The UAE is reconsidering the design of one of its biggest artificial intelligence infrastructure projects after regional attacks raised fresh concerns about the security of critical data centres.
The planned 5-gigawatt UAE-US AI Campus in Abu Dhabi was initially designed as a single 10-square-mile facility. The project will be divided into multiple data centres across the UAE, according to people familiar with the discussions.
The proposed changes follow attacks during the Iran conflict that damaged data-centre infrastructure in the UAE and Bahrain. These have forced the officials to rethink their strategy for creating AI infrastructure.
Reportedly, authorities are considering various options. These include:
Distributing facilities across different locations
Building some sections underground
Using blast-resistant construction
Others include air-defence systems, drone and missile interceptors, electronic jamming equipment, backup power and additional cooling capacity. The changes aim to reduce the risks associated with concentrating a large amount of computing capacity at a single site.
The broader AI campus forms a major part of the UAE's strategy to establish itself as a global AI hub. G42 is leading the project alongside major US technology companies, including OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco and SoftBank.
The first phase, known as Stargate UAE, involves a $30-billion, 1GW computing cluster. The first 200MW is expected to come online in 2026. The wider UAE-US AI Campus is planned to provide 5GW of AI data-centre capacity.
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