G42 faces a strategic crossroad requiring an ownership restructure to ensure a continuous flow of cutting-edge supercomputing processors from Washington.
Table of Contents:
- Exploratory negotiations for ownership transfer
- Race against time to secure processors
- History of concessions and restructuring with Washington
- Shareholder base and billion-dollar projects
- Reshaping the geopolitics of artificial intelligence
- Frequently asked questions
Exploratory negotiations for ownership transfer
Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence leader G42 held initial exploratory talks regarding the potential sale of a majority stake to US companies, in a proactive effort to secure the flow of high-performance AI processors to its facilities beyond next year, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The discussions, which remain in their early stages without final binding decisions, could mark a comprehensive and fundamental shift for the company overseen by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a prominent figure in Abu Dhabi’s investment and political landscape.
Options under discussion include bringing in a major US company as a majority shareholder or establishing an entirely new commercial entity legally headquartered in the United States, according to the report citing knowledgeable sources who requested anonymity due to the confidentiality of the information. Meanwhile, an official G42 representative declined to comment on the circulating news.
Race against time to secure processors
The urgent need for these strategic moves stems from a decision by the US Department of Commerce in July 2026 to reclassify the United Arab Emirates into a more favorable export category. This designation allowed G42 to purchase ultra-advanced processors from Nvidia and AMD without requiring an exceptional export license, albeit within a limited nine-month window expiring around April 2027.
Prior to this regulatory step, G42 had successfully secured US government approval in November 2025 to acquire up to 35,000 advanced chips equivalent to Nvidia’s Blackwell architecture. Nevertheless, re-registering the company as a US entity with American majority ownership would provide a permanent strategic solution far superior to temporary time-bound exceptions, especially as Washington’s export controls have become closely tied to actual management, headquarters location, and field operations auditability.
History of concessions and restructuring with Washington
G42 has a history of fundamental structural adjustments to meet Washington’s demands and align with its security requirements. In April 2024, Microsoft poured a $1.5 billion investment into G42, but that partnership came with a strict, decisive condition to terminate all investments and ties linked to China, particularly technological relations with Huawei. The company indeed liquidated those ties and later installed US-specified monitoring and auditing systems inside its data centers to dispel any concerns regarding sensitive technology leakage.
Current investors in the firm include giants such as Microsoft, US private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi government-backed Mubadala Investment Company. Previous reports indicated the company had also held separate rounds of talks with international investors to raise billions of dollars to support its massive capital expansions.
Shareholder base and billion-dollar projects
Sustainable access to chips is of paramount importance for G42, which is currently leading the development of a joint Emirati-American AI campus in Abu Dhabi with a massive computing capacity reaching 5 gigawatts. This giant project aims to attract major US hyperscale cloud computing companies as key partners and tenants for the advanced infrastructure.
Against the backdrop of this heavy stake, the economic calculations are straightforward: company decision-makers view securing stable, structural access to the latest generation of chips as vastly more important than clinging to the current ownership model, making the inclusion of US partners in a majority stake a realistic path to achieving the region’s grand technological ambitions.
Reshaping the geopolitics of artificial intelligence
These developments highlight how US semiconductor export policies have transformed from traditional customs and trade barriers into an influential tool reshaping governance and ownership structures in major global AI companies outside US borders.
Yet, a core underlying question remains whether the Emirati side, represented by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, will ultimately and permanently concede voting rights and managerial control to American investors—a decision that will redraw the map of technological influence between Washington and the broader Middle East.
Frequently asked questions
Question: Why is G42 considering selling a majority stake to US firms?
Answer: The talks aim to secure permanent, stable access to the latest US AI chips and bypass temporary restrictions.
Question: What is the deadline for the company’s current export exemption?
Answer: The current exemption granted to the UAE expires in April 2027 following a nine-month export window.
Question: What is the size of the AI campus G42 is developing in Abu Dhabi?
Answer: The company is developing a massive campus in partnership with US firms featuring a computing capacity and power of up to 5 gigawatts.
