The United Arab Emirates and United States unveiled the first phase of a massive new AI campus in Abu Dhabi, marking what officials call the largest artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure deployment outside the United States.

Announced at a ceremony attended by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and U.S. President Donald J. Trump, the 5-gigawatt (GW) UAE-U.S. AI Campus will include hyperscale data centers, a science park, and advanced AI research facilities. The project will be led by UAE-based tech firm G42 in partnership with U.S. companies and is part of a new “U.S.-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership.”

“Today’s agreement is a testament to the ongoing collaboration between our countries in artificial intelligence,” said His Highness Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the UAE’s AI and Advanced Technology Council.

The 10-square-mile campus will serve as a regional hub for American-managed cloud services and will provide latency-friendly AI compute capacity to countries across the Global South. The project’s first phase includes a 1GW data center now under construction.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard W. Lutnick called the agreement “a major milestone” toward achieving U.S. AI dominance, adding that it “extends the world’s leading American tech stack to an important strategic partner in the region.”

The facility will be powered by a mix of nuclear, solar, and gas energy sources to reduce emissions, and strict Know-Your-Customer protocols will govern access to its resources.

The UAE has long been a leader in AI innovation, appointing the world’s first Minister of AI in 2017 and launching a national AI strategy the same year. The country is now positioning itself as a global hub for AI development and regulation.

Need Help?

If you have questions or concerns about how to navigate the U.S., Abu Dhabi or global AI regulatory landscape, don’t hesitate to reach out to BABL AI. Their Audit Experts can offer valuable insight, and ensure you’re informed and compliant.