UAE-US AI campus unveiled in Abu Dhabi during Trump visit

The UAE and US unveiled the first phase of a 5GW AI Campus in Abu Dhabi during President Donald Trump's visit, deepening bilateral cooperation in AI and digital infrastructure.

The campus will host large-scale US data centers and enterprises, offering critical compute resources to serve the Global South. Once complete, it is expected to support nearly half of the world’s population with accelerated digital services.

Powered by a mix of nuclear, solar and gas energy, the facility is designed to minimise carbon emissions. It will also include a dedicated science park to drive AI innovation and research.

US Secretary of Commerce Howard W. Lutnick described the initiative as a “major investment in advanced semiconductors and data centers across the US and the UAE,” adding that American companies will operate the data centers and provide US-managed cloud services throughout the region.

The project is being developed by Emirati AI leader G42, in collaboration with multiple US firms. It falls under the newly launched US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership, a bilateral framework to advance cooperation on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.

The UAE has been a pioneer in AI development, becoming the first country in the world to appoint a Minister of Artificial Intelligence in 2017. It also launched the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in 2019 as part of its broader national AI strategy, aimed at transforming sectors including education, healthcare, transportation, and energy.