Microsoft (MSFT) said on Monday that it will invest $15.2B in the United Arab Emirates from the years 2023 through 2029 as part of its efforts to grow its business in the region. The tech giant also said it received an export license to send advanced artificial intelligence GPUs to the country, including those from Nvidia (NVDA).
Microsoft shares rose fractionally in premarket trading, while Nvidia rose 2%.
Included in the $15.2B is Microsoft’s $1.5B equity investment in G42, more than $4.6B in capital expenses in advanced AI and cloud datacenters in the country, and more than $1.2B in local operating expenses. Starting next year and running through to 2029, Microsoft said it will spend more than $7.9B in the UAE, including more than $5.5B in capital expenses for AI and cloud infrastructure. Another $2.4B will be spent on local operating expenses and the cost of goods sold, Microsoft Vice Chair & President Brad Smith said in a blog post.
“On some days, it feels like the tech sector is gripped in a rhetorical race to announce ever larger, sky-high numbers,” Smith wrote. “We believe in moving fast while staying grounded and being transparent about our investment details. And we want to share our strong conviction that our investments benefit the shareholders of our company, the people of the UAE, and the relationship between our two nations.”
Smith also provided details on the export license, stating it was approved in September by the Commerce Dept. and allowed Microsoft to ship the equivalent of 60,400 additional A100 chips, and some of Nvidia’s GB300 GPUs.
“While the chips are powerful and the numbers are large, more important is their positive impact across the UAE,” Smith added. “We’re using these GPUs to provide access to advanced AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, open-source providers, and Microsoft itself. We’re supporting AI-enabled applications, including our Copilot applications, from a wide variety of local and international providers. And we’re partnering with G42 to support public and private sector organizations across the UAE economy, as well as consumers across the country.”
Microsoft previously received approval from the Biden administration to accumulate the equivalent of 21,500 Nvidia A100 GPUs (comprised of A100, H100, and H200 chips) in the UAE.