Alice Chambers |
Microsoft will invest $1.5 billion in artificial intelligence development holding company G42 to improve the availability of AI technologies and skilling initiatives in the United Arab Emirates.
“This expanded collaboration will empower organisations of all sizes in new markets to harness the benefits of AI and the cloud while ensuring they are adopting AI that adheres to world-leading standards in safety and security,” according to a Microsoft press release.
As part of the partnership Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft, will join the G42 board of directors.
“Our two companies will work together not only in the UAE, but to bring AI and digital infrastructure and services to underserved nations,” said Smith. “We will combine world-class technology with world-leading standards for safe, trusted, and responsible AI, in close coordination with the governments of both the UAE and the United States.”
G42 will run its AI applications and services on Microsoft Azure and partner with Microsoft to deliver AI solutions to global public sector customers and large enterprises.
“Microsoft’s investment in G42 marks a pivotal moment in our company’s journey of growth and innovation, signifying a strategic alignment of vision and execution between the two organisations,” said His Highness Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of G42. “This partnership is a testament to the shared values and aspirations for progress, fostering greater cooperation and synergy globally.”
The partnership will support the development of an AI workforce and talent pool in the UAE by investing $1 billion into a development fund.
“The commercial partnership is backed by assurances to the USA and UAE governments through a first-of-its-kind binding agreement to apply world-class best practices to ensure the secure, trusted, and responsible development and deployment of AI,” added Judson Althoff, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Microsoft, in a recent blog post. “Microsoft and G42 will work closely together to elevate the security and compliance framework of their joint international infrastructure. Both companies will move forward with a commitment to comply with USA and international trade, security, responsible AI, and business integrity laws and regulations.”