UAE, US to seal more deals in artificial intelligence: Abu Dhabi
Microsoft is investing $1.5B in Abu Dhabi-backed G42, giving the US giant a minority stake and a board seat and allowing the two to deepen ties.
The UAE minister says a diversified energy mix, including nuclear energy, was key for attracting AI investment to the tiny Gulf country. / Photo: Reuters
The United Arab Emirates and the United States will invest more in artificial intelligence as part of a strategic partnership, the UAE's state minister for AI Omar Sultan Al Olama has said.
"In terms of our investments, since the US is now considering the UAE as a strategic partner, and the UAE is reciprocating that by considering the US as a strategic partner, you will see more deals naturally," Al Olama told Reuters Tuesday on the sidelines of an event in Dubai.
The UAE, led by government-backed firm G42, is striving to become a global leader in AI, invested heavily in it to help the Gulf nation diversify away from oil.
As neighbouring Saudi Arabia has begun pitching itself as a prospective hub for AI activity outside the United States, the stakes have risen.
Microsoft is investing $1.5B in G42, the two companies announced last month, giving the US giant a minority stake and a board seat and allowing the two to deepen ties.
As part of the deal, which the two companies said was backed by assurances to the US and UAE governments over security, G42 would use Microsoft cloud services to run its AI applications.
The Beijing factor
That partnership comes amid Washington's efforts to hobble Beijing's technological advances, with the United States adding four Chinese companies to an exports blacklist for seeking to acquire AI chips for China's military.
Asked about further potential divestment of Chinese tech companies by the UAE, Al Olama said "government-to-government the UAE is a neutral country, and in that sense, we are going to be a country that allows the world to do business in the UAE".
Al Olama said a diversified energy mix, including nuclear energy, was key for attracting AI investment to the tiny Gulf country.
"We will have the ability to expand our energy infrastructure based on the need of the data centres," the minister said.
This includes discussions about small modular nuclear reactors but there were no concrete plans yet, he said.
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