(Reuters) – Microsoft (NASDAQ:) will invest $1.5 billion in United Arab Emirates-based artificial intelligence company G42, giving the U.S. tech giant a minority stake and a seat on its board of directors, the companies said in a statement Tuesday.
As part of the partnership, G42 will run its AI applications and services on the Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform to deliver advanced AI solutions to global public sector customers and large enterprises.
Microsoft President Brad Smith, who will take a seat on G42’s board of directors, said: “We will combine world-class technology with world-leading standards for safe, reliable and responsible artificial intelligence, in close coordination with governments of both the United Arab Emirates and the United States.”
The companies will work together to bring advanced artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure to countries in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa.
The partnership comes amid Washington’s efforts to stymie Beijing’s technological advances, with the United States adding four Chinese companies to an export blacklist seeking to acquire artificial intelligence chips for the Chinese military.
The G42 had divested its investments in China and begun the long task of withdrawing Chinese hardware amid US concerns about its dealings with Chinese businesses.
Microsoft and G42 will support the creation of a $1 billion fund for developers to boost AI skills in the UAE and the wider region.
The New York Times, which first reported the partnership, said the deal includes a number of protections on AI products shared with G42, including an agreement to eliminate Chinese equipment from the Emirati company’s operations. The G42 will stop using Huawei telecommunications equipment, which the United States believes could provide a backdoor to Chinese intelligence agencies, the newspaper said.
G42 and Azure have collaborated several times over the past year, and G42 said it will use Microsoft’s Azure data centers as part of its AI infrastructure to drive regional adoption.