"Concerns About U.S. AI Capabilities Being Leaked"
Plans to Build Data Centers in Asia-Pacific as Well
OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, announced on May 22 (local time) that it will support the construction of a large-scale data center in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
On the same day, OpenAI announced that it had entered into a partnership with G42, an artificial intelligence (AI) technology company backed by the UAE sovereign wealth fund, to build a 5GW (gigawatt) data center in Abu Dhabi. Once completed, the facility will cover approximately 10 square miles (about 26 square kilometers), and its power demand is expected to be similar to the generation capacity of five nuclear power plants.
With the signing of this partnership, OpenAI will expand its 'Stargate' project for building AI infrastructure overseas for the first time. In January, OpenAI announced the 'Stargate' project, which aims to invest about $500 billion over the next four years, together with SoftBank, Oracle, and others, to construct large-scale data centers.
OpenAI stated that an initial 1GW data center cluster will be built, with 200MW (megawatts) scheduled to become operational in 2026. The UAE plans to use this infrastructure to provide ChatGPT Plus subscription services to all citizens and to integrate OpenAI's technology across government agencies, including in the energy and healthcare sectors. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, emphasized in a statement, "By establishing the world's first Stargate outside the United States in the UAE, we are turning vision into reality," adding, "This is a step toward enabling important innovations of our era, such as personalized learning, modernized energy, and safe pharmaceuticals, to emerge in more diverse regions."
OpenAI also explained that, as part of this agreement, G42 plans to make a reciprocal investment of the same amount in U.S. AI infrastructure. However, Bloomberg reported that some members of the Donald Trump administration have expressed concerns about the strategic implications of such cooperation. This is because G42 has maintained close ties with Huawei, a leading Chinese telecommunications company, raising concerns that U.S. semiconductors needed for developing advanced AI models could be shared with China-related companies. Although G42 promised to divest from Chinese companies such as Huawei when it entered a $1.5 billion partnership with Microsoft (MS) last year, Bloomberg noted that questions remain as to whether G42 will actually fulfill this promise.
In addition, OpenAI plans to visit neighboring countries, including Korea, to explore building data centers in the Asia-Pacific region. Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources, reported that Jason Kwon, OpenAI's Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), will visit Korea, Japan, Australia, and India to meet with government and corporate officials.
Chris Lihan, OpenAI's Chief Global Officer (CGO), stated, "More than 30 countries have already requested cooperation on AI infrastructure development," adding, "Countries around the world recognize access to AI technology as a national priority."
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