On Monday, during the inaugural Abu Dhabi Global AI Summit, Microsoft revealed plans to pour $15.2 billion into the United Arab Emirates over the next four years. This investment will bring the UAE its first-ever delivery of Nvidia’s most sophisticated GPUs.
Under this agreement, the U.S. government has authorized Microsoft to export Nvidia chips to the UAE, making the nation a key site for U.S. export-control policy and a strategic center for American AI interests in the region.
This arrangement enables Microsoft to strengthen its presence in the Middle East, a crucial area in the worldwide race for AI leadership. In May, President Donald Trump reached an agreement with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to establish an AI data center campus in Abu Dhabi. However, the project faced setbacks due to U.S. export restrictions that limited access to the high-performance Nvidia chips essential for advanced AI operations.
In September, Microsoft became the first company to obtain a license from the U.S. Commerce Department to supply these chips to the UAE. This decision has drawn criticism from those who argue it could undermine U.S. export controls on China by potentially creating indirect channels through a Chinese partner.
Microsoft stated that it undertook significant efforts to comply with the stringent cybersecurity and national security requirements tied to these licenses. As a result, the company has amassed the equivalent of 21,500 Nvidia A100 GPUs in the UAE, utilizing a mix of A100, H100, and H200 models.
According to Microsoft, these chips are being used to offer AI model access from OpenAI, Anthropic, various open source contributors, as well as Microsoft itself.
The $15.2 billion investment figure includes funds Microsoft began allocating in the UAE in 2023 as part of a new AI strategy for the country. Between 2023 and the close of 2025, Microsoft’s spending in the UAE will exceed $7.3 billion, which covers a $1.5 billion equity stake in G42, the UAE’s state-backed AI firm, and over $4.6 billion dedicated to data center infrastructure.
With the latest agreement, Microsoft has committed to investing an additional $7.9 billion in the UAE from 2026 through 2029, including $5.5 billion earmarked for the continued growth and development of AI and cloud infrastructure. The company also indicated that further announcements will be made in Abu Dhabi this week.
Microsoft’s initiatives in the UAE extend beyond constructing data centers. The company is also heavily investing in nurturing local expertise, providing training, and establishing governance frameworks. Microsoft has pledged to train one million people in the UAE by 2027 and to make Abu Dhabi a central hub for AI research and model innovation in the region.
This announcement coincides with Microsoft’s signing of a $9.7 billion agreement with Australia’s IREN to boost AI cloud capabilities.
