In a major geopolitical and technological development, US tech leaders Nvidia, Cisco, Oracle, and OpenAI are throwing their support behind the UAE Stargate AI data center, a massive artificial intelligence infrastructure project set to rise in Abu Dhabi, according to multiple sources confirmed by CNBC.
The UAE Stargate facility, led by Emirati firm G42, will span 10 square miles and eventually scale to 5 gigawatts of capacity, making it one of the largest AI compute campuses globally. The project is closely tied to the U.S. Stargate initiative, which was launched by President Donald Trump earlier this year in a bid to supercharge American AI infrastructure.
“The UAE said it will invest in U.S.-produced semiconductors,” Trump announced during his state visit to the Gulf region this week, signaling deepening bilateral tech and economic cooperation.
Powered by Nvidia’s Most Advanced AI Chips
AI chipmaker Nvidia will supply the UAE center with its latest Blackwell GB300 systems, which were unveiled earlier this year and are designed for massive-scale AI workloads. The first phase will deliver a 1-gigawatt compute cluster, setting a new global benchmark for AI infrastructure.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Cisco President Jeetu Patel, and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son were all present in the UAE for the announcement, further underscoring the project’s global significance.
Meanwhile, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, a key figure behind the U.S. Stargate project, is reportedly involved in the UAE effort as well.
AI Infrastructure Becomes a Global Strategic Asset
The UAE Stargate project is mirrored by OpenAI’s planned U.S. Stargate campuses, with 16 states—including Texas, California, New York, Florida, and Virginia—expressing interest in hosting facilities. The first U.S. Stargate site is under construction in Abilene, Texas, and is expected to be operational by mid-2026.
This global Stargate framework signals the rise of AI infrastructure as a key tool of economic and geopolitical power, as nations race to build sovereign compute capacity and attract the most advanced chip technologies.
Regional AI Arms Race
The UAE isn’t alone in this race. On Tuesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Nvidia’s Huang revealed that the company would sell 18,000 Blackwell GB300 chips to Saudi AI firm Humain, powering data centers totaling 500 megawatts. The project is backed by a $10 billion commitment from Humain. Rival AMD also confirmed it will supply chips for the same initiative.
Strategic Implications
With Washington and Abu Dhabi aligning around the Stargate initiative, and American companies backing some of the world’s largest AI data centers, the balance of global AI development is shifting rapidly.
“It’s not just about chips or data anymore,” one tech policy analyst told CNBC.
“It’s about where AI lives, and who controls the power to build and run it.”
As the race to control AI infrastructure accelerates, the UAE’s investment in U.S. chips and U.S. companies’ involvement in Middle Eastern AI mark a new era of cross-border tech alliances—anchored in compute, diplomacy, and strategic influence.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
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