Published by Nathan Bisson · 4 Oct 2026
03
MENA Cloud SeriesPart 03 of 04
G42.
The UAE's sovereign-AI champion, built inside the US technology stack by design.
In one minuteOur view: Positive
- 1G42 is Abu Dhabi's state-backed AI group. It builds datacenters (Khazna), runs a cloud for the government (Core42) and makes AI models and agents (Inception42). It is private, chaired by the UAE's national security adviser, and publishes no accounts.
- 2It holds three things no other company in the region holds together: Microsoft as a shareholder with a board seat, a US permission to import advanced AI chips, and the lead UAE role in Stargate UAE, an AI campus costing more than $30B. In our view, those three anchors are the whole story.
- 3We judge the position, not the price. The chip permission expires on 6 April 2027 unless the US extends it; we expect renewal, and we say why. What G42 earns is not disclosed, so we do not pretend to value it.
Where we could be wrongThe common view is that G42 is politics dressed as business, and the chairman's job title makes that fair. Our answer is that the three anchors are a signed contract and a published US rule, not speeches. If the permission lapses in April 2027, that answer gets weaker.
Bold navy opens the source with the passage highlighted. Dotted underline opens a plain definition. “Show the working” unfolds the arithmetic. Every judgment is marked “in our view”.
New to cloud? Twenty seconds of basics
A cloud provider rents computing power, storage and software over the internet, so customers do not run their own servers. Azure is Microsoft's cloud, AWS is Amazon's, Google Cloud is Google's; these three run at global scale and are called hyperscalers. Oracle and Alibaba are large clouds we count separately.
A cloud region is a cluster of datacenters in one place; a region inside a country lets customer data stay there. A workload is one application running in the cloud. Three ways to rent: IaaS (raw computing), PaaS (tools to build software), SaaS (finished software such as email). Sovereign cloud means infrastructure run inside the country, under local law, so sensitive data never leaves.
An AI model is the trained program behind a chatbot; inference is the moment it answers a request. Capex is money spent on long-lived assets such as datacenters; opex is the day-to-day running cost. FY is Microsoft's fiscal year (July to June), CY the calendar year, and an F marks a forecast.
G42 in 20 secondsG42 (Group 42) was founded in 2018. It is a holding company: Khazna builds and runs the datacenters, Core42 runs the sovereign cloud (with Microsoft), Inception42 builds the AI models and agents (Jais, Catalyst), and Space42 (satellites) and Presight (AI software for governments and industry) are the two units listed on the Abu Dhabi exchange. Three outside names matter: Stargate is OpenAI's brand for giant AI datacenter projects; A:5 is the US list of trusted countries allowed to import advanced chips with the least paperwork, run by BIS, the US Commerce Department's export-control office; Mubadala is Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund. This note stays with G42's UAE business; its international ventures are noted, not analysed.
Exhibit 02How did G42 get here?
From launch to US-approved AI partner in eight years, one step at a time.
Five moves stack up: a US investor (2021), the exit from China (early 2024), Microsoft (April 2024), Stargate (May 2025) and the US chip permission (July 2026). Each one made the next possible.
G42 key milestones, 2018 to 2026
2018
Founded
Why
G42 incorporated in Abu Dhabi
G42 is created in Abu Dhabi as an AI holding company, four years before OpenAI's ChatGPT launch and well before the current global sovereign-AI narrative took shape.
2021Apr
Silver Lake $800M
Why
First major non-UAE institutional round
Private equity firm Silver Lake leads an $800M investment, taking a minority stake. This is G42's first major non-UAE institutional investor and sets the template for the Microsoft entry three years later.
2023Jul
Cerebras Condor Galaxy
Why
First major US compute supply deal
G42 announces the Condor Galaxy supercomputer network with Cerebras: nine interconnected systems, starting with CG-1 (4 exaFLOPs) in Santa Clara. The deal that first routes G42 directly into US AI compute supply.
2024Feb
China divestment
Why
Preceded Microsoft deal by two months
G42 CEO Peng Xiao confirms divestment from Chinese technology partnerships, including the ByteDance stake and Huawei equipment relationships. This creates the regulatory space for the Microsoft deal to follow in April.
