Microsoft to Invest Over $15 Billion in the UAE

According to recent reports, Microsoft plans to increase its total investment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to $15 billion by the end of 2029, marking a significant boost to its regional cloud and AI infrastructure. The expansion follows approval from the Trump administration allowing Microsoft to export NVIDIA GPUs to support its growing data center operations in the UAE.

Last year, Microsoft invested $1.5 billion to acquire a minority stake in Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence company G42, gaining a board seat currently held by Microsoft President Brad Smith. However, the partnership drew scrutiny from the U.S. government due to G42's previous connections with China and concerns over advanced semiconductor access through third-party channels like the UAE.

In response, G42 stated that it has been working closely with U.S. partners and the UAE government to ensure compliance with international AI development and deployment standards. Smith noted that G42 has made "significant progress" in implementing systems aligned with U.S. legal requirements.

According to Smith, the Biden administration granted Microsoft a license last year to hold an inventory equivalent to 21,500 NVIDIA A100 GPUs, based on A100, H100, and H200 chip architectures. Following revised U.S. technology safeguard measures, the White House approved an additional 60,400 A100-equivalent chips in September, involving NVIDIA's latest GB300 GPUs. These newly approved chips are expected to ship within the next few months and will power Microsoft's UAE data centers.

Between 2023 and the end of this year, Microsoft will have invested $7.3 billion in the UAE, with another $7.9 billion planned through 2029. These funds will support ongoing and future expansions in AI capabilities and cloud infrastructure, reinforcing Microsoft's strategic presence in the Middle East.