OpenAI is set to develop a massive 5-gigawatt data center campus in Abu Dhabi, positioning the company as a primary anchor tenant in one of the world’s largest AI infrastructure projects. The facility will span 10 square miles and consume power equivalent to five nuclear reactors.
The UAE project, developed in partnership with G42, is part of OpenAI’s ambitious Stargate project, which aims to build massive data centers around the globe to support AI development. While OpenAI’s first Stargate campus in Texas is expected to reach 1.2 gigawatts, this Middle Eastern counterpart will more than quadruple that capacity.
The project emerges amid growing AI ties between the US and UAE, which have been years in the making but also raised concerns among lawmakers. OpenAI’s relationship with the UAE dates back to a 2023 partnership with G42, aimed at driving AI adoption in the Middle East. However, this partnership has been complicated due to G42’s connections to blacklisted entities, including Huawei and Beijing Genomics Institute.
Despite these concerns, Microsoft recently announced a $1.5 billion investment in G42, and its president joined the company’s board of directors. The move is seen as an effort to shift G42’s strategy and distance itself from China’s government.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/16/openais-planned-data-center-in-abu-dhabi-would-be-bigger-than-monaco