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'Stargate UAE' AI Datacenter to Begin Operation in 2026

OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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'Stargate UAE' AI Datacenter to Begin Operation in 2026

OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Stargate UAE project to use Nvidia's advanced AI servers The first phase of a massive new artificial data center in the United Arab Emirates will come online in 2026, likely with 100,000 Nvidia chips.

The "Stargate UAE" project is part of a deal brokered last week by US President Donald Trump to build the world's largest set of AI data centers outside the United States.

The 10-square-mile (26-sq-km) site in Abu Dhabi will eventually host 5 gigawatts worth of data centers, according to Reuters.

The first phase of that project will be the 1-gigawatt Stargate UAE project, built by state-backed UAE firm G42 in partnership with US firms OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia and Cisco Systems, as well as Japan's SoftBank Group.

The companies on Thursday said that the Stargate UAE project will use Nvidia's Grace Blackwell GB300 systems, currently the most advanced AI server that Nvidia offers.

The first 200 megawatts of capacity will go live in 2026, the companies said. The group did not give a number of servers, but analyst firm TrendForce estimates that GB300 servers with 72 chips each consume about 140-kilowatts of power, which equates to about 1,400 servers or 100,000 Nvidia chips.

This first-in-the-world platform will enable every UAE government agency and commercial institution to connect their data to the world's most advanced AI models," Larry Ellison, Oracle's chief technology officer and chairman, said in a statement.

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Technology

UK Allows Websites to Opt Out of Google AI Search

FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is pictured at the entrance to the Google offices in London, Britain January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is pictured at the entrance to the Google offices in London, Britain January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo
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UK Allows Websites to Opt Out of Google AI Search

FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is pictured at the entrance to the Google offices in London, Britain January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is pictured at the entrance to the Google offices in London, Britain January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

Britain's competition watchdog said Wednesday that it had ordered Google to allow UK website owners to opt out of having their content used by the US technology giant's AI search.

According to AFP, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) called the change a "world first" after it had proposed the measure in January.

Website publishers, particularly media outlets, claim that artificial intelligence models take their content without compensation.

They also argue that the AI-generated summaries discourage clicks to publishers' original pages, reducing traffic to their sites and in turn cutting their advertising revenue.

Google said Wednesday that sites opting out would not receive traffic or impressions from its generative AI features.

In response to the opt-out ruling, Google said that "Today, we're beginning to test a new control that lets website owners manage how their links and content appear in generative AI search features," its Search Ecosystem general manager, Mrinalini Loew, said in a statement.

The CMA said the ruling "will secure a fairer deal for publishers and consumers.”

It added that Google is "required to make sure that publisher content is properly attributed, using clear links, in AI-generated search results.”

The CMA last year designated Google with "strategic market status,” subjecting it to tougher regulation alongside other technology giants.

"With features like (Google's) AI Overviews rapidly reshaping online search, it is crucial that content publishers, including news organizations, have appropriate bargaining power over how their content is used," CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said in a statement.

AI Overviews currently have more than 2.5 billion monthly users, according to Google, which last month showed off plans to turn its traditional search bar into an AI assistant.

Technology

Intel Says Competition from Nvidia PC Chip a ‘Good Thing’

A sign is posted in front of Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, California, US, Aug. 1, 2024. (AFP)
A sign is posted in front of Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, California, US, Aug. 1, 2024. (AFP)
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Intel Says Competition from Nvidia PC Chip a ‘Good Thing’

A sign is posted in front of Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, California, US, Aug. 1, 2024. (AFP)
A sign is posted in front of Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, California, US, Aug. 1, 2024. (AFP)

Intel said Tuesday that competition in personal computer chips from hardware giant Nvidia as a "good thing" as artificial intelligence presents new business opportunities.

The comments come a day after Nvidia, the world's most valuable company, unveiled a powerful chip for Windows machines designed to run AI agents, tools that can carry out tasks for users.

The announcement from Nvidia is a challenge to legacy PC chipmakers including Intel and AMD, as well as Apple's laptop business.

"If you take a look at what they brought to market (Monday), I think it's a good thing," Alex Katouzian, general manager of Intel's client computing and physical AI group, told a news conference in Taipei.

