Microsoft is set to increase its total investment in the United Arab Emirates to $15 billion by the end of 2029, according to company Vice Chair and President Brad Smith. The tech giant has also secured approval from the Trump administration to export Nvidia’s advanced AI chips to support its growing network of data centers in the country.
Speaking to Reuters at the ADIPEC energy conference in Abu Dhabi, Smith said most of the new investment will go toward expanding AI data centers across the UAE. He described this as a necessary step to meet rising demand for artificial intelligence capabilities in the region.
In 2023, Microsoft invested $1.5 billion to acquire a minority stake in G42, an Abu Dhabi-based AI company, gaining a seat on its board. Although G42’s past connections to China have drawn scrutiny in Washington, Smith said the company has made “significant progress” in meeting US compliance standards, particularly in how it manages AI development and deployment.
Microsoft received licensing approval from the Biden administration last year to build a large-scale AI infrastructure in the UAE. The licenses allow Microsoft to deploy the equivalent of 21,500 Nvidia A100 GPUs in the country. These will include a mix of A100, H100, and H200 chips.
More recently, the White House authorized a second export round, involving the equivalent of 60,400 A100 chips using Nvidia’s GB300 GPUs. These chips have not yet been delivered, but Smith confirmed they are expected to arrive within a few months and will be used exclusively in Microsoft’s UAE-based data centers.
The US decision has sparked concern from some lawmakers. Congressman John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on China, noted the UAE’s ongoing tech ties with China. He called for clear assurances that the UAE is aligning itself fully with the United States on sensitive technology matters.
Smith, however, emphasized that Microsoft’s partnership with G42 reflects a broader effort to support secure and scalable AI growth. He stated that G42 will likely gain more direct access to advanced US chips as part of its plans.
Microsoft expects to have invested $7.3 billion in the UAE by the end of this year. It plans to spend another $7.9 billion from 2025 through 2029, focusing on AI and cloud infrastructure development.
Notably, the announced $15.2 billion does not include funding for the Stargate UAE project, a massive data center hub in Abu Dhabi revealed during President Trump’s Gulf visit earlier this year. That initiative is expected to be managed separately.