Wedoany.com Report-Nov. 4, Microsoft announced on Monday plans to increase its total investment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to $15 billion by the end of 2029, focusing primarily on expanding artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure. The company has secured U.S. government approval to export Nvidia chips for its data centers in the country.

A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, March 21, 2025.

"The biggest share of (the investment), by far, both looking back and looking forward, is the expansion of AI data centres across the UAE," said Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith during an interview at the ADIPEC energy conference in Abu Dhabi. "From our perspective, it's an investment that is critical to meet the demand here for the use of AI."

Microsoft invested $1.5 billion last year to take a minority stake in Abu Dhabi AI company G42, giving the company a board seat filled by Smith. The firm has worked with U.S. partners and the Emirati government to implement AI development and deployment standards, making "enormous progress" in complying with U.S. regulations, Smith said. He indicated that G42 could potentially access the most advanced U.S. chips in the future.

Smith added in a blog post that licenses approved last year by the Biden administration allowed Microsoft to deploy the equivalent of 21,500 Nvidia A100 GPUs in the UAE, combining A100, H100, and H200 chips. In September, the White House cleared additional exports equivalent to 60,400 A100 chips, including Nvidia’s advanced GB300 GPUs, after revising technology safeguards. These chips will support Microsoft’s AI and cloud operations in its UAE data centers and are expected to be shipped in the coming months.

U.S. lawmakers have monitored the investment closely due to the UAE’s technology partnerships with other countries. John Moolenaar, Republican Chairman of the U.S. House Select Committee on China, said: "I welcome the prospect of closer U.S. technology collaboration with the UAE—but it needs to come with the Emiratis verifiably and irreversibly choosing America."

Microsoft has already invested $7.3 billion in the UAE between 2023 and 2025. The remaining $7.9 billion, planned for 2026–2029, will fund ongoing and planned AI and cloud infrastructure expansions. None of the disclosed $15.2 billion investment includes the Stargate UAE project, a major planned data center hub in Abu Dhabi announced during U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gulf visit in May.

The investment underlines the UAE’s strategy to position itself as a global AI hub, leveraging partnerships with international technology firms and access to advanced U.S. chips to support its growing AI and cloud ecosystem.

Microsoft’s focus on the UAE reflects a combination of strategic AI infrastructure expansion, strengthened cloud capabilities, and the use of advanced computing resources to meet regional and global AI demand. The company’s long-term plan signals a continued commitment to investing heavily in AI-driven technologies in the Middle East.