Abu Dhabi: A new 5GW UAE-US AI Campus in Abu Dhabi was unveiled today at Qasr Al Watan in the presence of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and President Donald Trump of the United States of America, who is on a state visit to the UAE.
According to Emirates News Agency, the new AI campus, the largest outside the US, will be home to US hyperscalers and large enterprises that can leverage the capacity for regional ‘compute resources’ with the ability to serve the Global South. The UAE-US AI campus will include 5GW of capacity for AI data centres in Abu Dhabi, providing a regional platform from which US hyperscalers will be able to offer latency-friendly services to nearly half of the global population.
Once completed, the facility will leverage nuclear, solar, and gas power to minimise carbon emissions and will also house a science park driving advancements in AI innovation. The campus will be built by G42 and operated in partnership with several US companies. The endeavour builds on a new framework by the two countries’ governments – the US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership – to deepen cooperation and collaboration on AI and advanced technologies.
The UAE and US will work together to regulate access to the compute resources, which are reserved for US hyperscalers and approved cloud service providers. H.H. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi, and Chairman of the Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council (AIATC), highlighted the ongoing collaboration between the countries in artificial intelligence. He noted that the campus 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 research and development.
US Secretary of Commerce Howard W Lutnick remarked on the historic partnership on AI between the nations. He emphasized the significant investment in advanced semiconductors and data centres across the US and the UAE. American companies will operate data centres in the UAE, extending American-managed cloud services throughout the region, marking a major milestone in President Trump’s vision for US AI dominance.
The UAE has been proactive in encouraging AI adoption in commercial and governmental sectors. In 2017, it became the first country to appoint a federal Minister of Artificial Intelligence, and in 2019, established the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence. The UAE was also among the first to launch a national AI strategy in 2017 and is on track to become a global AI hub. This roadmap prioritises AI integration across sectors like education, healthcare, transportation, and energy, solidifying the UAE’s role as a pioneer in the global AI landscape.