G42 is an Abu Dhabi AI and cloud computing company that is the lead UAE partner in the Stargate AI infrastructure programme. In April 2026 the US authorised advanced AI chip exports to G42 as part of the deal.Source: Lowdown data-centres briefing

Is G42 a security risk for US AI technology?

G42 has historical ties to Chinese technology companies, which led to US scrutiny. A 2024 Microsoft-backed agreement aimed to reorient its partnerships westward. US Congress members have questioned whether chip-export authorisations to G42 are consistent with national security.Source: Lowdown data-centres briefing

What is the Stargate UAE deal?

Stargate UAE is a bilateral programme announced on 15 April 2026 committing the US to provide 500 MW of AI infrastructure to the UAE over five years, with G42 as the primary UAE partner and authorisation for advanced AI chip exports.Source: Lowdown data-centres briefing

Background

G42 is at the centre of the Stargate UAE programme, announced on 15 April 2026 alongside President Trump's Gulf tour. The deal commits the United States to provide 500 MW of AI infrastructure to the UAE over the next five years, with G42 as the primary UAE-side partner. The agreement also authorises the export of advanced AI chips to the UAE, reversing prior Biden-era restrictions that had blocked G42's access to frontier semiconductor hardware.

G42 was founded in 2018 and operates under the Abu Dhabi royal family's technology investment umbrella. Its subsidiary Khazna Data Centers is the operational data centre Arm. G42 has historical ties to Chinese technology companies that attracted scrutiny from US national security reviewers; a 2024 agreement with Microsoft, backed by a US government technology-sharing arrangement, was partly intended to reorient G42's technology partnerships westward. The company has also operated in sensitive markets including China, Russia, and Pakistan.

In early May 2026, Kenya's government suspended the $1 billion Microsoft-G42 geothermal data-centre campus at Olkaria in the Rift Valley. The initial framing was grid scale: the full 1 GW target would draw a third of Kenya's approximately 3 GW installed capacity. Reporting from ThinkGeoEnergy and Techish Kenya has since added a second obstacle: the consortium requested that Kenya Power and Lighting Company provide a sovereign capacity-payment guarantee as an offtake backstop, which the government declined. The binding obstacle is this commercial dispute over offtake risk, alongside the raw grid-capacity ceiling. The first-phase May 2026 target has lapsed and no new construction date has been set.

More questions

Why did Kenya suspend the G42 Microsoft data-centre project at Olkaria?

Kenya suspended the $1 billion Microsoft-G42 geothermal campus at Olkaria because its full 1 GW target would draw roughly a third of Kenya's entire installed national capacity of approximately 3 GW. President Ruto said building it as scoped would mean switching off half the country.Source: Lowdown data-centres update

What is G42's role in the Stargate UAE deal?

G42 is the primary UAE-side partner in the Stargate UAE programme, which commits the United States to provide 500 MW of AI infrastructure to the UAE over five years and authorises the export of advanced AI chips to G42, reversing prior Biden-era restrictions.Source: Lowdown data-centres update

Is G42 a security risk for US AI technology exports?

G42 has historical ties to Chinese technology companies that attracted US national security scrutiny. A 2024 agreement with Microsoft, backed by a US government technology-sharing arrangement, was partly intended to reorient G42's partnerships westward. Critics in the US Congress have questioned whether chip-export authorisations to G42 are consistent with US security objectives.Source: US Congressional testimony and reporting

Source Material

G42 (company)Khazna Data Centers G42 official site

How the World Sees Them

UAE

G42 is central to the UAE's ambition to become a global AI hub. The Stargate deal provides access to frontier compute that was previously restricted, validating years of diplomatic investment.

China

US authorisation of advanced chip exports to G42 partially closes off a route through which China might have accessed frontier AI hardware via Gulf intermediaries, if the security conditions attached to the deal hold.

Kenya

The Olkaria suspension reflects the national grid ceiling: 1 GW for a single data-centre campus at roughly 33% of installed capacity is politically and operationally unsustainable. President Ruto invoked the 'switch off half the country' framing publicly.

United States

G42's prior ties to Chinese firms have prompted Congressional scrutiny. The Trump administration's chip-export authorisation represents a deliberate strategic choice to anchor Gulf AI development in the US technology stack.