Key Highlights:
- Microsoft will invest $15.2 Billion in the UAE’s by 2029 to boost AI expansion.
- Partnership with G42 to boost infrastructure, talent, and ethical AI expansion.
- UAE now leads globally in AI adoption, with nearly 59.4% population usage.
AI has been at the front and center around the world, given how it’s being adopted across different industries. While everyone seems to have their personal opinion about AI and its impact, Microsoft, being one of the front runners in the AI race, isn’t taking AI as a talking point. It has shown long-term commitment towards this tech and it’s visible in everything the company has been doing in the recent past.
Now, Microsoft has announced to invest $15.2 billion in the United Arab Emirates by 2029. Not to forget, this is Microsoft’s one of the most significant global expansions outside the United States. The company says the investment isn’t just about expanding its AI footprint in the country, but also building trust and making people aware of AI and turning the UAE into an AI-ready nation.
An additional $7.9 billion for AI & cloud infrastructure slated for the UAE by 2029
According to Microsoft, over $7.3 billion of the committed amount has already been spent since the initiative began back in 2023. This includes a $1.5 billion equity investment in G42, more than $4.6 billion in advanced AI and cloud datacenters, and over $1.2 billion in operational costs. By the end of the decade, that total will double.
Brad Smith, Vice Chair & President, of Microsoft, notes, “From the start of 2026 to the end of 2029, we will spend more than $7.9 billion in the UAE. This includes more than $5.5 billion in capital expenses for ongoing and planned expansion of our AI and cloud infrastructure, including new steps we will share publicly in Abu Dhabi this week. It also includes almost $2.4 billion in planned local operating expenses and the cost of goods sold.” Microsoft further says that it’s spending its own capital rather than raising it locally.
Microsoft secures licenses to ship advanced AI chips to UAE
Microsoft’s investment isn’t limited to software and services. It’s also about hardware, specifically, the GPUs that power modern-day AI. The company says that it has secured export licenses from the U.S. Commerce Department from the Biden administration to ship thousands of NVIDIA A100, H100, and H200 chips to the UAE. All that while complying with strict cybersecurity and national security guidelines.
Earlier this year, Microsoft became the first company under the Trump administration to receive updated GPU export licenses. This allows the shipment of over 60,000 advanced GB300 GPUs to the UAE, and power the country’s datacenters and access to AI models from Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, and more.
Well, the results are promising, to say the least. Just days ago, Microsoft’s latest AI Diffusion Report suggested that the UAE topped in AI adoption across the globe. Per the report, approximately 59.4 percent of its working population use AI in some other way in their daily lives.
Microsoft’s talent & skill investment in the UAE workforce
Technology may power AI, but talent sustains it, that’s what Microsoft believes. That’s why nearly 1,000 employees now operate in the UAE, representing 40 nationalities. The company also supports an Emirati partner ecosystem of 1,400 firms, employing nearly 45,000 professionals.
Besides the aforementioned, this year, Microsoft opened a Global Engineering Development Center in Abu Dhabi to attract world-class AI talent. In parallel, the new AI for Good Lab is training PhD-level researchers to develop AI models for under-represented languages across Africa.
The company has been also doing its bit in providing AI skill training for UAE residents. Per the company, the aim is to train one million UAE residents by 2027. The list includes government workers, teachers, and students. Microsoft has already started by upskilling 120,000 government employees and partnering with educational institutions like GEMS, ADEK, and KHDA to prepare the next generation of AI leaders.
Microsoft and G42 establish ethical AI standards and assurance frameworks
For all the money and machines involved, Microsoft argues that AI’s true foundation is trust. The company and G42 co-founded the Responsible AI Future Foundation (RAIFF) earlier this year to establish ethical AI standards across the Middle East and Global South.
Both companies have also developed a first-of-its-kind Intergovernmental Assurance Agreement (IGAA). It is a private framework, which is in line with U.S. standards for cybersecurity, data protection, and responsible AI use. As Microsoft CEO Brad Smith noted, the UAE’s AI growth story is no longer about catching up, it’s about leading responsibly.
