OpenAI’s CFO discusses the company’s global expansion into the UAE through the Stargate UAE project, including building a large data center in Abu Dhabi to support AI deployment across the Middle East and beyond. He highlights the strategic importance of regional partnerships, infrastructure development, and the widespread adoption of AI tools like ChatGPT, emphasizing OpenAI’s commitment to making AI accessible worldwide.
In the interview, OpenAI’s CFO discusses the company’s recent expansion into the UAE through a project called Stargate UAE, which is part of their broader initiative to deploy AI globally, referred to as “OpenAI for countries.” This strategy aims to collaborate with international partners to ensure AI benefits are accessible worldwide, especially in critical sectors like healthcare, energy, and personalized learning. The expansion signifies OpenAI’s commitment to making its technology available across borders to foster innovation and societal benefits on a global scale.
A key component of this expansion involves building a data center in Abu Dhabi, with an initial capacity of around 200MW, planned to grow to about a gigawatt. The UAE, along with its partner G42, will finance and develop this infrastructure, emphasizing the region’s recognition of AI’s economic and skill development potential. The data center will serve as a critical infrastructure to support AI deployment in the Middle East and surrounding regions, enabling faster and more secure access to OpenAI’s services.
The CFO highlights the strategic importance of the Middle East, noting that the region’s proximity—about 2000 miles—allows for low-latency access to AI services, reaching roughly half the world’s population. This geographic advantage underscores the region’s significance as a hub for AI deployment and the potential for widespread societal impact. OpenAI’s focus on infrastructure and regional partnerships aims to ensure that AI technology can be effectively integrated into local economies and communities.
Regarding user adoption, OpenAI reports over 500 million weekly active users of ChatGPT, with even higher monthly figures. This rapid organic growth demonstrates the widespread interest and reliance on OpenAI’s technology, even without extensive marketing efforts. The CFO emphasizes that many users find value in AI for everyday tasks, such as meal planning, as well as for professional research, illustrating the technology’s versatility and increasing integration into daily life.
Finally, the discussion touches on OpenAI’s partnerships with major cloud providers like Oracle, SoftBank, and Microsoft. While Microsoft remains a core partner and investor, OpenAI is diversifying its infrastructure collaborations to include other providers like Oracle, especially as it expands globally. The CFO clarifies that Stargate remains the primary framework for OpenAI’s infrastructure strategy, and despite some speculation about the presence of certain executives at high-profile events, the company maintains close, ongoing relationships with all its key partners, including Microsoft and G42.