Microsoft’s $15 billion AI deal could give the UAE access to Nvidia’s most advanced chips
Could this deal make the UAE the Middle East’s most powerful player in artificial intelligence?
Nvidia chips that Washington has guarded like nuclear codes are now heading to the Middle East, and Microsoft is the one sending them. The company is committing over $15 billion to the UAE through 2029, becoming the first company ever to get U.S. export licenses under the Trump administration to ship Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips to the Emirates.
What’s really happening is that Microsoft is building out massive AI data centers across the UAE. The latest approval alone covers the equivalent of 60,400 Nvidia A100 chips, specifically the cutting-edge GB300 GPUs that power everything from advanced chatbots to scientific research. These chips are set to arrive within months, and they'll run AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, open-source providers, and even Copilot.
But this isn’t just a straightforward business deal. There’s deep geopolitical tension underneath. U.S. lawmakers, including House China Committee Chairman John Moolenaar, have raised concerns about the UAE’s tech relationship with China and the risk that advanced American chips could reach Chinese firms through back channels.
Oyinebiladou Omemu
Even Microsoft’s main UAE partner, G42, an Abu Dhabi-based AI company, has already faced scrutiny over its historical ties to China. To secure this deal, Microsoft had to meet strict cybersecurity and national security conditions, while G42 has been working closely with U.S. partners to demonstrate compliance with American oversight.
The stakes are particularly high given the regional competition. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been in a fierce race to dominate Middle Eastern AI, with Saudi Arabia planning 2,200 megawatts of future data center capacity compared to the UAE's 500 megawatts. Riyadh has also set up a $40 billion AI fund last year and has teamed up with Amazon, which recently pledged $5.3 billion for regional data centers.
The UAE’s ability to access Nvidia’s chips is part of a broader economic exchange, a pledge to invest $1.4 trillion in U.S. energy and AI projects, securing privileges that Beijing cannot access.
This entire move signals a shift in how Washington approaches technology alliances. Instead of keeping all the power at home, the U.S. is making calculated bets on which nations get to sit at the AI table. The UAE is betting big on becoming the Middle East’s AI capital, and Microsoft is betting that helping them get there is worth $15 billion and navigating some very complicated geopolitics.
The takeaway
Microsoft’s $15 billion partnership with the UAE isn’t only about cloud capacity, but also influence. By giving the Emirates access to Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips, Washington is quietly redrawing the global tech map, turning the Middle East into a testing ground for the next phase of AI geopolitics.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