2024Apr
Microsoft $1.5B + board
Why
Equity + board seat + Azure migration
Microsoft invests $1.5B for a minority equity stake. Brad Smith joins G42's board of directors. The deal is governed by an Intergovernmental Assurance Agreement between Microsoft and G42, developed with the US and UAE governments. G42 commits to migrate its platform to Azure.
2025May
Stargate UAE announced
Why
5GW campus, first outside the US
G42 (through Khazna), OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco and SoftBank announce Stargate UAE. 5GW total campus, first 200MW phase targeted 2026. The first Stargate deployment outside the US.
2026Jul
UAE A:5 upgrade
Why
G42 + Core42 named in BIS rule
US Federal Register adds the UAE to Country Group A:5 (effective 10 Jul 2026). Supplement No. 8 names G42 and Core42 as approved for license-free advanced computing items. Authorisation expires 6 Apr 2027.
2026Jul
Inception42-Copilot
Why
50% federal mandate rollout
Inception42's Catalyst platform integrates with Microsoft Copilot, enabling bidirectional AI agent deployment. 80,000 UAE government workers to be trained; 35,000 Abu Dhabi civil servants get Copilot across 27 government entities.
Click any milestone to see the detail. Bold markers are the five milestones we think define G42's current strategic position (Silver Lake, China divestment, Microsoft, Stargate, A:5).
Key takeaways
01
G42 was founded in 2018, four years before ChatGPT, so it predates the current AI wave. Its 2023 deal with the US chipmaker Cerebras was the first that plugged it directly into US AI computing.
02
The exit from Chinese technology partners in February 2024 came two months before Microsoft invested. In our view the order matters: the divestment made room, Microsoft came in, Stargate followed, and the July 2026 chip permission closed the loop.
03
The chip permission is the furthest-reaching single event: it turns chip imports from a licence at a time into a standing permission. In our view it is the biggest regulatory tailwind G42 has had.
How to readEach row is one layer of an AI service, from the apps people use down to the electricity. Gold cells come from the UAE, navy cells from the United States.
Swipe sideways to see the whole chart.
Reading down: the UAE owns the ground and the power; the US supplies chips, cloud and most models. The chips layer is the only one with an expiry date; see Exhibit 04 for why we expect renewal.
SourcesWikipedia G42 corporate history; Microsoft Apr-24 announcement; House Select Committee Feb-24 (divestment); BIS Jul-26 rule; SoftBank May-25 (Stargate roles)02 of 09
Exhibit 03What does Microsoft's stake give G42?
$1.5B, Microsoft's president on the board, and a deal both governments signed off on. No regional rival has that.
A board seat means Microsoft sees and votes on G42's big decisions. The two governments' assurance agreement means neither side can quietly walk away. This is not a normal investment.
What Microsoft disclosed, April 2024
Money: $1.5B for a minority stake. The percentage is not disclosed.
Governance: Brad Smith, Microsoft's president, joins G42's board. A working seat, not an observer.
A fund: $1B to train developers in the UAE and the region, on top of the stake.
Technology: G42 moves its systems to Azure, and its Arabic AI model Jais goes on sale through Azure, reaching more than 400 million Arabic speakers.
The legal frame: a first-of-its-kind binding agreement with assurances to both the US and UAE governments, the Intergovernmental Assurance Agreement.
Key takeaways
01
In our view the money matters less than the board seat and the two-government agreement. A normal private-equity stake is money for shares; this one comes with accountability on both sides.
02
Putting Jais on Azure is a sales channel, not a press release: any company using Azure can rent it.
03
The $1B developer fund creates demand for both sides, and lines up with the UAE's plan to put AI agents in half of federal operations (Exhibit 07).
SourcesMicrosoft Official Blog 15 Apr 2024; Microsoft Source 16 Apr 2024; Datacenter Dynamics Apr-24 coverage; IEEE (Jais)03 of 09
Exhibit 04What does the US chip permission change?
Since July 2026, G42 can import advanced AI chips without asking Washington shipment by shipment. The permission runs out on 6 April 2027 unless extended.
