UAE, US firms to see more technology sharing, AI joint venture deals, says G42 chief

UAE will see more mega collaboration and joint venture projects with US companies following landmark deals signed between the two countries’ top technology and defence firms recently, a senior official said on Tuesday.

“I believe we'll see more and more collaboration, technology sharing and joint development of AI (artificial intelligence) applications … The door is opening up for us for a lot more,” said Peng Xiao, CEO of G42 – a UAE-based technology company focused on AI.

Xiao was speaking during a fireside chat on “The Intelligence Grid: Unlocking AI’s Full Potential for the World.”

Last month, G42 partnered with Nvidia to build on the US firm’s Earth-2, an open platform that accelerates climate and weather predictions with interactive, AI-augmented, high-resolution simulation. G42 and NVIDIA will initially focus on a square-kilometre resolution weather forecasting model that improves the accuracy of meteorological predictions.

In April 2024, US technology giant Microsoft announced a $1.5 billion strategic investment in G42, bringing the latest Microsoft AI technologies and initiatives to the UAE and other countries around the world.

The deals signed between the strategic companies of the two countries are believed to be landmark agreements, further strengthening their collaboration in strategic sectors.

Xiao praised the governments of the two nations for endorsing their agreement and collaboration.

He added that the world needs to spend one-third of its resources on AI safety.

“If you are spending $100 on an AI programme – either as a developer or as a user of AI, $33 should go towards safety. That's the amount of effort that should go into AI risk management,” he added.

He added that the potential opportunities for G42 and its partners lie in building global AI infrastructure.

“The world today has less than 60 gigawatts of data centres. To bring AI to everyone would probably need 300, 400, or 500 gigawatts. Each gigawatt fully loaded with computing equipment inside is about a $45 billion investment. So $45 billion multiplied by 500 times; that type of infrastructure needs to be built to be able to take advantage of AI and benefit humanity,” he added.