Stargate UAE: OpenAI to build world’s largest AI data centre in Abu Dhabi

Dubai: Abu Dhabi will host the world’s largest AI data centre under a landmark deal announced Thursday, marking the first international rollout of OpenAI’s advanced infrastructure platform, Stargate.

Stargate UAE will be located in the newly established UAE–US AI Campus in Abu Dhabi — revealed last week in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, and Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America. 

This project is a crucial step in the UAE’s ambition to become a global leader in AI technology, leveraging the country's strategic position and innovation drive to make advanced AI more accessible across the globe.

The new 5-gigawatt AI campus is being developed in partnership with key players in the tech industry, including G42, an AI company backed by the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund, along with Oracle, NVIDIA, Cisco, and SoftBank.

"Stargate UAE, a 1-gigawatt compute cluster, will be built by G42 and operated by OpenAI and Oracle. The collaboration will 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 Abu Dhabi Media Office statement said.

"The facility will provide best-in-class infrastructure, nation-scale compute, and low latency inferencing to deliver AI that will meet the demands of an increasingly intelligent world. 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 US. It will provide 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity and regional compute resources.

The facility will be powered by nuclear, solar, and natural gas to minimize carbon emissions and it will also house a science park driving innovation, talent development, and sustainable compute infrastructure.

Once completed, the Stargate UAE data centre will too be significantly larger than any facility OpenAI or its closest rivals have previously built. The project’s massive capacity will dwarf the 1.2-gigawatt planned for Stargate's first US campus in Abilene, Texas.

The developments are a part of OpenAI's broader strategy to extend AI infrastructure to key regions worldwide, bringing powerful AI capabilities to more countries in a secure and sustainable way.

The UAE-US campus is expected to be a critical hub in expanding the reach of AI technologies, particularly US-designed AI software, to new global markets.

“This initiative is a bold leap forward for the AI industry, with the UAE playing a key role,” said Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, in a statement on Thursday.

“By establishing the world’s first Stargate outside of the US in the UAE, we’re turning a bold vision into reality. This is a step toward ensuring some of this era’s most important breakthroughs — whether it’s safer medicines, personalized learning, or modernised energy — can emerge from more places and benefit the world.”

The Stargate UAE project is also a significant milestone in strengthening the growing AI partnership between the UAE and the US.

Peng Xiao, CEO of G42, emphasized that the partnership was a “significant step in the UAE–US AI partnership,” reflecting the strong ties between both nations in advancing AI infrastructure.

This joint initiative builds on existing collaborations where several AI infrastructure projects were announced.

As part of this collaboration, the UAE will also become the first country to offer OpenAI's ChatGPT services nationwide, with the tool being integrated across government agencies and key sectors such as energy, healthcare, and education.

Furthermore, all UAE residents will receive ChatGPT-Plus subscriptions, ensuring that OpenAI's tools are accessible to everyone in the country.

The new data centre also holds the potential to serve as an AI infrastructure and compute capacity hub within a 2,000-mile radius, reaching up to half of the world’s population.

This capability aligns with OpenAI’s broader ambition to create a globally distributed, democratically powered AI network, helping AI adoption to accelerate across multiple countries.

By bringing the Stargate infrastructure to the UAE, OpenAI is creating an environment where AI can continue to thrive, making it easier for governments and businesses to integrate cutting-edge technologies into their daily operations and services.

With future Stargate facilities planned for other regions, OpenAI is laying the groundwork for a more connected world driven by AI technologies. This project is just the beginning of a larger global initiative that aims to place AI infrastructure at the heart of innovation in economies across the globe.

This is why the Stargate UAE facility represents a game-changing moment in the world of AI technology, enabling faster access to cutting-edge tools while solidifying the UAE’s role in the future of global AI innovation.

With OpenAI, G42, and other tech giants leading the charge, the UAE is set to be a key player in shaping the future of AI, not just regionally but globally.