Introduction
The UAE has declared an ambitious goal: to produce 60 trillion artificial-intelligence (AI) tokens through its sprawling data-centre campus, positioning the country as a global “factory of intelligence.”
Announced by Omar Al Olama — Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications — the plan underscores the nation’s vision to build massive-scale AI infrastructure, inspired by surging global demand for AI services.
This article breaks down what this target means, why it matters for the UAE and global AI — and what to watch for in the coming years.
What Are “AI Tokens” — And Why 60 Trillion?
What Are AI Tokens?
In AI systems, a token is the basic unit that AI models use to process data. It can correspond to a piece of text (words, punctuation), image data, audio — depending on the modality.
When we say “AI tokens,” it generally refers to the aggregate unit processed by AI systems — the higher the token throughput, the greater the processing capacity for data, and hence more powerful AI output.
Why 60 Trillion — The Scale of Ambition
UAE’s target of 60 trillion tokens is described as roughly 60% of global token production — a signal of how ambitious and large-scale the country’s AI infrastructure vision is.
The backbone of this plan is a data-centre campus named Stargate data centre, located in Abu Dhabi, which aims for a total capacity of 5 GW.
By 2026, the first phase intends to run on 200 MW capacity, scaling up in subsequent years. As the Minister put it: “the currency of the future is going to be tokens.”
Why UAE Is Pushing This — Strategic Vision Behind the Move
Accelerating Digital Transformation & Global Competitiveness
With this infrastructure, the UAE aims to anchor itself as a global AI leader — not just user, but producer — capable of offering AI services, data-processing power, and intelligence infrastructure to global clients and partners.
This aligns with the country’s long-term national AI strategy, launched years ago, which aims to embed AI across sectors like healthcare, transport, education, governance and economy.
Enabling AI Factories at Scale — Meeting Global Demand
As global demand for AI services grows, having a “token factory” at scale enables the UAE to meet demand efficiently — and possibly export AI services.
Major cloud/data-centre capacity, energy infrastructure, and regulatory environment position UAE to be competitive globally.
Attracting Investment, Tech Companies & Talent — Becoming a Regional AI Hub
With such infrastructure, the UAE may attract global tech firms, startups, AI researchers, investors and foreign businesses seeking stable, high-capacity AI-production environments. This could cement UAE’s position as a regional — even global — hub for AI innovation and services.
Economic Diversification and Long-Term Growth Beyond Oil
By building a large AI infrastructure base, UAE moves away from fossil-reliant revenue models, strengthening its economic diversification strategy and building for a knowledge-driven future.
What It Could Mean in Practice — Potential Use-Cases & Outcomes
AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS) —
Governments and businesses globally could use UAE-hosted AI infrastructure instead of building their own.
Large-scale Generative AI —
High-capacity token processing allows robust LLMs, vision-AI, video generation, real-time translation, advanced analytics at global scale.
Data-Intensive Industries —
Sectors like climate modelling, genomics, logistics, smart-city planning, global finance could leverage UAE’s AI backbone.
AI Export & Outsourcing —
Companies worldwide may outsource data-processing and AI workloads to UAE, benefiting from energy cost, infrastructure, timezone — a new export segment.
Talent & Innovation Ecosystem —
Research labs, universities, and startups may spring up, leading to innovation clusters, job growth, and deeper AI culture in the region.
Challenges & What UAE Needs to Watch — Realistic Constraints
Energy & Environmental Costs:
Running large data-centres requires huge energy; sustainability and environmental impact must be managed carefully.
Data Privacy, Security, Regulatory Compliance: Handling global AI workloads will require strong data-security regulations, privacy laws, and compliance frameworks — especially for international clients.
Global Competition & Rapid Tech Change:
Other countries and companies are building AI capacity; UAE needs to stay ahead with ongoing investment and innovation.
Infrastructure & Talent:
Building and managing such a data-centre factory needs skilled talent, efficient infrastructure, and operational excellence — scaling up fast is challenging.
Ethical & Governance Issues:
At such scale, AI governance, responsible AI use, bias mitigation, accountability and transparency become critical.
What It Means for the Middle East & Global AI Landscape
UAE Could Become a Regional AI Hub — Setting Trend for Gulf & Beyond
If successful, UAE’s model might be emulated by other Gulf nations — potentially shifting global AI infrastructure map to Middle East.
Increased Collaboration — Global Firms Might Partner with UAE Infrastructure
Global cloud providers, AI startups, multinational corporations may see UAE as an attractive base for executing AI-heavy workloads
Shifting Global AI Infrastructure — From US/China-centric to More Distributed Hubs
Adding a large AI “factory” hub in UAE contributes to decentralising global AI infrastructure — reducing concentration in US or China, and promoting more global balance.
Conclusion
The UAE’s plan to produce 60 trillion AI tokens — via the ambitious Stargate data-centre campus — isn’t just a technical ambition. It’s a bold strategic move aiming to transform the country into a global intelligence hub, shift economic foundations.
If successful, the ripple effects could be vast: global AI services, economic diversification, talent attraction, and a new model for how nations build and export digital intelligence.
But such a transformative vision comes with challenges — energy, governance, security, competition, and ethical complexity. The coming years will be decisive.
