Executive Summary
Cooperation between the United Arab Emirates and the United States on artificial intelligence has taken on a new intensity, with Washington pressing to expand the number of data centers and next-generation manufacturing built with U.S. technology. The White House’s cooperation with the UAE on the $500 billion Stargate data center project, data-driven workforce empowerment, and a multitier chip security regulation framework can satisfy these pressing demands while safeguarding against diversions of high-end U.S.-manufactured chips. A two-tier metric involving the frequency and timing of chip diversions can form the basis of effective U.S.-UAE regulatory cooperation in this realm.
This publication details the contours of an effective regulatory framework and underlines vast potential to scale up private AI partnerships between U.S. and Emirati firms, including those that preceded the framework. Recommendations based on the motivations for AI capacity-building within both the United States and the UAE provide an outline of how Washington can use its $1.4 trillion investment cooperation framework to advance meaningful U.S. leadership in the Middle East in addition to scaling up data center financing for future U.S. infrastructure.
Introduction
The evolution of artificial intelligence cooperation between the U.S. and the UAE is revealing itself in their joint $1.4 trillion technology investment framework agreed to in March 2025. Major shifts include Abu Dhabi’s targeting of U.S. investments across semiconductors, smart AI infrastructure, and critical technologies, as well as data centers. Although both countries have included cooperation on digital infrastructure expansion in their policy positions, including a $1.5 billion investment initiative from Microsoft and UAE-based G42 targeting Middle Eastern economies in 2024, the scale and depth of the 2025 investments warrant closer attention. The framework’s timing makes future AI trajectories transformative for a U.S. technological boom. According to the AI Action Plan put forth by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, internationally competitive infrastructure, long-term AI innovation, and diplomacy are fundamental pillars of enduring, self-sufficient ecosystems directed at powering cutting-edge U.S. industries.
These include next-generation defense manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, energy, and biosecurity sectors. However, there is a lack of long-term certainty on policy fronts including the securing of advanced AI chips, healthy investments in advanced U.S. data centers, and regulations preventing diversions of U.S.-origin technologies. With top U.S. technology firms accelerating capital expenditures amid similar acceleration from Washington’s own domestic AI spending, the United States benefits if it treats its 10-year AI investment framework with the UAE as a multilateral imperative. Demonstrated focus on competitive strengths, existing momentum on a regulatory framework, and emphasis on workforce development suggest that the enduring partnership can assume several trajectories, adding value to Washington’s domestic AI capacity-building goals. Additionally, the framework serves as a catalyst for stronger computation demand across Gulf Cooperation Council economies, effectively advancing the U.S.’s ability to promote meaningful AI engagement in the region.
Policy Recommendations
- Treat the AI Investment Cooperation Framework as a multilateral imperative
- Use computational power to promote cost-effective electricity access
- Leverage U.S. Stargate investments to benefit developing economies
- Extend U.S. policy support to improve data sovereignty in Iraq
- Share data protection practices to promote responsible AI use
- Utilize the UAE’s talent development hub to fill training and AI expertise gaps.
- Expand the net of AI partnership stakeholders to meet U.S. industrial needs
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not an official policy or position of New Lines Institute.
Photo: Golden sunset over Burj Khalifa and Dubai Downtown skyline, seen from Dubai Creek Harbour Marina with yachts. (Getty Images)