The US and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are partnering for the development of a new 5GW AI campus in Abu Dhabi that is claimed to become the largest of its kind outside the US.

The project was unveiled during US President Donald Trump’s visit to the UAE.

The campus will serve as a central hub for US hyperscalers and large enterprises, providing them with the capacity to offer services across the Global South.

Spanning ten square miles within the emirate, the campus will be constructed by G42 and operated in partnership with several US companies.

The AI campus will allow US hyperscalers to deliver latency-friendly services to almost 50% of the global population within a 3,200km radius of the UAE.

Ground was broken for the first phase of the UAE project. This phase will feature 1GW AI data centre.

Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council (AIATC) chairman Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan said: “Today’s agreement is a testament to the ongoing collaboration between our countries in artificial intelligence. 

“It is an expression of the UAE’s commitment to pioneering innovation and fostering global collaboration in artificial intelligence, strengthening the UAE’s position as a hub for cutting-edge research and sustainable development, delivering transformative benefits for humanity.”

Featuring a science park dedicated to fostering AI innovation, the AI campus will utilise nuclear, solar, and gas power to minimise carbon emissions.

This project builds on the government-to-government technology framework, “US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership”.

As part of the collaboration, both countries will jointly strengthen Know-Your-Customer protocols to manage access to computing power, which will be designated for US hyperscalers and approved cloud service providers.

US Secretary of Commerce Howard W Lutnick said: “Today’s agreement launches an historic middle eastern partnership on AI between our two nations.

“It promotes major investment in advanced semiconductors and data centres across the US and the UAE. In the UAE, American companies will operate the data centers and offer American-managed cloud services throughout the region. The agreement also contains strong security guarantees to prevent diversion of U.S. technology.

“By extending the world’s leading American tech stack to an important strategic partner in the region, this agreement is a major milestone in achieving President Trump’s vision for US AI dominance.”

In 2024, Axios Media reported that the US government issued export licence for the advanced AI chips to a Microsoft-operated facility in the UAE.