Tuesday, 20 May 2025

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TECH

MGX, Nvidia, France to build Europe’s biggest AI hub

Key partners include Bpifrance, Mistral AI and other key players such as EDF Group, Bouygues SA, and Ecole Polytechnique

Abu Dhabi’s MGX and Nvidia have partnered with French AI leaders to build Europe’s largest AI data center campus near Paris, with a planned capacity of 1.4 GW, MGX said in a statement. The project will include French state-owned investment firm Bpifrance, Paris-based AI firm Mistral AI, and other key players such as EDF Group, Bouygues SA, and Ecole Polytechnique.

More detail: The 1.4 GW AI Campus will support the entire AI lifecycle — from training to deployment — with exascale compute, sovereign cloud, and low-carbon data centers, according to an Abu Dhabi Media Office statement. Construction will begin in 2H 2026, with operations for the first phase targeted for 2028. The key partners will collaborate with the Mohamed Bin Zayed University of AI on research and talent development.

The big picture: The project, which will require some EUR 8.5 bn in investments, according to a statement from French President Emmanual Macron cited by Bloomberg, comes as part of the agreement inked between the UAE and France in February, when the Emirates signaled plans to invest USD 30-50 bn in French AI and data infrastructure. The move supports France’s ambition to achieve “AI sovereignty” and further strengthens cross-border AI cooperation between Abu Dhabi and global tech hubs.

Casting the net wide: MGX has also backed OpenAI and xAI, and is helping fund the USD 100 bn “Stargate” AI initiative in the US. It is also considering a role in a 5 GW data center complex in Abu Dhabi announced earlier this week.

IN OTHER TECH NEWS-

Sophos to open UAE data center on AWS: British cybersecurity firm Sophos will roll out a UAE-based data center by late 2025, which will be hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS), according to a press release (pdf). The data center will provide local data hosting to facilitate compliance with national and sector-specific regulations, supporting the government, healthcare, and finance sectors. The center will reduce latency and increase cloud service speed, including for the Sophos Central platform.

About Sophos: Sophos provides cybersecurity solutions that include 24/7 threat monitoring, prevention, detection, and response. The portfolio includes endpoint, network, email, and cloud security products, managed detection and response, and security advisory services. Sophos has been operating in the region for 15 years, serving small- and medium-sized enterprises and national infrastructure entities through a regional team and Sophos X-Ops, a 24/7 threat intelligence unit. Cloud-based solutions use AI and local infrastructure.