Microsoft is preparing to lift its total investment in the United Arab Emirates to more than $15 billion by the end of 2029 and has secured approval from the Trump administration to export Nvidia chips for data centre use in the country.
The UAE has been accelerating efforts to position itself as a global hub for artificial intelligence, drawing on its ties with Washington to secure access to advanced U.S. technology, including high-end semiconductor hardware.
“The biggest share of (the investment), by far, both looking back and looking forward, is the expansion of AI data centres across the UAE,” Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith said in an interview during the ADIPEC energy conference in Abu Dhabi.
“From our perspective, it’s an investment that is critical to meet the demand here for the use of AI.”
Microsoft invested $1.5 billion last year for a minority stake in Abu Dhabi-based G42, gaining a board seat now occupied by Smith. G42’s earlier links with China prompted scrutiny in Washington due to concerns over Beijing’s potential access to advanced chips. The company has since said it is working with the U.S. and UAE governments to comply with AI standards.
Smith noted G42 had made “enormous progress” in meeting U.S. legal requirements. Asked if the firm would eventually gain direct access to the most cutting-edge U.S. chips, he replied he expected it would be “part of G42’s future.”
Smith said in a blog post that licences granted last year by the Biden administration allowed Microsoft to secure the equivalent of 21,500 Nvidia A100 GPUs in the UAE, comprising A100, H100 and H200 chips. Approval in September enabled export of chips equivalent to a further 60,400 A100 units, including Nvidia’s GB300 GPUs, following updated safeguards.
U.S. Representative John Moolenaar said he had concerns, citing ongoing UAE-China ties: “I welcome the prospect of closer U.S. technology collaboration with the UAE—but it needs to come with the Emiratis verifiably and irreversibly choosing America.”
The newly approved chips will be shipped within months for Microsoft’s UAE data centres. The company will have invested $7.3 billion in the UAE by the end of 2024, with an additional $7.9 billion planned through 2029 for AI and cloud expansion. None of the $15.2 billion announced relates to the Stargate UAE mega-data centre project unveiled during President Donald Trump’s Gulf visit in May.
