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Microsoft has garnered headlines in recent months by uncovering the activities of Kremlin-backed “Midnight Blizzard” hacking operations.
Now the U.S. tech giant is playing a central role in great power artificial intelligence wars between the United States and China, with a particular focus on influencing the future of artificial intelligence development and proliferation across the Middle East.
Microsoft said Tuesday that it will invest $1.5 billion in G42, a leading United Arab Emirates AI firm.
The deal was first reported by The New York Times, which framed it as being “largely orchestrated by the Biden administration to box out China as Washington and Beijing battle over who will exercise technological influence in the Gulf region and beyond.”
The Microsoft-G42 deal, which follows U.S. efforts to blacklist Chinese companies seeking to acquire AI microchips for China’s military, reportedly features a requirement that G42 strip Chinese gear out of its own tech operations, including equipment from the Chinese telecom giant Huawei.
• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.
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