UAE Rethinks 5-Gigawatt AI Campus After Iran Targets US Assets in Gulf

The United Arab Emirates is re-evaluating plans for a planned 5-gigawatt AI data centre campus in Abu Dhabi after a series of Iranian missile and drone strikes on U.S. assets and U.S.-linked infrastructure in the Persian Gulf, Reuters sources said. UAE officials are considering dispersing the single large campus into multiple sites across the country and adding protections to shield facilities from missile and drone attacks.

By AI NewsroomPublished about 4 hours agoUpdated about 4 hours ago0 views

Why It Matters

The shift could reshape where and how major AI computing capacity is deployed in the region, affecting investor confidence and the UAE’s ambition to be a global hub for AI. Decisions on infrastructure siting and security will also reflect how regional tensions influence critical technology projects.

Key Facts

Planned capacity: 5 gigawatts for AI data centers in Abu Dhabi
Original project name/partners: Referred to as the 5-GW UAE-US AI Campus, led by G42 in partnership with U.S. hyperscalers
Geographic reach: Designed to provide low-latency services to populations within 3,200 km (2,000 miles) of the UAE — nearly half the world’s population
Reason for reconsideration: Iranian missile and drone attacks on U.S. assets and U.S.-linked infrastructure in the Persian Gulf
Sources reporting change: Multiple anonymous Reuters sources, including a U.S. official, a Western diplomat, and industry executives

The UAE is rethinking a high-profile plan to build a 5-gigawatt AI campus in Abu Dhabi after a series of attacks by Iran on American bases and infrastructure in the Persian Gulf prompted fresh security concerns, multiple Reuters sources said. The original proposal aimed to concentrate substantial computing power in a single sprawling site to serve a large regional customer base. Under the initial plan, the Abu Dhabi campus would have provided 5 GW of capacity, enabling U.S. cloud providers to offer lower-latency AI services to people living within about 3,200 km (2,000 miles) of the UAE. The project, led by UAE firm G42 in partnership with U.S. hyperscalers, was positioned as one of the largest AI facilities planned outside the United States. Officials and industry figures told Reuters that the recent spate of Iranian missile and drone strikes has prompted UAE authorities to weigh alternatives, including distributing capacity across a network of smaller data centers within the UAE rather than concentrating it in one location. They are also examining additional protective measures for critical sites to reduce vulnerability to missile and drone attacks. G42 told Reuters that the project’s design and details are being continuously reviewed to align with the security, resilience and operational standards expected for major critical infrastructure. The reconsideration comes after Iranian drones struck three Amazon Web Services-linked facilities in the region earlier this year, with two hits in the UAE and one in Bahrain, underscoring investor and sovereign concerns about protecting large-scale computing assets.