The United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed an agreement to build the largest AI campus outside the US.

Located in Abu Dhabi, the campus will cover 10 square miles and include 5 gigawatts of power capacity for AI data centers.

The deal allows the UAE to import up to 500,000 advanced AI chips annually from Nvidia starting in 2025, marking a shift from previous restrictions imposed by the Biden administration.

The campus will be developed by G42, a state-backed firm in Abu Dhabi, with US companies operating the data centers and providing cloud services.

The UAE has agreed to align its national security regulations with US standards to prevent the diversion of US-origin technology.

This agreement highlights the UAE’s aim to boost its role as a global AI player while managing its trade relationships with China.

🔗 Source: The Guardian

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ The UAE’s strategic balancing act between US and China

The UAE-US deal represents a significant geopolitical pivot in the global AI landscape, where the Gulf nation is recalibrating its technology partnerships.

While China remains the UAE’s largest trading partner, Emirati technology company G42 has actively divested from Chinese firms to align with U.S. interests and secure access to advanced AI chips1.

This alignment is part of the UAE’s broader strategy to establish itself as a key player in AI innovation alongside the U.S. and China, while navigating the intensifying technological competition between the superpowers2.

The UAE’s National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 aims to generate 20% of non-oil GDP from AI by 2031, making access to advanced chips critical for economic diversification beyond petroleum3.

This agreement demonstrates how middle powers are leveraging their strategic positions to extract technological concessions from competing superpowers, rather than simply choosing sides in the US-China tech rivalry.

2️⃣ The unprecedented scale of the UAE’s AI infrastructure ambitions

The planned 10-square-mile AI campus with 5GW power capacity would represent one of the most significant AI infrastructure projects outside the United States, surpassing most existing installations globally4.