Dubai – Microsoft is to invest USD 1.5 billion in United Arab Emirates artificial intelligence firm G42, taking a minority stake and a seat on the board, the companies said on Tuesday (16).
The deal, in which G42 will run its applications and services on Microsoft’s Azure platform, comes days after the United States giant said it would plough USD 2.9 billion into Japanese AI.
Microsoft has become a major player in the advancement of AI through its partnership with ChatGPT-maker.
G42 and Microsoft is backed by assurances to the US and UAE governments to apply world-class best practices to ensure the secure, trusted and responsible development and deployment of AI, as Judson Althoff, Microsoft executive vice-president and chief commercial officer, said in a statement.
Microsoft president Brad Smith, who will join the board of G42, told Bloomberg that his company got strong encouragement from the US government to move forward in this process.
Microsoft and G42
Abu Dhabi-based G42 is part of the empire of National Security Advisor Tahnoon bin Zayed, brother of UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed.
Under the new arrangement, G42 will offer AI services via Azure to public sector clients and large enterprises in various sectors, focusing on the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa.
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Translated by Guilherme Miranda
