🇦🇪 UAE Revises $30bn AI Data-Centre Plan After Iranian Attacks

The United Arab Emirates is revising plans for a massive 5-gigawatt artificial-intelligence data-centre project following attacks on technology infrastructure in the Gulf during the ongoing conflict with Iran, according to people familiar with the plans cited by Reuters. The project was originally envisioned as a single 10-square-mile (26-square-kilometre) AI campus in Abu Dhabi. Under the revised approach, the UAE is considering a network of data centres spread across different locations in the country. The proposed changes aim to make the infrastructure more resilient to potential drone and missile attacks, with authorities considering measures including air-defence systems, blast-resistant construction, and underground facilities. Stargate UAE at the Centre of the Project The AI infrastructure forms part of the Stargate UAE initiative, a partnership involving UAE-based AI company G42 and major U.S. technology companies including OpenAI, Oracle and Nvidia, with SoftBank also involved in the wider Stargate project. The initiative is central to the UAE's ambition to become a global AI hub and reduce its economic dependence on oil. The first phase, known as Stargate UAE, represents a planned $30 billion investment and involves a 1-gigawatt computing cluster. Construction began last year, with the first 200 megawatts expected to come online in 2026. Iran's Attacks Trigger Security Review According to Reuters' sources, Emirati officials began reviewing the AI infrastructure plans after Iran launched missile and drone attacks against Gulf states hosting U.S. forces. Two Amazon Web Services data centres in the UAE were reportedly damaged during attacks in March, along with another facility in Bahrain. The incidents raised concerns about the vulnerability of large technology facilities to military strikes. Iran's armed forces also reportedly issued a warning identifying the Stargate UAE project as a potential target. The reported location of the planned complex is near Al Dhafra Air Base, which hosts U.S. military personnel and has itself been targeted during the conflict. UAE Still Says Project Is Progressing Despite the reported security review, G42 said construction of the AI campus was progressing as planned. The company indicated that the project's design and specifications are continuously reviewed to meet the security, resilience and operational requirements expected of critical infrastructure on such a large scale. OpenAI also said it was working with the UAE on its AI ambitions and making progress on the infrastructure and adoption priorities needed for the project. However, Reuters reported that it could not determine how close UAE authorities were to finalising a new master plan or how any redesign could affect construction costs and timelines. Why the Story Matters The development highlights a new challenge facing the global AI industry: AI infrastructure is becoming strategically important enough to be treated as critical national infrastructure. Large data centres require enormous amounts of electricity, advanced semiconductor technology, cooling systems and high-speed communications networks. As governments increasingly depend on AI for public services, defence, business and economic development, protecting these facilities from physical attacks is becoming an important national-security issue. For the UAE, the challenge is particularly significant because Abu Dhabi wants to position itself as one of the world's leading AI centres while simultaneously navigating rising regional security risks. The proposed shift from one giant campus to multiple distributed facilities could reduce the consequences of a single attack and improve resilience, although it could also increase construction and operational complexity. The UAE's decision demonstrates how geopolitical tensions are beginning to influence not only where AI systems are developed, but also how the physical infrastructure powering them is designed and protected. Source: Verified source: Reuters — UAE revises AI data centre plan after Iranian attacks