OpenAI is poised to significantly expand its global footprint through a landmark partnership with the United Arab Emirates to develop what could become one of the world's largest AI infrastructure projects.
The ChatGPT maker is expected to serve as a primary anchor tenant for a recently announced 5-gigawatt data center campus in Abu Dhabi, according to multiple sources familiar with the plans. The massive facility will span approximately 10 square miles and consume power equivalent to five nuclear reactors, dwarfing any existing AI infrastructure announced by OpenAI or its competitors to date.
The UAE data center is part of OpenAI's ambitious Stargate initiative, a global infrastructure project aimed at building massive computing capacity for AI development. While OpenAI's first Stargate campus in Abilene, Texas is expected to reach 1.2 gigawatts, this Middle Eastern counterpart would more than quadruple that capacity. Oracle is also reportedly involved in the project and will help develop at least part of the first phase of the Abu Dhabi campus.
The announcement comes amid a flurry of AI deals during President Donald Trump's Middle East tour. In a significant policy shift, Trump announced that the United States and UAE had agreed on a path for Abu Dhabi to purchase advanced AI semiconductors from American companies. According to reports, this could involve the sale of up to 500,000 of Nvidia's most advanced chips annually through 2027, with 20% allocated to UAE tech firm G42 and the remainder to US companies building data centers in the Gulf nation.
The UAE is rapidly positioning itself as a global AI hub through strategic partnerships. In a parallel development, UAE tech firm G42 has partnered with Italian AI startup iGenius to develop a major AI supercomputer called Colosseum in southern Italy. This $1 billion project, to be developed over five years using Nvidia technology, aims to create what the companies describe as the "largest AI computer deployment" in Europe.
These developments highlight the accelerating global race for AI infrastructure dominance, with the UAE leveraging its financial resources and strategic position to become a key player in the future of artificial intelligence technology.