OpenAI’s Abu Dhabi Data Center to Span Larger Than Monaco
▼ Summary
– OpenAI plans to develop a 5-gigawatt data center campus in Abu Dhabi, potentially making it one of the world’s largest AI infrastructure projects.
– The facility will span 10 square miles and consume power equivalent to five nuclear reactors, significantly larger than OpenAI’s existing projects.
– The UAE project is part of OpenAI’s Stargate initiative, a global venture with partners like G42, SoftBank, and Oracle to build AI-focused data centers.
– The project has raised concerns among U.S. lawmakers due to G42’s past ties to blacklisted Chinese entities, though G42 claims to have divested from China.
– Microsoft invested $1.5 billion in G42 and joined its board, signaling deeper collaboration in the region amid geopolitical tensions.
OpenAI is gearing up to anchor what could become the planet’s most ambitious AI infrastructure project – a sprawling 5-gigawatt data center campus in Abu Dhabi covering an area larger than Monaco. According to recent reports, this Middle Eastern facility would span approximately 10 square miles and require energy equivalent to five nuclear reactors, dramatically outpacing any existing AI infrastructure commitments from OpenAI or its rivals.
The development forms part of OpenAI’s Stargate initiative, a global partnership with Abu Dhabi’s G42 tech conglomerate, SoftBank, and Oracle to construct next-generation data centers packed with cutting-edge computing hardware. While OpenAI’s first Stargate facility in Texas will reportedly generate 1.2 gigawatts, the UAE counterpart would deliver more than four times that capacity.
This expansion comes amid deepening AI collaboration between the U.S. and UAE, though not without geopolitical complications. OpenAI first partnered with G42 in 2023 to accelerate AI adoption across the Middle East, with CEO Sam Altman praising the UAE’s early recognition of AI’s potential. However, G42’s connections to Chinese firms like Huawei and Beijing Genomics Institute raised alarms among U.S. officials concerned about technology transfers.
Under pressure, G42 reportedly divested its China-related investments earlier this year, paving the way for Microsoft to invest $1.5 billion in the company. Microsoft’s president Brad Smith subsequently joined G42’s board, signaling tighter alignment between U.S. tech interests and the UAE’s AI ambitions.
The Abu Dhabi campus represents more than just physical infrastructure, it’s a strategic foothold in a region aggressively pursuing AI leadership. With its unprecedented scale and power demands, the project underscores how the race for AI supremacy is reshaping global technology alliances and energy landscapes alike.
(Source: TechCrunch)
