Abu Dhabi-based AI and cloud computing powerhouse G42 has announced a major partnership with U.S. chipmaker Cerebras to deploy 8 exaflops of computing power through a new supercomputer system in India. The landmark deal was revealed on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.
This initiative marks a significant international expansion for the Emirati tech giant, placing it at the heart of India’s rapidly accelerating AI ecosystem.
Powering India’s Sovereign AI Ambitions
The new supercomputer system will be hosted entirely within India, adhering to all local data residency, security, and compliance regulations. The project is designed to democratize access to high-performance computing, providing critical AI resources to educational institutions, government entities, and small and medium-sized enterprises across the country.
“Sovereign AI infrastructure is becoming essential for national competitiveness. This project brings that capability to India at a national scale, enabling local researchers, innovators, and enterprises to become AI-native while maintaining full data sovereignty and security,” said Manu Jain, CEO of G42 India.
A Strategic MENA-India AI Collaboration
The project deepens the technological ties between the UAE and India, with Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) and India’s Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) also participating. This collaboration builds on previous successes, such as last year’s release of Nanda 87B, a Hindi-English large language model developed by MBZUAI and G42 on Meta’s Llama 3.1 70B model.
“Deploying this system in India marks a significant step forward in the country’s computational capacity and sovereign AI initiatives. It will accelerate training and inference for large-scale models, enabling researchers and developers to build AI tailored to India’s needs,” commented Andy Hock, chief strategy officer at Cerebras.
Part Of A Larger National Push
G42’s entry comes amid a massive wave of investment in India’s AI infrastructure. The India AI Impact Summit saw Indian conglomerates Adani and Reliance pledge $100 billion and $110 billion respectively to build gigawatt-scale data centers.
Simultaneously, OpenAI has partnered with Tata Group to secure 100 megawatts of AI compute, with plans to scale to 1 gigawatt. With the Indian government aiming to attract over $200 billion in infrastructure investment, G42’s move positions the UAE firm as a key player in one of the world’s most dynamic and competitive tech markets.
About G42
G42 is a global leader in creating visionary artificial intelligence capabilities for a better tomorrow. Born in Abu Dhabi and operating across the world, G42 champions AI as a powerful force for good. Its people are constantly reimagining what technology can do, applying advanced thinking and innovation to accelerate progress and tackle society’s most pressing problems.
Source: TechCrunch
