Abu Dhabi-based G42 has promised to end any cooperation with China.
Microsoft will invest $1.5 billion in the United Arab Emirates’ top artificial intelligence firm, G42, reported Bloomberg.
The Microsoft investment will align a key Middle East firm with the US as Washington seeks to curtail Chinese access to AI technologies. As part of the accord, Microsoft President Brad Smith will join G42’s board, and G42 will use the US software maker’s Azure cloud for its AI applications.
In a later stage of the deal, Microsoft will host some of its own applications in G42’s data centers and use the relationship as a way to reach customers in Africa and Central Asia, Smith said.
The Abu Dhabi firm has businesses spanning everything from cloud computing to driverless cars. It’s part of the $1.5 trillion empire of UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
During the negotiations, , G42 agreed to divest from China and pivot to American technology. G42, a leader in the UAE’s push into AI, had come under scrutiny for alleged ties to blacklisted Chinese companies and its government.
The Microsoft president said the partnership "can really bring the cloud and AI to the global south probably a decade faster than would otherwise be the case.”
“Through this anchor relationship with Microsoft, we will be able to work with a lot more global partners in the AI and cloud-computing domain,"
G42 Chief Executive Officer Peng Xiao said.
Source: Bloomberg