Advanced AI chips (Nvidia's GB300 and the like) are export-controlled by the US. A standing permission lets an operator plan a multi-year campus; a licence at a time does not. The rule names G42 and Core42 directly.
The rule, in plain words
The move: the UAE joined the US “A:5” group of trusted countries on 10 July 2026, the inner tier of US trade partners (the UK, Japan, Germany and others).
Who is named: G42 and Core42 are the two UAE AI companies approved to receive advanced computing items without case-by-case licenses, alongside the UAE defence ministry.
Before and after: before, every shipment of advanced AI chips to G42 needed its own US export licence. After, the same shipment goes out under a license exception.
The clock: the permission for G42 and Core42 expires on 6 April 2027 unless the US extends it, 270 days after the rule took effect. Short, by regulatory standards.
How to readThe bar is the life of the permission: navy is time already elapsed, gold is what is left before it expires.
Swipe sideways to see the whole chart.
What renewal looks like: a BIS notice amending Supplement No. 8 to extend G42 and Core42.
Key takeaways
01
In our view this is what makes a 5GW campus buildable: an operator cannot commit billions if each delivery of chips needs a discretionary US decision first.
02
The permission expires first among the three anchors. We put renewal at roughly three chances in four, for the reasons in the box below.
03
No other Gulf AI company is named in the rule. Saudi Arabia's HUMAIN is the closest comparison (Exhibit 08).
Show the working: why we expect renewal, and what happens if it lapses
Three reasons. First, the US did not have to name any company, and it named two, after two years of vetting that began with G42's exit from China in February 2024. Second, Microsoft committed a further $7.9B to the UAE for 2026-2029 in November 2025, which assumes chip access continues. Third, the 270-day sunset reads like a probation clause, not a hard stop.
If it lapses, G42 and Core42 go back to case-by-case licensing: the Microsoft relationship survives, Stargate's later waves slow. What renewal looks like: a BIS notice amending Supplement No. 8, the annex that names the approved companies. The Morgan Lewis analysis is a readable explainer of the rule.
SourcesFederal Register 14 Jul 2026 (rule 2026-14132); Morgan Lewis analysis Jul 202604 of 09
Exhibit 05What is Stargate UAE?
The first Stargate outside the US: a 1GW AI cluster, the first wave of a 5GW campus costing more than $30B, built by G42's Khazna.
A gigawatt is a measure of electrical power; 1GW is about three-quarters of one reactor at the UAE's Barakah nuclear plant. OpenAI and Oracle run the computers; Nvidia supplies the chips; G42 owns the ground and the buildings.
How to readWider means more electrical power. The small navy block is what is being built first; the dashed outline is the UAE's whole nuclear plant, for comparison.
Swipe sideways to see the whole chart.
1GW is about three-quarters of one Barakah reactor, roughly 750,000 homes. The full 5GW campus needs nearly the whole plant; phase one is 4% of it.
SoftBank 22 May 2025 (5GW, 200MW); OpenAI 22 May 2025 (1GW); ENEC (Barakah, four reactors).
Who does what
G42 / Khazna: site, construction, power, operations.
OpenAI: co-operates the cluster, runs its models.
Oracle: co-operates and provides the cloud software.
Nvidia: supplies the GB300 chips.
Cisco: security and networking.
SoftBank: capital partner.
Power, as reported by CNBC: nuclear (Barakah), solar and gas.
Key takeaways
01
Cost: more than $30B, up from a first estimate of $20B. Size: 19.2 square kilometres in Abu Dhabi, about nine times Monaco.
02
Timing: the first 200MW is due in 2026; the 1GW cluster is the Stargate UAE part of a 5GW campus that unlocks over several years.
03
It is the first Stargate outside the US, in Sam Altman's own words. In our view this is the compute anchor behind the other two: Microsoft and the chip permission both assume it gets built.
SourcesSoftBank press release 22 May 2025; CNBC 22 May 2025; The National 26 Jan 2026 (more than $30B, ministerial statement)05 of 09
Exhibit 06What is G42, and who paid for it?
