Microsoft is significantly expanding its long-term commitment to the UAE with a $15.2 billion investment plan running from 2023 to 2029, marking one of its largest programmes in the region. The initiative aims to support the UAE’s ambition to become a global leader in artificial intelligence, sovereign cloud infrastructure and digital transformation.
A major share of the investment will go toward building advanced Azure cloud capacity, including 200 megawatts of new data-centre infrastructure through Microsoft’s partnership with G42’s Khazna Data Centers. More than $10 billion is allocated for cloud and AI data-centre development, while $3 billion will support local operations, research and strategic collaborations. The plan follows Microsoft’s earlier $1.5 billion equity investment in G42 and its expanded role within the Abu Dhabi AI group.
Microsoft has also secured U.S. export licences to bring advanced NVIDIA GPUs into the UAE, enabling nationwide support for large-scale AI model training and secure workloads across government and industry.
Workforce development is a central pillar of the expansion. Through its “Microsoft Elevate UAE” initiative, the company aims to train more than 250,000 students, academics and educators, and 55,000 government employees in AI and cloud skills, with a wider goal of upskilling one million people by 2027. The Microsoft AI for Good Lab and Engineering Development Centre in Abu Dhabi will continue to support national talent and research in underrepresented languages.
Microsoft is also expanding partnerships across energy, finance, government and education to fast-track digital transformation and strengthen the country’s innovation ecosystem. The company’s UAE General Manager, Amr Kamel, said the plan reflects strong confidence in the nation’s economic direction and will help build an integrated digital ecosystem that boosts productivity and sustainable growth.
For the UAE, the multi-year investment aligns with national priorities around AI leadership, digital sovereignty and economic diversification. For Microsoft, it provides deeper foothold in a region accelerating adoption of cloud and advanced AI technologies.
