Microsoft to invest $1.5 billion in UAE AI firm
Microsoft Corp. will invest $1.5 billion in a technology company backed by the United Arab Emirates, a deal that includes an intergovernmental pact to ensure artificial intelligence security as the U.S. and China increasingly compete for influence in the Gulf.
Relations between the U.S. and U.A.E. have been strained in recent years over Abu Dhabi’s growing ties to China and its technology firms.
The agreement between one of America’s biggest tech players and Abu Dhabi-based G42 signals a pivot for the Gulf state toward Washington. Terms of the deal or a valuation of G42 weren’t disclosed, as the firms announced the agreement Tuesday. Microsoft President Brad Smith will join the Abu Dhabi firm’s board and G42 will use the U.S.
firm’s cloud services for its AI applications, the companies said. The partnership also aims to create “a skilled and diverse AI workforce" for the U.A.E. and create a $1 billion fund for developers, the firms said.
The U.A.E. has set a goal of becoming a world leader in artificial intelligence and recently held talks with OpenAI chief executive officer Sam Altman about investing in a multitrillion-dollar initiative that would boost the world’s chip-building capacity and expand its ability to power AI, The Wall Street Journal reported. As part of those discussions, Altman spoke with the U.A.E.’s Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al Nahyan, who chairs G42.
He is also the country’s national security adviser and brother of the U.A.E. ruler, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed. In October, G42 announced a partnership with OpenAI, which is behind AI systems such as ChatGPT, to “deliver cutting-edge AI solutions to the U.A.E.
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