A holding company with six operating units, two of which carry the thesis, and about $2.3B of disclosed funding.
Core42 holds the sovereign-cloud contracts and Khazna owns the datacenters. Two units are listed on ADX and publish audited accounts: Space42 (satellites) and Presight (AI software, 68% owned by G42). Two funding rounds are public, Silver Lake in 2021 and Microsoft in 2024; the valuation is not.
How to readOwners above, the holding company in the middle, operating units below. Read top to bottom: who put money in, and what the money runs.
Swipe sideways to see the whole chart.
Mubadala (Abu Dhabi's sovereign fund) is reported as a shareholder; G42 has not published its share register.
Gold border = units that carry this note's thesis. Navy = the only listed unit (audited accounts). Grey = context.
Sources: Microsoft 15 Apr 2024; Reuters via Zawya Apr 2021; Wikipedia (chairman, founding); Space42 2025 results.
Core42
Sovereign cloud and AI
Runs the Abu Dhabi government's cloud on Azure with Microsoft, and sovereign AI computing with e& (the UAE's main telecom).
Khazna
Datacenters
Builds and runs the buildings: Microsoft's 200MW expansion and the Stargate UAE campus both go through it.
Inception42
AI models and agents
Jais, the Arabic AI model, and Catalyst, the agents platform linked to Microsoft Copilot in July 2026.
Space42
Satellites, listed
Listed on ADX. $577M of revenue in 2025, down 8%.
Presight
AI software, listed
Listed on ADX, 68% owned by G42. About $825M of revenue in 2025, up 37%.
How to readEach bar adds the money raised so far. The dashed bar stands for rounds whose size was never published.
PitchBook reports about $2.3B across five rounds in total; only two round sizes are public, so the third bar is drawn without a value.
Valuation at each round is not disclosed; G42 remains a private company.
Key takeaways
01
Two listed units report audited figures: Space42 ($577M of revenue in 2025, down 8%) and Presight (about $825M, up 37%). The cloud and datacenter units are private. We therefore judge G42's position, not its value.
02
Khazna is the hidden pivot: the Microsoft 200MW expansion and the Stargate campus both route through it. Core42 and Microsoft launched their joint sovereign cloud in September 2023, seven months before Microsoft invested; the stake deepened a relationship that already existed.
03
Silver Lake's $800M in 2021 set the template for Microsoft's $1.5B in 2024. PitchBook counts five rounds for about $2.3B in total; the other three sizes are not public.
Show the working: the other units, and why we do not estimate a valuation
M42 is the healthcare-AI unit (diagnostics, hospital operations, genomics). Presight, AIQ and CPX sell AI software and services to the public sector, oil and gas, and cybersecurity. Presight is listed on ADX, 68.4% owned by G42, and reported AED 3.03B of revenue in 2025; AIQ is now majority-owned by Presight. Context for the cloud story, not its center. Core42's partnership with e& is, in our view, the largest non-government sovereign-cloud deal we have seen in the UAE.
No valuation. Even a rough multiple-based estimate needs revenue we do not have: Space42 and Presight are two lines of a holding whose total is undisclosed, and Microsoft's $1.5B is not benchmarked against a stated company value. So we do not attempt one.
SourcesG42 corporate disclosures; Space42 PLC and Presight AI annual results; Core42 press releases; DatacenterDynamics on Khazna; Silver Lake Apr 2021; Microsoft Apr 2024; PitchBook G42 profile06 of 09
Exhibit 07Who is buying, and why?
The UAE has ordered AI agents into half of federal operations within two years, and G42 is the delivery vehicle.
An AI agent is software that carries out tasks, not just answers questions. The order is already in motion: 35,000 Abu Dhabi civil servants are getting Microsoft Copilot, and 80,000 government workers are being trained.
The target
50%
of federal operations supported by AI agents within two years of July 2026
People trained
80,000
government workers, from ministers to junior staff
First deployment
35,000
Copilot seats across 27 Abu Dhabi government entities
How it fits together. Inception42's Catalyst platform is linked to Microsoft Copilot: agents built on Catalyst can be used from Teams, Outlook and Word, and Copilot agents can flow back. All processing stays on servers inside the UAE.
