UAE revises AI data center plan after Iranian attacks: Reuters
Officials are redesigning the project to spread capacity across multiple sites and add air defenses after Iranian strikes damaged regional cloud infrastructure, sources said.
- The United Arab Emirates is quietly revising plans for a 5-gigawatt AI data center project, one of the biggest outside the U.S., after Iran's missile and drone strikes prompted officials to rethink how critical infrastructure should be built.
- Emirati officials began reviewing infrastructure plans soon after Tehran started firing missiles and drones at Gulf neighbors hosting United States troops, retaliating for American and Israeli airstrikes against Iran.
- Originally envisaged as a 10-square-mile campus in Abu Dhabi, the project will now likely comprise a network of data centers spread across the UAE, with officials considering underground facilities and mountain sites in Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah emirates.
- Daniel Benaim, a fellow at the Middle East Institute, termed the conflict an "economic earthquake" for Gulf states, saying every country in the region will seek to reduce infrastructure risk and reassure international investors.
- The $30-billion Stargate UAE project, led by G42, remains central to the UAE's economic shift away from oil, with the first 200 megawatts of capacity involving advanced technology from Nvidia and Oracle partners.
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23 Articles
Iranian strikes force UAE to dismantle plans for its AI mega-campus
TEHRAN — The United Arab Emirates is quietly dismantling its blueprint for a 5-gigawatt artificial intelligence project, abandoning plans for a centralized campus in Abu Dhabi in favor of a dispersed network of hardened facilities.
According to insiders, the United Arab Emirates (VAE) is revising their plans for a large AI data center due to the Iran war. The project, originally planned as a 26 square kilometre campus, is now likely to be distributed across a network of data centers across the country, said six people familiar with the matter. In addition, one would consider better protecting the facilities, for example by air defense systems or underground construction.
Since the Iranian attacks on the Gulf region, a rethink has begun in the United Arab Emirates. A planned 26 square kilometers campus is now likely to be significantly reduced.
UAE Rethinks AI Data Hub Amid Rising Security Concerns
The United Arab Emirates is revising its plans for a major AI data center project due to concerns over critical infrastructure security, after Iran's actions prompted new strategies for protection. The project, key to UAE's global AI ambitions, faces potential modifications for defense against aerial threats.
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