OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, is set to support the construction of a large-scale data center that will be one of the largest in the world, which will be located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to multiple sources reported by Bloomberg News and other outlets on the 18th, OpenAI is expected to become one of the key supporting corporations and customers of the newly announced 5GW (gigawatt) data center facility in Abu Dhabi. While OpenAI's participation has not yet been finalized, sources noted that an official announcement could be forthcoming.
The data center being established in the UAE will cover approximately 10 square miles (about 26㎢) and will consume energy equivalent to that used by five nuclear power plants. This exceeds the scale of data centers previously announced by OpenAI and its competitors.
However, it is reported that OpenAI will utilize a portion of the total 5GW, with other various corporations also expected to share in its use. Bloomberg previously reported that OpenAI was reviewing the construction of a data center in the UAE.
On the 15th, the same day that U.S. President Donald Trump visited, Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence (AI) corporation G42 announced it would collaborate with several U.S. corporations to construct a 5GW data center. Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX is also reported to be considering a partnership with OpenAI and G42 on the data center project. OpenAI has been collaborating with G42 since 2023, and MGX participated in OpenAI's $6.6 billion investment round last October.
Sources noted that the data center construction in the UAE is being promoted as part of OpenAI's 'Stargate' project. OpenAI announced the Stargate project in January, stating it would invest up to $500 billion (700 trillion won) in AI infrastructure in the U.S. over the next four years, together with SoftBank and Oracle. OpenAI also announced earlier this month that it is pursuing collaborations with countries outside the U.S. for the construction of AI data centers. Through the UAE project, OpenAI aims to support the establishment of AI infrastructure in the Middle East.
Bloomberg reported that this represents the realization of a goal originally intended to be pursued in the United States, outside the country first. OpenAI mentioned the necessity of constructing a 5GW data center to the U.S. government at the end of last year, but there were concerns about its feasibility. As a result, OpenAI decided to pursue a similar-scale facility in the UAE before launching a project of the same scale in the U.S. The first Stargate campus in the U.S. is planned to be 1.2GW in scale, with plans to establish more than ten additional data center sites in the U.S. thereafter.