G42 sits in two layers: Inception42 for the agents, Core42 for the sovereign cloud underneath. Microsoft gets the surface people see (Copilot, Azure, Office).
Key takeaways
01
A procurement commitment is harder to reverse than a forecast. In our view the 50% target is the most concrete demand anchor any UAE AI company has.
02
The 80,000-worker training plan is unusually specific for a government AI program; in our view training at that scale tends to come with real deployment.
03
G42 benefits even where the contract sits with Microsoft or an Abu Dhabi entity, because the agents and the sovereign cloud run on G42-operated infrastructure.
SourcesThe National 6 Jul 2026 (Inception42-Microsoft); Microsoft Nov-25 UAE announcement; Core42 commercial contracts07 of 09
Exhibit 08What do we think, and what would break it?
G42 holds a combination no regional peer holds. The position is strong; the first thing that could break it is the chip permission expiring in April 2027.
First the peers, then three paths to 2029, then the three risks we watch. These are scenarios about G42's position, not about its revenue, which is not disclosed.
Who else holds what
| ENTITY | COUNTRY | Microsoft equity | US A:5 approved | Stargate role | LAUNCHED | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G42 | UAE | $1.5B + board seat | Yes (named in rule) | Lead UAE partner | 2018 | Why |
| HUMAIN | Saudi Arabia | Partnership, no equity | No | Separate Saudi program | May 2025 | Why |
| MBZUAI | UAE | Research partnership (Jais) | University (not commercial) | None | 2019 | Why |
| Mubadala | UAE | LP in MGX fund (parallel) | No (sovereign LP, not operator) | Capital partner only | 2002 | Why |
| PIF (Saudi) | Saudi Arabia | Various partnerships | No | Backs HUMAIN | 1971 | Why |
Holds anchor
Does not hold
Partial or adjacent
Saudi Arabia's HUMAIN launched in May 2025, a year after the Microsoft-G42 deal, with partnerships (AMD, Nvidia, Microsoft) but not the same combination of equity, US approval and a lead campus role in one company. Mubadala's MGX fund (March 2024) works alongside G42, not against it; MBZUAI is a university and G42's co-developer on Jais.
Three paths to 2029
What has to be true
Bear
Base
Bull
US chip permission
Lapses on 6 Apr 2027; G42 and Core42 return to case-by-case licensing.
Renewed before 6 Apr 2027, running to 2029.
Made permanent, or G42 restructures so a US-incorporated unit imports chips under ordinary rules.
Stargate
First 200MW slips past 2027; 1GW cluster not live before 2029.
200MW live in 2026, the 1GW cluster by 2028, later waves in construction.
1GW live early; the 5GW campus build accelerates ahead of plan.
Microsoft
Keeps the Azure/Core42 relationship but shifts emphasis to direct Azure UAE expansion.
Board seat, $1B developer fund and the 200MW Khazna expansion continue as announced.
Deepens: more capacity through Khazna, more Copilot-Catalyst integration, G42 as the template for other countries.
Federal AI mandate
Under 25% of federal operations supported by agents by mid-2028.
30-50% execution by 2028, mostly on G42 infrastructure.
More than 50% by mid-2028, with enterprise demand following government.
Outcome
G42 stays the UAE AI leader but loses its one-of-a-kind global position.
G42 remains the clear UAE sovereign-AI champion with all three anchors in place.
G42 becomes the operating template for sovereign-AI partnerships beyond the UAE.
US chip permission
BearLapses on 6 Apr 2027; G42 and Core42 return to case-by-case licensing.
BaseRenewed before 6 Apr 2027, running to 2029.
BullMade permanent, or G42 restructures so a US-incorporated unit imports chips under ordinary rules.
Stargate
BearFirst 200MW slips past 2027; 1GW cluster not live before 2029.
Base200MW live in 2026, the 1GW cluster by 2028, later waves in construction.
Bull1GW live early; the 5GW campus build accelerates ahead of plan.
Microsoft
BearKeeps the Azure/Core42 relationship but shifts emphasis to direct Azure UAE expansion.
