South Korea announced cooperation with the UAE on the US-backed "Stargate" project

South Korea to Collaborate with UAE on AI Project “Stargate”

            

To Establish Computing and Power Infrastructure with Korean Assistance

South Korea announced its agreement to collaborate with the United Arab Emirates on the US-backed Stargate project to build a massive new artificial intelligence data center.

South Korea added that it will help establish the computing and power infrastructure for the world’s largest cluster of AI data centers outside the United States, following a summit between South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Home to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, South Korea aspires to become a regional AI hub after its president prioritized AI investment to stimulate growth at a time when US tariffs have cast a shadow over the economic outlook. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix signed preliminary agreements in October to supply memory chips for OpenAI’s Stargate data centers.

Ha Jong-woo, South Korea’s presidential secretary for artificial intelligence, said in a press briefing that Seoul will also contribute to building a nuclear, gas, and renewable energy grid for the Stargate project.

Under a strategic framework agreement signed Tuesday, the two countries will strengthen cooperation in artificial intelligence, including investment in the field, its infrastructure, supply chains, development, and research.

The UAE Stargate project is part of an agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump to build the world’s largest cluster of AI data centers outside the United States, despite previous US restrictions on transferring advanced technology to the UAE due to its close ties with China.

The first phase of the project will have a gigawatt capacity. The UAE-based state-backed company G42 is building the project in partnership with US companies OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, and Cisco Systems, and Japan’s SoftBank Group.

The first phase is expected to begin operations in 2026, and the project will likely include 100,000 Nvidia chips. The 26-square-kilometer site in Abu Dhabi is planned to host data centers with a capacity of five gigawatts.