Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates is considering changes to the design of a major artificial intelligence data centre project after Iranian attacks damaged technology infrastructure in the Gulf, according to people familiar with the plans.
The project was originally planned as a 5 gigawatt AI campus covering about 10 square miles in Abu Dhabi. The project could instead be spread across several locations in the UAE as officials consider ways to reduce the risks from missile and drone attacks.
People familiar with the discussions said officials are considering several measures to strengthen the project. These include placing some facilities underground, using explosion-resistant construction, and adding stronger protection against drones and missiles.
Other measures under consideration include electronic systems to disrupt hostile drones, backup power and cooling systems, and possibly locating some highly sensitive facilities in mountainous areas.
The changes have not been publicly confirmed as a final UAE government decision. G42, the Abu Dhabi based artificial intelligence company leading the project, said work on the AI campus was progressing as planned.
G42 also said the details of the project were subject to continuous review to meet the security, resilience and operational standards expected for infrastructure of this scale.
The wider UAE US AI Campus was announced in Abu Dhabi in May 2025 during a visit by US President Donald Trump. The project is being developed by G42 with major international technology companies, including OpenAI, Oracle, NVIDIA, Cisco and SoftBank.
The campus will include Stargate UAE, a 1 gigawatt AI computing cluster being developed by G42 with OpenAI, Oracle, NVIDIA, Cisco and SoftBank. The first 200 megawatts of the Stargate project are expected to come online in 2026.
The wider campus is planned to provide 5 gigawatts of AI data centre capacity and is intended to become one of the world's largest AI infrastructure projects outside the United States.
The security concerns surrounding the project have grown after attacks on existing data centre infrastructure in the Gulf.
In March, Amazon Web Services said two of its facilities in the UAE were damaged during attacks, while a facility in Bahrain was affected by a nearby drone strike.
The incidents caused physical damage and disrupted power and cloud services in the affected facilities. They highlighted the risks facing large data centres during a regional conflict.
The UAE has also faced repeated missile and drone attacks during the conflict with Iran. The UAE government has said the country is not a party to the war and has called for diplomatic efforts to end the fighting.
The security situation remains uncertain as the conflict continues to affect the wider Gulf region. Attacks and threats around the Strait of Hormuz have also raised concerns about energy supplies, shipping and critical infrastructure.
For the UAE, the security risks have not stopped plans to expand its artificial intelligence sector.
In June, the government approved the creation of the Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority, bringing national artificial intelligence, data and digital government functions under a single authority.
The government has also continued to advance other AI programmes in recent months, showing that the UAE remains committed to expanding its artificial intelligence sector.
The reported changes to the data centre project are focused on improving the security and resilience of the infrastructure. G42 has said work on the campus is progressing as planned.
Public UAE announcements continue to describe the project as a 5 gigawatt AI campus in Abu Dhabi, while people familiar with the latest discussions say a more distributed network of facilities is being considered.
It remains unclear how the reported changes would affect the project's cost or completion schedule. The final shape of the 5 gigawatt campus has also not been publicly confirmed.
OpenAI said it was making progress with the UAE on infrastructure and AI adoption priorities. G42 also said the project was moving forward.
The reported changes highlight the growing security challenges facing countries investing heavily in artificial intelligence, as large data centres become increasingly important to national economies and government services.