US approval to export tens of thousands of Nvidia AI chips to the UAE has cleared the way for Microsoft to significantly expand its data centre and cloud infrastructure in the Gulf state.The licence allows Microsoft to spend $7.9 billion in the UAE over the next four years, funding new data centres, cloud computing capacity and AI projects.
“This is not money raised in the UAE. It’s money we’re spending in the UAE,” said Brad Smith,President of Microsoft. He added that the approval enables Microsoft to ship the equivalent of 60,400 Nvidia A100 GPUs, with permission also granted for the more advanced GB300 line.
Between 2023 and the end of 2025, Microsoft’s total spend in the UAE will already exceed $7.3 billion including a $1.5 billion equity investment in G42, the AI firm led by UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan. From 2026 to 2029, more than $7.9 billion will be deployed including $5.5 billion in capital expenditure for AI and cloud infrastructure, and $2.4 billion in local operating costs.
The approval reflects a model Washington favours in the Gulf, where US companies build and operate the data centres themselves whilst maintaining strict oversight of advanced semiconductors and reducing security concerns linked to China.Smith said Microsoft secured the licences after meeting extensive cybersecurity and national security requirements mandated by the US Commerce Department.
The original UAE–US agreement envisioned the export of 500,000 of Nvidia’s top-end chips per year from 2025, with 400,000 allocated to data centres operated by US firms inside the country and the remaining 100,000 intended for G42. While no direct GPU shipments to G42 have been announced, Microsoft has accumulated the equivalent of 21,500 A100 GPUs in the UAE under the Biden administration licences.
The largest data centre currently under construction in the UAE is a joint venture between G42, Microsoft and OpenAI. With sovereign wealth funds accelerating AI investment, the UAE is competing with Saudi Arabia to become the region’s leading hub for hyperscale data centres, emphasising abundant low-cost energy and stable infrastructure as key advantages.
