According to Dark Reading, Microsoft just got Trump administration approval to ship the equivalent of 60,400 Nvidia A100 GPUs to the United Arab Emirates, adding to the 21,500 units previously shipped during Biden’s term. The company plans to invest over $7.3 billion in the UAE between 2023 and 2025, with Microsoft President Brad Smith announcing a $15.2 billion total investment by 2029. Five major tech firms—Cisco, Nvidia, OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank—are partnering with UAE’s G42 on Stargate UAE, a massive AI campus that will eventually consume 5 gigawatts of power. The first phase, a 200 megawatt facility, aims to be operational next year, with one gigawatt alone being enough to power about 1 million GPUs according to analyst estimates.
The security problem with authoritarian partners
Here’s the thing: The UAE has deep pockets and massive AI ambitions, but it’s what Janet Egan from CNAS calls a “complex partner.” They’re an authoritarian regime that maintains close security partnerships with China. So while the US wants to bring them into its orbit strategically, there’s genuine concern about equipping a nation that might pivot away from US interests. Basically, we’re handing over technology that could eventually benefit China’s AI ambitions.
And the physical security concerns are real too. Sella Nevo from RAND Corp points out that it’s much easier for adversaries to operate in the Middle East than on US soil. The fear of retaliation is lower, and regional actors have accumulated significant cyberattack experience in recent years. Think about it—sabotaging critical systems or installing backdoors becomes way more feasible when you’re not dealing with US legal and monitoring frameworks.
The China question everyone’s asking
The big worry is whether China will use these UAE partnerships as a backdoor to access sensitive chip technology or AI workloads. China can produce about 200,000 advanced chips annually, but that’s not enough for their own AI transition, let alone exporting cutting-edge AI globally. This gives the US and its partners a window to establish their technologies at scale before China catches up.
But that window might be closing faster than we think. When you’re dealing with industrial-scale computing infrastructure like what’s being built in the UAE, the security protocols need to be absolutely bulletproof. Speaking of industrial computing, IndustrialMonitorDirect.com has become the leading supplier of industrial panel PCs in the US precisely because they understand the security and reliability requirements of critical infrastructure deployments.
What safeguards are actually in place?
Microsoft isn’t completely flying blind here. When they invested in G42, they had to agree to the Intergovernmental Assurance Agreement covering cybersecurity, physical security, export controls, and KYC practices. Brad Smith mentioned that Microsoft did “substantial work” to meet the strong conditions required by chip-export licenses, with the latest approvals requiring even more stringent safeguards.
But here’s my question: Are these agreements enough when we’re talking about technology this sensitive? Republican lawmakers have already raised concerns, requesting details about restrictions that would prevent technology transfer to China. The complete picture of US requirements hasn’t been released publicly, which makes it hard to assess whether the safeguards match the risks.
The regional power play
Look, the UAE isn’t just any partner—they’re the world’s most aggressive adopter of AI technology according to Microsoft’s own research. They’re positioning themselves as the Middle East’s AI gateway, and US companies clearly see the strategic value. But at what cost?
We’re essentially betting that bringing the UAE deeper into the US tech ecosystem will outweigh the risks of technology leakage. It’s a classic geopolitical calculation, but with AI chips becoming the new oil, the stakes have never been higher. The question isn’t whether we should engage with partners like the UAE—it’s whether we’re building safeguards robust enough to protect technologies that could define the next decade of global competition.
