UAE, US Presidents attend unveiling of phase 1 of new 5GW AI Campus in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: A new 5GW UAE-US AI Campus in Abu Dhabi was unveiled on Thursday at Qasr Al Watan in the presence of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and US. President Donald Trump, who is on a state visit to the UAE.

The new AI campus — the largest of its kind outside the United States — will host US hyperscalers and large enterprises, enabling them to leverage regional compute resources with the capability to serve the Global South.

The UAE-US AI Campus will feature 5GW of capacity for AI data centers in Abu Dhabi, offering a regional platform through which US hyperscalers can provide low-latency services to nearly half of the global population.

Upon completion, the facility will utilise nuclear, solar, and gas power to minimize carbon emissions. It will also house a science park focused on advancing innovation in artificial intelligence.

The campus will be built by G42 and operated in partnership with several US companies. The initiative is part of the newly established US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership, a bilateral framework designed to deepen collaboration on artificial intelligence and advanced technologies.

The UAE and US will jointly regulate access to the compute resources, which are reserved for US hyperscalers and approved cloud service providers.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council (AIATC), said: “Today’s unveiling of this campus is a testament to the ongoing collaboration between our countries in artificial intelligence. It reflects the UAE’s commitment to pioneering innovation and fostering global cooperation in AI, strengthening the nation’s position as a hub for cutting-edge research and sustainable development — and delivering transformative benefits for humanity.”

US Secretary of Commerce Howard W. Lutnick said: “The announcement of the campus marks a historic Middle Eastern partnership on AI between our two nations. It supports major investments in advanced semiconductors and data centers across the US and the UAE. In the UAE, American companies will operate the data centers and provide American-managed cloud services throughout the region. By extending the world’s leading American tech stack to a key strategic partner, this agreement is a major milestone in realising President Trump’s vision for US AI dominance.”

The UAE has long been a pioneer in promoting AI adoption across both commercial and governmental sectors. In 2017, it became the first country to appoint a federal Minister of Artificial Intelligence, and in 2019, it launched the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.

The nation was also among the first to implement a national AI strategy — the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence — in 2017. This ambitious roadmap positions the country as a global AI hub by prioritizing the integration of AI across critical sectors including education, healthcare, transportation, and energy, further cementing the UAE’s leadership in the global AI landscape.