(Bloomberg) — OpenAI is considering building new data center capacity in the United Arab Emirates that could significantly expand its footprint in the Middle East, according to people familiar with the matter.
The deal, which is not yet finalized and could still change, may be announced as soon as this week, during President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations. Trump is slated to be in the UAE on Thursday. OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman is also in the region as part of a broader tour by tech leaders.
OpenAI declined to comment.
The ChatGPT maker recently said it’s looking to partner with national governments to develop more AI infrastructure outside the US and promote American leadership in the field. The potential deal is also part of a flurry of investment activity during Trump’s trip to the region, including plans to grant Saudi Arabia more access to advanced semiconductors.
OpenAI has had a long relationship with the UAE, dating back to a 2023 partnership with Abu Dhabi’s AI firm G42. In 2024, G42 received a $1.5 billion investment from OpenAI-backer Microsoft Corp. MGX, an investment vehicle overseen by an Emirati royal family member, participated in OpenAI’s $6.6 billion funding round that closed in October. MGX also plans to contribute to OpenAI’s $100 billion joint venture with SoftBank Group Corp. and Oracle Corp. to build AI infrastructure in the US.
It’s not clear how much data center capacity OpenAI seeks to build in the UAE, according to the people. The project hinges in large part on whether OpenAI can import cutting-edge Nvidia Corp. chips that are used to develop and train AI models. The US has restricted the sale of those chips to the UAE since 2023, though Trump officials are closing in on an accord to ease the Gulf nation’s access, Bloomberg News has reported.
The US deal currently under consideration could see the UAE import more than a million advanced Nvidia chips, the majority of which would be set aside for US companies building data centers in the Gulf nation, Bloomberg News reported.
Trump officials are more willing than their Biden predecessors to allow semiconductor shipments to the Middle East, particularly in light of massive investment promises from the Gulf into US tech and infrastructure. However, questions remain around provisions to prevent China from accessing the hardware to build more advanced AI systems.
The Trump administration previously announced it will scrap a Biden-era framework that attempted to address some of those security and strategic questions. Trump officials are currently drafting new global chip regulations, Bloomberg News has reported.
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