UAE revises AI data center project after Iranian attacks
The United Arab Emirates is revising plans for a 5-gigawatt artificial intelligence data center project following Iran’s attacks on Gulf countries. According to Reuters, instead of a single 26-square-kilometer campus in Abu Dhabi, the project will likely consist of a network of data centers in different parts of the country.
The Jerusalem Post reported this, citing Reuters and six informed sources, including a U.S. official, a Western diplomat, and industry representatives. According to the sources, UAE authorities are also considering strengthening protection of the facilities against drones and missiles, including by building part of the capacity underground.
Stargate UAE project
The UAE-US AI Campus is being built by the UAE in partnership with U.S. technology companies. The project is led by G42, which is controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser and brother of the country’s president.
Construction of the first phase — the 1-gigawatt Stargate UAE computing cluster, costing $30 billion — began last year. The first 200 megawatts of capacity are due to be launched this year. G42 said work on the AI campus is proceeding according to plan and that the project’s parameters are continuously reviewed in line with security, resilience, and critical infrastructure operational requirements.
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Reuters was unable to determine how close UAE authorities are to approving a new master plan and how potential changes would affect construction costs and timelines. OpenAI said it is working with the UAE to implement its vision for AI development. Nvidia, Oracle, Cisco, and the UAE Ministry of Advanced Technology did not respond to requests for comment, while SoftBank declined to comment.
Protection against air attacks
According to Reuters sources, the review of the plans began after Tehran launched missiles and drones at neighboring Gulf countries hosting U.S. forces, in response to U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. In March, two Amazon Web Services data centers in the UAE and another one in Bahrain were damaged in the attacks.
In April, Iran’s armed forces released a video warning that Stargate UAE could also become a target. Two Reuters sources confirmed that the site is located near Al Dhafra Air Base on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, where U.S. military personnel are stationed.
The first stage of construction is expected to continue with additional means of protection against air attacks. For subsequent stages, the dispersal of facilities, underground construction, and the possible placement of systems containing the most sensitive data, including military data, inside mountains are being considered. The updated plan may also include missile and drone interceptors, electronic warfare jamming systems, blast-resistant concrete, backup power supply, and cooling.
