Microsoft to invest USD 5.5 bn in the UAE’s AI infrastructure as part of its 2026-29 plan

Microsoft is planning to invest over USD 5.5 bn in advanced AI and cloud data centers in the UAE, as part of its broader USD 7.9 bn investment plan for 2026-29, according to a statement. The USD 5.5 bn investment will go towards capital expenses for its AI and cloud infrastructure projects in the country, with more details expected to be announced this week in Abu Dhabi after talks with officials.

This is part of a broader plan to invest USD 15.2 bn in the UAE between 2023 and 2029, as part of its AI initiative launched in 2023. The company has already invested USD 7.3 bn in the country between 2023 and 2025, including USD 4.6 bn in AI infrastructure and its USD 1.5 bn investment in state AI firm G42.

We knew this was coming: Microsoft and its partners previously announced their intention to invest USD 5.1 bn in the UAE’s data center regions over the next four years, in agreement that built on its earlier USD 1.5 bn investment in G42. The company said that its activities will add USD 74.4 bn to the UAE economy over the next four years and help create 41.8k jobs through 2028.

There’s more: Microsoft secured approval from the Trump administration in September to ship to the UAE the equivalent of 60.4k A100 chips, including Nvidia’s advanced GB300 GPUs, the statement said. This is in addition to some 21.5k Nvidia A100 GPUs it has already supplied the country after approvals from the Biden administration.

REMEMBER- The US gave the greenlight to export several USD bns worth of Nvidia chips to the UAE in October. The agreement came on the back of bilateral AI negotiations in May, as well as definitive plans from the UAE to invest in US AI infrastructure. Early reports expected the Emirates to see up to 500k annually of the US tech giant’s most advanced chips up until 2027.

How did Microsoft secure the approvals? By meeting “updated stringent technology safeguards” required by the Trump administration, the statement said. These range from cyber security to physical security and other security requirements, Smith told the Financial Times.

We don’t know exactly where the chips are heading, but Microsoft is heavily invested in the UAE’s AI sector. Besides its partnership with G42, which also saw them agree to open two AI centers in Abu Dhabi, the firm partnered with du to establish an AED 2 bn hyperscale data center in the UAE. It inked an agreement as well with Abu Dhabi to accelerate its AI-driven government transformation. Stargate UAE, a 5 GW Stargate AI campus which is driven by Microsoft’s key partner OpenAI, along with partners like Nvidia, Cisco, Oracle, and SoftBank is also expected to open in 2026, with final agreements on the remaining 4 GW still under negotiation amid continued US security scrutiny.