"It shows the importance of how critical the PC is," he added.

"We welcome the competition, but I think we're going to do really well," he said, touting Intel's scale -- with "every segment covered" -- and the trust of its customer base.

"They want us to grow with them, there's new opportunities on the AI side," Katouzian said, calling the company's roadmap "super strong".

Shares in Intel took off late last year after Nvidia announced it would invest $5 billion in the firm.

And in April, the company smashed quarterly earnings expectations, in what could be a sign it is on a path to recovery.

Intel largely missed the smartphone boom and failed to develop competitive hardware for the AI era, allowing Asian manufacturers TSMC and Samsung to dominate the custom semiconductor market.

Most notably, Intel was blindsided by Nvidia's rise as the world's leading AI chip provider.

Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs), originally designed for gaming consoles, have become the essential building blocks of AI systems, with tech giants scrambling to secure them for their data servers and AI projects.

The heads of both companies are in Taipei this week for the major industry show Computex.

On Tuesday, Intel announced upgrades to its AI data center hardware offerings as well as new collaborations with supply chain partners such as Taiwan's Foxconn.

While several experts told AFP that Nvidia's competitors should be worried about its new PC chip for the AI era, the RTX Spark, others were more cautious.

"This move may create incremental pressure for Intel and Qualcomm; however, given the complexity and likely premium pricing, we don't expect significant competition with mainstream AI PCs," Bloomberg Intelligence analysts wrote.

Technology

Global Smartphone Market Faces Record Annual Decline as Chip Crunch Worsens

The iPhone 17 series on display at the Apple Store in New York City, US, September 19, 2025. (Reuters)
The iPhone 17 series on display at the Apple Store in New York City, US, September 19, 2025. (Reuters)
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Global Smartphone Market Faces Record Annual Decline as Chip Crunch Worsens

The iPhone 17 series on display at the Apple Store in New York City, US, September 19, 2025. (Reuters)
The iPhone 17 series on display at the Apple Store in New York City, US, September 19, 2025. (Reuters)

The global smartphone market is heading for its steepest annual contraction on record, with shipments projected to slump by 13.9% this year to 1.08 billion units, Counterpoint Research said on Monday, citing a worsening shortage of memory chips.

The forecast is a downgrade from the 12.4% decline projected in February, with the squeeze in global chip supply exacerbated by the Iran war.

IMPACT MOST ACUTE AT BUDGET END OF MARKET

The impact is being felt most acutely in lower-end smartphones as ‌chipmakers shift ‌production capacity to AI-related chips, making entry-level devices less ‌economical ⁠to produce.

Global smartphone wholesale ⁠prices rose 14% in the first quarter while shipments fell 3.1% year on year. That trend is expected to continue as inventory built before the supply shock becomes depleted, with some models priced below $150 likely to disappear from the market.

"Smartphone makers in the low and mid-tier are caught between cost increases they cannot absorb and consumers with limited spending power," said Wang ⁠Yang, a principal analyst at Counterpoint, an independent research ‌company that publishes quarterly smartphone shipment data.

"The ‌question is no longer how to grow shipments or market share, but whether ‌to remain in the market at all."

The memory chip shortage ‌is the most severe supply-side disruption the smartphone industry has faced, Wang said, adding that manufacturers are unable to offset the impact through pricing or product changes.

PREMIUM END OF THE MARKET MORE RESILIENT

The premium segment has proven more resilient. Apple posted ‌record revenue for the first three months of the year, helped by customers upgrading to its iPhone ⁠17 series. ⁠Apple's 2026 shipments are expected to remain flat before rising 5% next year, Counterpoint projections show.

With more stable chip supply and stronger margins than many rivals, Apple is well placed to gain market share and could face less pressure to raise prices.

Samsung Electronics kept volumes steady in the first quarter and is expected by Counterpoint to register only a 4% decline in shipments over the full year, outperforming the wider market thanks to stable supply and a consistent product line-up.

Transsion, which is heavily exposed to the market for smartphones priced below $150, is forecast to suffer a 32% drop in shipments this year. Rivals Xiaomi and Honor, meanwhile, are projected to post full-year declines of 28% and 20% respectively, Counterpoint said.