convene a working group between the U.S. and UAE to ensure that the project meets “robust U.S. security standards and other efforts to responsibly deploy AI infrastructure, both in the UAE and globally.”