An AI summary:
Multiple Gulf states are pursuing major AI partnerships with the United States, including investments in AI centers within their own borders and reciprocal investments in U.S. AI infrastructure. Key players in these partnerships include the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, with involvement from U.S. tech giants such as Nvidia, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Oracle.
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Massive AI campus: The UAE and the U.S. announced a joint initiative in May 2025 to build a 5-gigawatt AI campus in Abu Dhabi, which is planned to be the largest outside of the U.S..
This campus will be built by the Emirati state-linked tech firm G42 and operated in partnership with U.S. firms like OpenAI, Oracle, and Nvidia.
It will serve the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia markets.
Reciprocal investment: As part of the agreement, the UAE has committed to investing in U.S.-based AI infrastructure. In January 2025, G42 and other partners committed $500 billion to the U.S.-based Stargate project.
Strategic U.S. partnerships:
Microsoft and G42: In April 2024, Microsoft invested $1.5 billion in G42 to accelerate AI development and global expansion.
Qualcomm: The Abu Dhabi Investment Office and Qualcomm have partnered to establish an advanced engineering center in Abu Dhabi focused on AI and data center solutions.
Cerebras: G42 has a strategic partnership with California-based Cerebras Systems and has been co-developing the Condor Galaxy supercomputer network.
MGX: The Abu Dhabi investment company MGX has participated in funding rounds for OpenAI and xAI and is a founding partner in the AI Infrastructure Partnership with Microsoft and BlackRock.
Saudi Arabia
Vision 2030 and tech hub: Under its Vision 2030 plan, Saudi Arabia is heavily investing in AI to diversify its economy away from oil and transform into a tech and innovation hub.
Major U.S. tech collaborations:
Nvidia and HUMAIN: In May 2025, Nvidia announced a partnership with the new Saudi AI firm HUMAIN, providing 18,000 of its top-tier AI supercomputing chips to build foundational infrastructure in the kingdom.
Google Cloud: Google Cloud is cooperating with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) on an AI hub in Dammam.
Cisco and HUMAIN: Cisco is partnering with HUMAIN to build scalable and secure AI infrastructure from the ground up, including establishing an AI Institute at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).
Groq: U.S. AI chip startup Groq secured a $1.5 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to build the world's largest AI inferencing data center in Dammam.
Amazon Web Services (AWS): AWS is working with local partners to create an "AI Zone" on its platforms.
Reciprocal investment: As part of a larger $600 billion economic package, the U.S. announced a deal where Saudi firms will invest tens of billions into U.S. data centers.
Qatar
Strategic investments: Qatar is using its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), to invest in AI and digital infrastructure globally, particularly in the U.S..
In September 2025, QIA partnered with U.S. asset manager Blue Owl to launch a $3 billion digital infrastructure platform focused on data centers.
QIA was also a key backer in a record-breaking $13 billion funding round for U.S. AI firm Anthropic.
Quantum technology: Qatari investment firm Al Rabban Capital has committed $1 billion to U.S.-based quantum firm Quantinuum to invest in U.S. quantum technology and workforce development.