Nvidia, OpenAI among big tech bringing Stargate AI project to UAE

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), OpenAI, Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) , SoftBank Group (OTCPK:SFTBY) (OTCPK:SFTBF) and G42 are collaborating to build Stargate UAE.

In January, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, SoftBank’s CEO Masayoshi Son and Oracle’s Co-Founder and Chairman Larry Ellison joined U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House to officially announce a $500B four-year initiative called Stargate to build out AI infrastructure.

United Arab Emirates, or UAE, based G42 said on Thursday that Stargate UAE is a next-generation AI infrastructure cluster that will run in the newly established 5-gigawatt UAE-U.S. AI Campus in Abu Dhabi.

OpenAI and G42, both AI companies, are backed by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT).

Stargate UAE, a 1-gigawatt compute cluster, will be built by G42 and operated by OpenAI and Oracle.

The collaboration will also include Cisco, which will offer its zero-trust security and AI-ready connectivity, and SoftBank Group, as well as Nvidia, which will supply its latest Grace Blackwell GB300 systems.

The first 200-megawatt AI cluster is expected to go live in 2026.

The facility will provide best-in-class infrastructure, nation-scale compute, and low-latency inferencing to deliver AI that will meet the demands of an increasingly intelligent world, according to G42.

The UAE-U.S. AI Campus, which will house Stargate UAE was announced last week in Abu Dhabi in the presence of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and U.S. President Donald Trump, who was a visit to the Middle East a few days ago.

Last week, it was reported that OpenAI could become a “key anchor” of the new 5 gigawatt data center project unveiled in the UAE.

The new endeavor builds on a new framework by the U.S. and UAE governments called the “U.S.-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership” to bolster cooperation and collaboration on AI and advanced technologies, developing safe, secure, and responsible AI that delivers long-term benefits for humanity, the company added.

The full UAE–U.S. AI infrastructure campus will span 10 square miles and is the largest such deployment outside the U.S., G42 noted.

It will provide 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity and regional compute resources.

“By establishing the world’s first Stargate outside of the U.S. in the UAE, we’re transforming a bold vision into reality. This is the first major milestone in our OpenAI for Countries initiative—our effort to work with allies and partners to build AI infrastructure around the world,” said OpenAI’s Co-Founder and CEO Sam Altman.

Earlier this month, it was reported that OpenAI planned to expand the Stargate project by investing more overseas to promote the development of “democratic artificial intelligence.”

The facility will be powered by nuclear, solar, and natural gas to minimize carbon emissions and it will also house a science park for innovation, talent development, and sustainable computing infrastructure.

“This first-in-the-world platform will enable every UAE government agency and commercial institution to connect their data to the world’s most advanced AI models,” said Larry Ellison, CTO and Chairman of Oracle.