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(Bloomberg) — OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) plans to help develop a massive new data center in the United Arab Emirates that may eventually be one of the largest in the world, a major bet on the Middle East and a significant expansion of the company’s global AI infrastructure ambitions.
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The ChatGPT maker is expected to be one of the primary anchor tenants for a recently announced 5-gigawatt data center campus in Abu Dhabi, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the plans are not public. OpenAI’s participation is not yet finalized, said the people, but a formal announcement may come in the near term.
Oracle Corp (ORCL). is also involved in the project, two people said, and will help develop at least part of the first phase of the Abu Dhabi campus.
Once completed, the sprawling facility would cover 10 square miles and use roughly as much power as five nuclear reactors – far larger than any site the ChatGPT maker or its closest rivals have announced to date. Not all of the 5 gigawatts will go to OpenAI, one person said, but rather be shared by multiple firms. Bloomberg News previously reported that OpenAI was weighing a facility in the UAE.
US and UAE officials said Thursday that G42, the Abu Dhabi-based AI company with historic ties to China, would be building a 5-gigawatt data center in collaboration with several unnamed US companies. The news came the same day that President Donald Trump visited the country as part of his dealmaking tour of the Middle East. Officials on the ground were still in negotiations about potential AI deals for the UAE during the president’s visit.
MGX, an Abu Dhabi investment vehicle, is also considering participating in the data center project alongside OpenAI and G42, one person said. Other US partners may get involved too, the person said.
OpenAI declined to comment, while Oracle did not respond to an email seeking comment. Representatives for G42, MGX and the US Commerce Department did not respond to requests for comment.
The planned campus is part of OpenAI’s Stargate initiative to support AI development, two people said. OpenAI, SoftBank Group Corp. and Oracle announced Stargate alongside Trump in January, and said the joint venture would invest up to $500 billion in US projects over the next four years. Earlier this month, OpenAI said it was looking to partner with international governments to develop more AI data centers beyond the US and promote American leadership in the field.