Benchmark Drilldown · Updated 2026-05-04
Stargate UAE
1GW data centre — Hyperscale compute project in partnership with the US
- Amount
- 1GW data centre
- Note
- Hyperscale compute project in partnership with the US
- Region
- UAE
Detail
Stargate UAE is a 1 GW data centre plan jointly announced by OpenAI + Oracle + SoftBank + UAE Abu Dhabi, made public during Trump's UAE visit in May 2025. The plan: a 1 GW AI compute park in Abu Dhabi, first phase 200 MW deploying from 2026. It is the Middle Eastern first stop of OpenAI's broader Stargate initiative (targeting 10 GW+ globally). Assessment: Stargate UAE is the flagship asset of the UAE strategy — "we are not just writing cheques (MGX) but also providing land (data centres)". But deploying 1 GW of compute takes 3-5 years; 2026-2028 will reveal the actual delivery cadence. Energy consumption (~8.8 TWh/year at sustained 1 GW operation) is a new challenge for local grids.
References
Continue exploring this region
Region overview
UAE Core Strategy
UAE's core AI strategy is AI Strategy 2031, with the public year marked as 2017/2021.
Region overview
UAE Investment Scale
UAE's AI investment signal is: $100B MGX fund / $15.2B Microsoft.
Region overview
UAE Governance Model
UAE's AI governance model can be summarised as: Voluntary ethics code, sandbox-friendly.
Region overview
UAE Core Strength
UAE's comparative strength versus Singapore is: Largest capital pool, world's first AI Minister.
Core strategy
AI Strategy 2031
Among the world's earliest national AI strategies; targets AI contributing 33.5% of GDP
Core strategy
AI Ethics Principles
Voluntary ethical guidelines
Data note
Curated benchmark drilldown profile, last updated 2026-05-04.