Microsoft Expands UAE Presence with $15.2B AI Investment Plan

Strategic Investment in Digital Transformation

Microsoft is executing one of its largest regional investments through a $15.2 billion commitment to the UAE spanning 2023 to 2029. The program centers on three pillars: technology infrastructure, talent development, and trusted partnerships, designed to accelerate the country's transition to a knowledge-based digital economy. Amr Kamel, General Manager of Microsoft UAE, outlined the investment breakdown to Emirates News Agency: $1.5 billion in G42, over $10 billion for advanced cloud datacenters, and more than $3 billion for local operations and strategic partnerships. The company is partnering with Khazna Data Centres, a G42 subsidiary, to add 200 megawatts of capacity by 2026, expanding sovereign Azure cloud services for both government and private sectors.

Training the Next Generation

Human capital development forms a cornerstone of the initiative. Through the "Microsoft Elevate UAE" program, the company aims to train more than 250,000 students and academics, alongside 55,000 government employees, in advanced AI skills. This effort supports Microsoft's broader goal to upskill one million people across the UAE by 2027, strengthening the nation's competitive position in the global digital economy. Microsoft's Abu Dhabi operations include the Microsoft AI for Good Lab and the Abu Dhabi Engineering Development Centre, which focus on advancing language models for underrepresented languages while developing local technical talent. These facilities will expand their scope to include domain-specific AI models across scientific and technological fields.

Building an Integrated Digital Ecosystem

The investment strategy targets multiple national economic sectors by empowering startups, backing innovators, and encouraging local industries to adopt next-generation technologies. Microsoft has secured rare U.S. export licenses to deploy high-performance graphics processing units, with over 60,000 advanced chips approved for deployment to power AI applications across public and private organizations. Kamel indicated that upcoming phases will introduce new datacenters and expanded partnerships across government, education, energy, and financial services. The expansion directly supports the UAE's national digital economy strategy, which aims to double the digital sector's contribution to GDP over the next decade.