BaseBoard seat, $1B developer fund and the 200MW Khazna expansion continue as announced.
BullDeepens: more capacity through Khazna, more Copilot-Catalyst integration, G42 as the template for other countries.
Federal AI mandate
BearUnder 25% of federal operations supported by agents by mid-2028.
Base30-50% execution by 2028, mostly on G42 infrastructure.
BullMore than 50% by mid-2028, with enterprise demand following government.
Outcome
BearG42 stays the UAE AI leader but loses its one-of-a-kind global position.
BaseG42 remains the clear UAE sovereign-AI champion with all three anchors in place.
BullG42 becomes the operating template for sovereign-AI partnerships beyond the UAE.
Base (bold) is the case we think most likely. Bear and Bull are our own scenarios, not probabilities from any disclosure. Latest datapoint, October 2026: all three anchors in place; Microsoft's $7.9B UAE tranche for 2026-2029 and the Inception42-Copilot link both point to Base.
Three risks we watch
01The chip permission lapses
If the US does not extend it by 6 April 2027, G42 and Core42 go back to licence-by-licence imports. The Microsoft relationship survives; Stargate's later waves slow.
Watch: BIS notices on Supplement No. 8; any G42 restructuring; US Commerce statements on the UAE.
02Stargate slips
The first 200MW was due in 2026; as of October 2026 we have seen no public confirmation that it is live. The cost rising from $20B to more than $30B in eight months is a construction-risk signal, in our view.
Watch: Khazna and G42 commissioning updates; the UAE AI minister; Oracle's earnings commentary on Stargate.
03Microsoft shifts emphasis
The board seat is structural, but Microsoft could lean toward building Azure directly rather than through G42. The 200MW Khazna expansion says the opposite today, but it is one data point.
Watch: Microsoft's commentary on the UAE and G42; whether the $7.9B tranche routes through Khazna or Azure directly.
Bottom line (our view)
G42 holds a combination of anchors no regional peer holds together. We are positive on the position and silent on the price.
Three signals we watch:
•A US notice extending G42 and Core42 before 6 April 2027. The most important and most time-sensitive variable in the thesis.
•Stargate's first 200MW live in 2026, with the next wave visibly under construction by the end of 2027.
•Even one UAE revenue or spending figure from G42 or Microsoft that lets us anchor G42's commercial trajectory. Today we have Space42 and Presight only, neither of which is a cloud business.
SourcesHUMAIN launch May 2025; Mubadala MGX announcement Mar-24; BIS rule 10 Jul 2026; Stargate construction updates; Microsoft Nov-25 and Jul-26 announcements; author scenarios08 of 09
Exhibit 09Appendix
What we left out, where the facts come from, and the words we used.
What this note does not cover
G42's value: left open on purpose; the data does not support an estimate.
International ventures: Space42 abroad, DataOne (datacenters in France), MGX's global investments. Flagged, not analysed.
G42's own chips: its computing inventory outside Stargate is not disclosed and we do not estimate it.
The peers in depth: HUMAIN, MBZUAI, PIF and Mubadala each deserve their own note.
A word on sources
Primary sources are Microsoft's announcements, Space42's and Presight's audited accounts, the US rule as published in the Federal Register (with Morgan Lewis as a plain-English explainer), and the SoftBank and Cerebras press releases. The National is our only source for the $30B Stargate figure (a minister's statement) and for the July 2026 Copilot rollout; reliable reporting, but not a company filing. Wikipedia and PitchBook are used for context only.
Glossary
A:5 The US Commerce Department's group of trusted countries (the UK, Japan, Germany and others) allowed to import advanced chips with the least paperwork. The UAE joined on 10 July 2026.
Advanced computing items AI chips such as Nvidia's H100, B200 or GB300 (Grace Blackwell) and the systems built around them.
Agentic AI AI agents: programs that carry out multi-step tasks on their own rather than only answering questions.
AI model The trained program behind a chatbot or assistant. Large language model (LLM) is the kind that works with text.
Availability Zone A separate datacenter location inside a region, so one outage does not take the whole region down.
Bear / Base / Bull Our pessimistic, central and optimistic scenarios. Base is what we think most likely.
