G42 partners with OpenAI, Nvidia & Cisco to launch Stargate UAE, a 1GW AI megaproject

Abu Dhabi is set to host Stargate UAE, a 1-gigawatt AI compute cluster and the centrepiece of a new 5GW UAE–US AI Campus announced during last week’s visit by the U.S. President.

Launched in partnership with OpenAI, Nvidia, Oracle, Cisco, SoftBank, and Abu Dhabi’s G42, the initiative is part of OpenAI’s broader "OpenAI for Countries" program, designed to expand sovereign access to frontier AI infrastructure in coordination with the U.S. government. The UAE presidency is backing the project, which aims to empower local institutions with next-generation compute capacity.

Stargate UAE builds on the $500 billion Stargate project first unveiled in January and marks the latest in a flurry of high-profile G42 partnerships, including new tie-ups with Mistral AI and World Wide Technology. It’s a strategic move as Abu Dhabi steps up efforts to become a global AI hub.

While Microsoft was a founding partner of the original Stargate initiative, it does not appear as a partner in the UAE campus — though UAE fund MGX is a known backer of the U.S.-based facility.

Spanning 10 square miles, the Abu Dhabi campus will run on a hybrid energy mix of nuclear, solar, and natural gas to reduce emissions. For a preview of what this could look like, check out this Bloomberg Original, where Emily Chang explores the Stargate site under construction in Abilene, Texas.