The project will bring OpenAI together with its Stargate partners G42, Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco, and SoftBank to power AI workloads in the UAE, with the cash-rich country also investing in the project.
“Stargate UAE has the potential to provide AI infrastructure and compute capacity within a 2,000-mile radius, reaching up to half the world’s population,” OpenAI said in a statement.
OpenAI recently announced plans to expand Stargate beyond the US under the OpenAI for Countries programme. Prior reports suggested it was eyeing deployments in the UK, France, and Germany.
But it’s the UAE that’s set to benefit first from OpenAI for Countries, with the project helped by the fact that the UAE is no longer subject to restrictions on high-power semiconductor exports from the US after the Trump administration threw out the Biden-era rules.
Referencing the President’s helping hand following his recent trip to the Middle East, OpenAI said: “We greatly appreciate President Trump for his support in making it possible.”
Stargate UAE aims to go live in 2026 with an initial 200MW deployment. No timeframe was provided for when the full 1GW would go live.
“The new partnership will support the UAE in leveraging OpenAI’s tools across critical sectors like government, energy, healthcare, education, and transportation to help accelerate innovation and economic growth while creating lasting benefits for its people,” the company said upon announcement.
While the UAE was first in the pipeline for the OpenAI for Countries project, the team behind the project want 10 facilities total.
In a bid to find its next sites, OpenAI’s chief strategy officer, Jason Kwon, will begin a road trip across Asia Pacific next week with plans to meet governments and potential private-sector partners.
“We look forward to continuing to work with governments and partners who share this vision,” OpenAI’s statement concluded.
