The UAE-based artificial intelligence (AI) company G42 has raised $1.5 billion in strategic investment from Microsoft. The investment focuses on strengthening the collaboration between the two companies by bringing the latest Microsoft AI technologies and skilling initiatives to the UAE and other countries worldwide.
As part of this expanded partnership, Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, will join the G42 Board of Directors. The investment also enhances UAE’s global AI hub position and provides partners and customers more opportunities.
H.H. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of G42, said, “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. 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 that will drive innovation and competitiveness for the UAE and broader region with the investment of $1 billion in a development fund for developers.
Both G42 and Microsoft aim to collaborate to ensure the benefits of secure AI technologies and cloud capabilities are responsibly shared with growing economies globally. The team believes this expanded collaboration will empower organisations of all sizes in new markets to harness the benefits of AI and the cloud while ensuring they adopt AI that adheres to world-leading standards in safety and security.
G42 will run its AI applications and services on Microsoft Azure and partner with them 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 these nations with equitable access to services to address important governmental and business concerns while ensuring the highest standards of security and privacy.
“Our two companies will work together not only in the UAE but to bring AI and digital infrastructure and services to underserved nations,” said Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad 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.”
Assurances to both governments back the commercial partnership through a first-of-its-kind agreement to apply world-class best practices to ensure AI’s secure, trusted, and responsible development and deployment.
Peng Xiao, Group Chief Executive Officer of G42, said: “Through Microsoft’s strategic investment, we are advancing our mission to deliver cutting-edge AI technologies at scale. This partnership significantly enhances our international market presence, combining G42’s unique AI capabilities with Microsoft’s robust global infrastructure. Together, we are expanding our operational horizons and setting new industry standards for innovation.”
Microsoft and G42 will work closely to elevate their joint international infrastructure’s security and compliance framework. Both companies will move forward with a commitment to comply with US 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.
Samer Abu-Ltaif, Microsoft Corporate Vice President and President, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, added, “Our investment in G42 stands as a testament to the thriving and dynamic tech landscape in the UAE and the broader region. 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 to empower countries and markets to advance their digital agendas by harnessing the power of Cloud and AI.”
G42 and Microsoft’s collaboration has expanded through several milestones over the last 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 agreed 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 Large Language Model on the new Azure AI Cloud Model-as-a-Service offering.
