The first phase of the largest data centre complex in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will come online in 2026 it has been confirmed.
A group of companies known as the ‘Global Tech Alliance’ has announced “their partnership to build Stargate UAE. Stargate UAE is a next-generation AI infrastructure cluster that will run in the newly established 5-gigawatt UAE–U.S. AI Campus in Abu Dhabi.”
The “Stargate UAE” project is part of a deal brokered last week by US President Donald Trump during his visit to the region. It comes despite previous US restrictions on sending advanced technology to the UAE because of its close ties to China.
AI chip rules
Earlier this week the UAE and the United States had reached a preliminary deal that could allow the UAE to import 500,000 advanced Nvidia AI chips per year starting in 2025.
It was reported that 20 percent of the chips, or about 100,000 per year would go to UAE AI firm G42, with the rest going to US companies such as Microsoft and Oracle.
The Trump administration recently rescinded a major trade barrier to the sale of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips, known as the “AI Diffusion Rule”, that was introduced in the closing days of the Biden administration.
Under that Biden rule, announced in January, the UAE would have had access to only one-third or one-quarter of the computing power that is being offered in the deal that is now being negotiated.
Along with large deals with Saudi Arabia to buy AI chips from Nvidia and AMD, the deals currently on the table could turn the Middle East into a major provider of AI data centres after the US and China.
Many in Washington are opposing the relaxation of controls on AI chips, however, saying it could lead to Chinese companies either gaining physical access to advanced AI accelerators or accessing AI computing power via cloud services.
Stargate UAE
According to the Global Tech Alliance, the Stargate UAE, a 1-gigawatt compute cluster, will be built by G42 and operated by OpenAI and Oracle.
The collaboration will also include Cisco, offering its zero-trust security and AI-ready connectivity, and SoftBank Group, as well as Nvidia which will supply the latest Nvidia Grace Blackwell GB300 systems.
The first 200-megawatt AI cluster is expected to go live in 2026.
Spanning 10 square miles, the full UAE–US AI infrastructure campus is the largest such deployment outside of the United States.
It will provide 5 gigawatts of AI data centre capacity and regional compute resources.
The facility will be powered by nuclear, solar, and natural gas to minimize carbon emissions.
Stargate Project
“The launch of Stargate UAE is a significant step in the UAE–US AI partnership. As a founding partner, we’re proud to work alongside institutions that share our belief in responsible innovation and meaningful global progress,” said Peng Xiao, Group CEO of G42.
“By establishing the world’s first Stargate outside of the US in the UAE, we’re transforming a bold vision into reality,” added OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. “This is the first major milestone in our OpenAI for Countries initiative – our effort to work with allies and partners to build AI infrastructure around the world.”
“AI is the most transformative force of our time,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia. “With Stargate UAE, we are building the AI infrastructure to power the country’s bold vision – to empower its people, grow its economy, and shape its future.”
Reuters noted that 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.
The Stargate Project was announced in January 2025, as a joint venture that will drive $500 billion AI infrastructure in the United States.
Its initial equity funders are OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and an Emirati sovereign wealth fund called MGX.
As stated, the Stargate Project intends to invest $500 billion over the next four years building new AI infrastructure for OpenAI in the United States.
Now it has its first overseas facility.