Microsoft and UAE-based AI firm G42 have announced a partnership to invest $1 billion in a new data center in Kenya.
The deal is aimed at expanding cloud-computing services in East Africa.
The data center, to be constructed by G42 and its partners, will be powered by geothermal energy and offer access to Microsoft’s Azure platform through a dedicated cloud region for the region.
This collaboration will meet the growing demand for cloud and AI services in Kenya.
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G42, based in Abu Dhabi and recently backed by a $1.5 billion investment from Microsoft, is already working on training an open-source large-language AI model in Swahili and English.
Ruto’s US Tour Secures Data Centre Deal
Major tech players like Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet are ramping up investments in new data centers worldwide to keep up with the increasing need for cloud services and generative AI technologies.
On May 24, 2024, Microsoft is expected to sign a letter of intent with Kenya’s ICT Ministry to finalise agreements for the data centre.
The facility is expected to be operational within two years of the definitive agreement signing.
The deal will be signed on the sideline of President William Ruto’s State visit to Washington DC.
