Openai is poised to help develop the incredible 5 Gigawatt data center campus in Abu Dhabi, positioning the company as a major anchor tenant that could become one of the world’s largest AI infrastructure projects, according to a new Bloomberg report.
The facility will consume the equivalent of five reactors across an astounding 10 square miles, and reportedly warily over existing AI infrastructure announced by OpenAI or its competitors. (Openai has not yet returned a TechCrunch request for comment, but to put it in perspective, it’s bigger than Monaco.)
Developed in collaboration with Abu Dhabi-based high-tech conglomerate G42, the UAE project is part of Openai’s ambitious Stargate project, a joint venture that will allow Openai, SoftBank and Oracle to build large data centers around the world in January with powerful computer chips to support AI development.
Openai’s first Stargate campus in the US (already under development in Abilene, Texas) is expected to reach 1.2 gigawatts, but this Middle Eastern counterpart will more than quadruple its capabilities.
The project has emerged in the wider AI relationship between the US and the UAE over the years, and has been straining lawmakers.
Openai’s relationship with the UAE dates back to its 2023 partnership with the G42 aimed at promoting AI adoption in the Middle East. In a talk early in the same year in Abu Dhabi, Openai CEO Sam Altman praised the UAE, saying, “We’ve been talking about AI for a while now.”
Like much of the AI world, these relationships are… complicated. Founded in 2018, the G42 is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE national security adviser and brother of the country’s ruler. The embrace by Openai raised concerns in late 2023 among US authorities who fear the G42 will allow Chinese governments to access advanced US technology.
These concerns focus on “positive relationships” with the G42 with blacklisted entities such as Huawei and the Beijing Genomics Institute, as well as connections with individuals related to Chinese intelligence coverage.
Following pressure from US lawmakers, the G42 CEO told Bloomberg in early 2024 that the company was changing its strategy, saying, “All previously made Chinese investments have already been sold, so of course there is no more need for a physical China presence.”
Shortly afterwards, Microsoft announced a $1.5 billion investment in the G42, a major Openai shareholder that will deliver broader benefits in the region, with its president Brad Smith joining the G42 board.