State-owned AI firm G42 partnered with Microsoft to add 200 MW of data center capacity through its subsidiary Khazna Data Centers, as part of the US tech giant’s plan to invest USD 15.2 bn in the UAE between 2023-2029, according to a press release. The upgrade, which will help support Microsoft Azure’s cloud services, is expected to come online before end-2026.

REMEMBER- Microsoft and its partners previously said they plan to invest USD 5.1 bn in the UAE’s data center regions over the next four years — building on an earlier USD 1.5 bn investment in G42. The company already has two cloud regions, one in Dubai and the other in Abu Dhabi, with the one in Dubai including three availability zones. It also has a AED 2 bn hyperscale data center on the way courtesy of Du. The exact capacity of its data center infrastructure is not public.

It’s all part of a bigger plan: Microsoft plans to spend more than USD 7.9 bn in the UAE between 2026-2029. This includes over USD 5.5 bn in capital expenses for the ongoing and planned expansion of its AI and cloud infrastructure. The firm has invested over USD 7.3 bn in the country so far, with over USD 4.6 bn dedicated to advanced AI and cloud data centers.

What they said: “Our partnership with Microsoft advances our mission to build the Intelligence Grid, the interconnected infrastructure for intelligence designed to empower people, industries, and nations in the AI era,” G42’s CEO Peng Xiao said.

Khazna has also been working on expanding data center infrastructure at home: Khazna Data Centers is working on two new 30 MW data centers — AUH4 in Mafraq and AUH8 in Masdar City — set to come online by 2H 2026. Its 100 MW QAJ1 Ajman facility is also expected to be completed in December 2026, and it has two other facilities under construction which should take its capacity up to 210 MW. It also recently secured a USD 2.62 bn financing facility from local lenders to support its expansion at home and abroad.

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