OpenAI has announced the availability of data residency for business customers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), allowing organisations to store data at rest in-region when using ChatGPT Enterprise, ChatGPT Edu or building on OpenAI’s API Platform.
This option allows organisations in the UAE to store data locally, helping them meet national compliance, governance and operational requirements as they scale the use of AI.
AI is increasingly popular among people and businesses across the UAE. In the last year, OpenAI has tripled its UAE user base, with around 60% of 18–24-year-olds and half of 25–34-year-olds using ChatGPT every week.
This momentum is translating into strong enterprise adoption. UAE-based organisations including G42, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC), Aldar, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), Khalifa University, NYU Abu Dhabi, Higher Colleges of Technology, United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) and Tabby, are deploying OpenAI technologies to increase productivity, accelerate innovation and meet the goals of the UAE Vision 2031 strategy to embed AI across the nation.
As organisations deepen their use of AI, many face evolving requirements around where data is stored, how it is processed and the regulatory frameworks that apply. The UAE data-residency option makes it simpler for enterprises, public-sector institutions and education providers to adopt AI while aligning with local policy and operational needs.
Farouk El Hamzawi, Head of Enterprise, OpenAI MENA, said, “Organisations across the UAE are adopting AI at a remarkable pace, supported by the Government’s clear long-term vision and commitment to technology leadership. As the UAE advances its Vision 2031 goals and the work of the Office of Artificial Intelligence drives national adoption, we are proud to expand our data-residency options to support this ambition. This step gives UAE institutions greater choice and confidence as they build with AI, and we look forward to continuing to partner across the public and private sectors to help realise this vision.”
Earlier this year, OpenAI announced Stargate UAE – a new data centre cluster designed to support national AI capability and long-term infrastructure needs – in partnership with the UAE Government, G42, Oracle, NVIDIA, Cisco, and SoftBank.
UAE data residency presents the next milestone in enabling institutions across the country to have the tools, security, and flexibility they need to adopt AI responsibly and at scale, all within the Emirates.
Data residency in the UAE builds on OpenAI’s enterprise-grade privacy and security commitments, including:
- encryption of data at rest and in transit using industry-standard protocols
- enterprise or API customer data is NOT used to train OpenAI models by default.
- contractual and technical controls including configurable data-retention policies and a Data Processing Addendum.
