Microsoft announced a strategic $1.5 billion investment in G42, a UAE-based AI technology holding company. This investment is expected to strengthen the companies’ collaboration toward bringing the latest Microsoft AI technology and skilling initiatives to the UAE and other countries. With this, Microsoft president and vice chair, Brad Smith, will join G42 as a director.
The expanded collaboration is expected to empower any-sized organizations in new markets to harness the benefits of AI and the cloud while ensuring they are adopting AI that adheres to safety and security standards. Building on the two organizations’ longstanding collaboration in AI and digital transformation, Microsoft’s investment deepens the reciprocal commitment to this strategic partnership.
G42 will run its AI applications and services on Azure, and partner to deliver advanced AI solutions to global public sector clients and large enterprises. G42 and Microsoft will also work together to bring advanced AI and digital infrastructure to countries in the Middle East, central Asia and Africa, providing equitable access to services to address government and business concerns while ensuring standards for security and privacy.
“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 organizations,” said H.H. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the 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 also support the development of a skilled and diverse AI workforce and talent pool to drive innovation and competitiveness for the UAE, as well as the broader region, with the investment of $1 billion in a development fund for developers.
“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.”
The commercial partnership is backed by assurances to both governments through a first of its kind agreement to apply world-class best practices to ensure the secure, trusted, and responsible development and deployment of AI. Microsoft and G42 will work closely and elevate the security and compliance framework of their joint international infrastructure. Both companies will move forward with a commitment to comply with U.S. and international trade, security, responsible AI and business integrity laws and regulations. The work on these topics is governed by a detailed Intergovernmental Assurance Agreement (IGAA) between G42 and Microsoft that was developed in close consultation with both the UAE and US governments.
“Through Microsoft’s strategic investment, we are advancing our mission to deliver cutting-edge AI technologies at scale,” said Peng Xiao, group CEO of G42. “This partnership significantly enhances our international market presence, combining G42’s unique AI capabilities with Microsoft’s robust global infrastructure. Together, we are not only expanding our operational horizons but also setting new industry standards for innovation.”
“Our investment in G42 stands as a testament to the thriving and dynamic tech landscape in the UAE and the broader region,” said Microsoft corporate VP and president, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Samer Abu-Ltaif. “This strategic partnership is well-positioned to ignite opportunities for our customers and partners, accelerate innovation, and fuel economic growth. With G42, we will introduce cutting-edge technologies that will empower countries and markets to advance their digital agendas by harnessing the power of Cloud and AI.”
The collaboration between G42 and Microsoft has expanded through several milestones over the past year. This includes a joint plan announced in April 2023 to develop AI solutions tailored for the public sector and industry, leveraging Microsoft’s extensive partner ecosystem and cloud capabilities. In September 2023, the companies entered into an agreement to introduce sovereign cloud offerings and collaborate on unlocking the potential of advanced AI capabilities on the Azure public cloud platform. Lastly, in November 2023, Microsoft announced the availability of G42’s Jais Arabic LLM on the new Azure AI Cloud model-as-a-service offering.
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