BIS / Federal Register / Supplement No. 8 BIS is the US export-control office; the Federal Register is where its rules are published; Supplement No. 8 is the annex that names G42 and Core42 as approved.
CAGR Compound annual growth rate: the steady yearly rate that takes a number from its start value to its end value.
Capex / opex Capex is money spent on long-lived assets such as datacenters and servers. Opex is day-to-day running cost.
Cerebras / Condor Galaxy Cerebras is a US maker of giant AI chips; Condor Galaxy is the network of AI supercomputers it built for G42 from July 2023.
Cloud provider A company that rents computing power, storage and software over the internet so customers do not run their own servers.
Cloud region A cluster of datacenters in one place. A region inside a country lets customer data stay in that country.
Data residency Rules about where data must be stored. Where the data is processed can be a separate question.
Divestment Selling off holdings. G42 sold its stakes in Chinese companies in early 2024, two months before Microsoft invested.
exaFLOPs A measure of raw computing speed: one exaFLOP is a billion billion calculations per second.
FY / CY / F FY is Microsoft's fiscal year (July to June). CY is the calendar year. F marks a forecast.
G42 (Group 42) Abu Dhabi's state-backed AI holding company, founded 2018, chaired by the UAE national security adviser. Does not publish consolidated accounts.
GPU The specialised chip that trains and runs AI models. Nvidia makes most of them.
Gross margin Revenue minus the direct cost of delivering the product, as a share of revenue.
HUMAIN / PIF HUMAIN is Saudi Arabia's state-owned AI company, launched May 2025 by PIF, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.
Hyperscaler One of the few companies running cloud at global scale: AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud. Oracle and Alibaba are large clouds counted separately in this series.
IaaS / PaaS / SaaS Three ways to rent: raw computing (IaaS), tools to build software (PaaS), finished software such as email (SaaS).
In our view Marks a judgment of ours rather than a disclosed fact. Every number without it is sourced.
Inference The moment an AI model processes a request and produces an answer, as opposed to training it.
Intergovernmental Assurance Agreement A binding agreement between Microsoft and G42 on how the chips, data and models in their deal are protected, developed in close consultation with the US and UAE governments; a first for a private investment.
Jais / Catalyst / Copilot Jais is G42's Arabic AI model; Catalyst is Inception42's platform for AI agents; Copilot is Microsoft's AI assistant inside Office. Catalyst and Copilot were linked in July 2026.
Khazna / Core42 / Inception42 / Space42 / Presight G42's main units: datacenters (Khazna), sovereign cloud with Microsoft (Core42), AI models and agents (Inception42), satellites and geospatial (Space42, listed on ADX), AI software for governments and industry (Presight, listed on ADX, 68% owned by G42).
Licence exception A standing permission that removes the need for case-by-case export approval. G42's runs to 6 April 2027 unless extended.
Market share A company's sales as a share of everyone's sales in a defined market. The definition of the market changes the number.
Minority stake / board seat Microsoft owns less than half of G42 (no control) but its president sits on G42's board, so it sees and votes on major decisions.
Mubadala / MGX Mubadala is Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund; MGX is the AI investment fund it co-founded with G42 in March 2024.
MW / GW Megawatts and gigawatts of electrical power, the standard measure of datacenter size. 1GW is about three-quarters of one Barakah reactor.
Operating margin Profit left after all running costs, before interest and tax, as a share of revenue.
Private equity / LP Private-equity funds (such as Silver Lake) buy stakes in companies not traded on a stock exchange. An LP is an investor in such a fund who does not run it.
Sovereign cloud Cloud infrastructure run inside the country, under local law, so sensitive data never leaves.
Stargate UAE A 1GW AI compute cluster run by OpenAI and Oracle on a Khazna-built campus in Abu Dhabi; first 200MW due 2026; the full 5GW campus is costed at more than $30B.
Token A small chunk of text, roughly three-quarters of a word, used to measure and bill AI usage.
Workload One application or system running in the cloud, such as a payroll system, a website or an AI model.
SourcesComplete source list on individual exhibits above09 of 09