OpenAI Launches Stargate UAE, Its First Foreign AI Megaproject

OpenAI will build a 1-gigawatt AI compute cluster in Abu Dhabi, the company's first Stargate deployment outside the United States and the inaugural project under its new "OpenAI for Countries" program.

The deal, announced with partners G42, Oracle, NVIDIA, Cisco, and SoftBank, involves two commitments: the Stargate UAE data center campus in Abu Dhabi, with the first 200 megawatts expected to go live in 2026, and reciprocal UAE investment into U.S. Stargate infrastructure. OpenAI developed the agreement in close coordination with the U.S. government and credited President Trump directly for his role.

"We greatly appreciate President Trump for his support in making it possible," OpenAI said in its announcement.

The arrangement builds on the U.S.-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership announced during Trump's visit to the region last week, according to the U.S. Commerce Department framework the announcement references. It also follows the UAE's commitment earlier this year to invest $1.4 trillion in the United States — capital OpenAI says will support job creation and help America maintain its technological leadership.

Why it matters

The partnership marks a structural shift in how frontier AI infrastructure gets built and governed. Stargate, which OpenAI launched in January with an unprecedented investment pledge in American AI infrastructure, is now exporting its compute model abroad — but under conditions set jointly with Washington. OpenAI frames OpenAI for Countries as a way to help governments build sovereign AI capability "in coordination with the U.S. government—rooted in democratic values, open markets, and trusted partnerships."

That framing places compute exports inside the broader U.S. strategy of channeling advanced AI capacity toward allied nations while restricting adversary access to cutting-edge chips and models.

The geography sharpens the stakes. OpenAI says Stargate UAE could provide AI infrastructure and compute to countries within a 2,000-mile radius of Abu Dhabi — a region that reaches up to half the world's population, spanning South Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Africa.

Nationwide ChatGPT, and what comes next

Under the partnership, the UAE will become the first country in the world to enable ChatGPT nationwide, giving residents across the country access to OpenAI's technology. The UAE government plans to deploy OpenAI's tools across critical sectors including government, energy, healthcare, education, and transportation.

OpenAI says it is already in talks with other governments interested in building their own Stargates. In the initial phase of OpenAI for Countries, the company aims to pursue 10 partnerships across key countries and regions, which it describes as "laying the foundation for a globally distributed, democratically powered AI network."

The diplomatic roadshow starts immediately. OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon will begin an OpenAI for Countries tour across Asia Pacific next week, meeting with governments and potential private-sector partners to discuss building out infrastructure and delivering AI services in their communities.

The project's success will hinge on execution — whether the 200MW phase actually comes online in 2026 and how the U.S. government's security conditions hold as more countries join the queue.