Delays hit multi-billion-dollar USD plan for one of world’s largest AI data campuses in the UAE US national security officials are scrutinizing and causing delays in a multi-billion-dollar deal for one of the largest AI data centers in the world to be built in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The ambitious “Stargate UAE” project, which promises partnerships with major US tech firms Nvidia and OpenAI and the Emirati company G42, is blocked by Washington’s deep suspicions of the UAE’s historical and ongoing relations with China.
The 10-square-mile AI campus, which would contain gigawatts worth of data center capacity and run on high-end Nvidia AI chips, was announced during the rising-profile visit of US President Donald Trump to Abu Dhabi recently.
Though US officials have suggested the initiative as a strategic lever to invite Gulf states to buy American technology, tangible concerns over technology diversion to China persist unresolved.
For the US, one major concern is the fact that the UAE continues to use Huawei 5G technology in defiance of the US, and also that there are still high-profile Chinese companies present in the region, including Huawei and Alibaba Cloud.
US officials are said to be nervous about approving the export of advanced A.I. chips and the creation of an “American-managed” cloud infrastructure without strong safeguards.
There are concerns that the most sophisticated US technology and potentially sensitive data could end up in Chinese hands , either siphoned off or as a result of lax security rules.
US concerns Sources said US officials are asking for a co-operation commitment from the UAE on a national security measures policy that corresponds with its own by enforcing strong safeguards against the abuse of US-held technology.
Suggested steps include not using Chinese tech within the campus and even shutting out Chinese nationals in so far as staff members are concerned.
Even though G42 has recently moved to sell off its investments in Chinese hardware and after facing pressure to sell out from the Biden administration, and after Microsoft invested $1.5bn, the US remains concerned.
The evolving probe underscores the fine line the UAE tries to walk in its decades-old partnership with the US while forging deep economic and technological links with China.
The future of the Stargate UAE campus, two decades in the making, and a move that could do much to help the UAE’s ambition to become a global AI leader, depends on whether they can resolve those deep-rooted security concerns enough to satisfy Washington.
