United Arab Emirates receives Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) $15.2 billion investment commitment, United States approves export of NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) GB300 GPU.

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) announced on Monday that it will be investing $15.2 billion in the United Arab Emirates between 2023 and 2029 to drive its business growth in the region. The tech giant also mentioned that it has obtained a license to export advanced artificial intelligence (AI) GPUs to the UAE, including products from NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US). Following the announcement, Microsoft Corporation's stock slightly rose in pre-market trading, while NVIDIA Corporation's stock rose by 2%. The $15.2 billion investment includes a $1.5 billion equity investment in the UAE company G42; over $4.6 billion for capital expenditures to build advanced AI and cloud data centers in the UAE; and over $1.2 billion for local operating expenses. Brad Smith, Vice Chairman and President of Microsoft Corporation, stated in a blog post that from next year until 2029, Microsoft Corporation will add over $7.9 billion in spending in the UAE, including over $5.5 billion for capital expenditures on AI and cloud infrastructure; the remaining $2.4 billion will be used for local operating expenses and sales costs. Smith wrote in the blog, "Sometimes, the tech industry seems to be caught in a 'slogan war,' with everyone trying to announce larger and more staggering numbers. But we believe that it is important to stay pragmatic while making investments and to be transparent about the investment details. We also hope to demonstrate that we believe these investments will benefit the company's shareholders, the people of the UAE, and the relationship between the two countries." Smith also disclosed specific details about the export license: it was approved by the U.S. Commerce Department in September, allowing Microsoft Corporation to ship products equivalent to 60,400 A100 chips to the UAE, as well as some NVIDIA Corporation GB300 GPU. "Although these chips are powerful and in large quantities, what's more important is the positive impact they will bring to the UAE," added Smith. "We will utilize these GPUs to enable users to access advanced AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, open-source providers, and Microsoft Corporation itself; we will provide support for AI applications developed by various local and international providers (including our Copilot application); and we will collaborate with G42 to provide support for public and private sector institutions, as well as consumers, across various industries in the UAE." Previously, Microsoft Corporation had obtained approval from the Biden administration to deploy products equivalent to 21,500 NVIDIA Corporation A100 GPUs in the UAE, which include A100, H100, and H200 chips.