UAE's Massive AI Project Faces Reality Check After Iranian Missile Strikes

Missiles changed the blueprint. When Iran’s armed forces released a video in April explicitly warning that Stargate UAE was a potential target, displaying a map of the construction site with the words “Nothing stays hidden from our sight,” the message landed on a project already rattled by real damage. Two Amazon Web Services data centers in the UAE, and another in Bahrain, had been struck by Iranian military operations in March. Amazon’s cloud services in the region remain disrupted, according to current status updates on its website.

Now the United Arab Emirates is rethinking how to build and position a massive artificial intelligence data center complex, according to six people with knowledge of the deliberations. What was originally planned as a single sprawling 10-square-mile campus in Abu Dhabi will likely be distributed as a network of facilities spread throughout the UAE, four of the sources said. The shift reflects a fundamental recalculation of security risks that has rippled through the Gulf’s technology sector since Tehran began launching missiles and drones at the region in retaliation for US and Israeli military operations against Iran.

Additional reference context is available at https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/article-908379.

The project, known as the UAE-US AI Campus, sits at the center of the country’s effort to transform itself into a global artificial intelligence hub as it diversifies away from oil. G42, an AI company controlled by Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser and brother of its president, is leading the initiative in partnership with major American technology firms. During President Donald Trump’s visit to the UAE last year, the partnership was announced as a cornerstone of bilateral cooperation. In exchange for access to Nvidia chips and other advanced American technology, the UAE committed to severing its AI relationships with China and investing in Stargate, a joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank designed to build AI infrastructure.

The revised blueprint includes new defensive measures that officials are actively considering. These range from building some facilities underground to installing air defense systems capable of intercepting drones and missiles, along with electronic jamming equipment. Authorities are also exploring whether the most sensitive installations, particularly those housing military data, could be positioned inside mountains. The UAE’s terrain is predominantly flat desert, but mountain ranges exist in parts of the northern and northeastern emirates of Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. Other protective measures under review include blast-resistant concrete construction and redundant power and cooling systems.

Two people familiar with the matter confirmed the campus location is near Al Dhafra Air Base on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, a detail not previously made public. The base hosts American troops and has itself been targeted during the conflict that began in February.

Construction on the first phase, a $30-billion, 1-gigawatt compute cluster called Stargate UAE, commenced last year with 200 megawatts of capacity expected to come online this year. When fully operational, the facility will have sufficient capacity to connect every UAE government agency and commercial institution to the world’s most advanced AI models, according to Larry Ellison, chairman and chief technology officer at Oracle, which is partnering with G42 on the project.

Reuters could not determine how far along Emirati authorities are in finalizing a revised masterplan, or whether the proposed changes will significantly affect construction costs and timelines. G42 responded to questions about potential modifications by stating that work on the AI campus was proceeding as planned, adding that “the project’s specifics are subject to continuous review in line with the security, resilience and operational standards expected of critical infrastructure at this scale.”

By contrast, outside observers are less measured in their assessment of what the conflict has already cost the region. Daniel Benaim, who served as US deputy assistant secretary of state for Arabian Peninsula affairs under President Joe Biden and now works as a fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, characterized the situation as an “economic earthquake” for Gulf states that had long positioned themselves as secure investment destinations. “Changes to harden critical infrastructure are vitally necessary,” Benaim said. “Every country in the region is going to look at what they can do to reduce the risk and reassure international partners and investors.”

An industry executive and another person briefed on the matter indicated that the first construction phase is expected to continue with some modifications to defend against aerial attacks, while the remainder of the project will likely be distributed across multiple locations throughout the UAE. Whether that dispersal is enough to satisfy the international partners and investors Benaim described remains the open question hanging over Abu Dhabi’s AI ambitions.