Advancing sovereign cloud and AI infrastructure innovations

At the forefront of the UAE’s AI and digital transformation journey, Core42 is redefining what sovereignty means in the age of intelligent infrastructure. In an exclusive conversation with CXO DX, Jaafar AlHashmi, Acting VP – Government Sector at Core42, discusses how the company’s breakthroughs in sovereign cloud, AI infrastructure, and strategic partnerships are enabling a secure, scalable, and future-ready digital ecosystem for the nation and beyond.

Core42 has been at the forefront of enabling AI-powered transformation across the UAE. What are some of the key innovations solutions Core42 showcased at GITEX this year?

At GITEX Global 2025, Core42 demonstrated the progress we’re making in advancing sovereign cloud and AI infrastructure across the UAE and beyond. This year, we took centre stage within the G42 District in AI Hall 6, highlighting our role as the digital infrastructure arm of the G42 ecosystem. G42’s Intelligence Grid vision is redefining how nations can build AI-native societies by connecting infrastructure, intelligence, and innovation within one cohesive framework. Together with our sister companies, we showcased how our technologies translate into tangible outcomes that strengthen the UAE’s AI leadership and set new benchmarks for secure, globally competitive digital infrastructure.

A major highlight of our showcase was our AI Cloud, a high-performance, scalable, and sovereign platform that brings every leading accelerator together under one roof and provides a unified solution for all training, fine-tuning, and inference needs. We have already announced the introduction of self-service capabilities within our AI Cloud that allow users to access NVIDIA accelerated compute resources within minutes, bringing unprecedented speed, flexibility and accessibility to large-scale AI development. We will continue to announce new partnerships designed to extend the UAE’s technological leadership globally, as we simultaneously demonstrate key offerings such as our Sovereign Public Cloud, our Signature Private Cloud – which is currently in Customer Preview, and our Compass generative AI platform.

Core42 has established deep collaborations with government entities and regulated industries in the region. Could you elaborate on how these partnerships drive secure, scalable, and sovereign digital transformation?

 Partnerships are at the heart of Core42’s strategy to scale digital transformation and strengthen the UAE’s position as a global hub for AI innovation. We believe progress happens through collaboration, and our work with government entities and leading technology partners is creating the infrastructure, ecosystems, and capabilities that make AI accessible, secure, and impactful across the region.

 As part of the G42 ecosystem, we play a central role in advancing the Intelligence Grid vision, which connects infrastructure, intelligence, and innovation into a unified national framework. Our collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Department of Government Enablement is a strong example, where we are helping to process more than 11 million daily digital interactions through a sovereign cloud system that supports the UAE’s goal of becoming the world’s first fully AI-native government by 2027.

On the global stage, our partnership with Microsoft reflects how we are bringing world-class innovation to the UAE while ensuring it aligns with local data and compliance priorities. As part of G42’s broader landmark collaboration with Microsoft, we have built the Sovereign Public Cloud on Microsoft Azure, and integrated Core42’s Insight controls platform to combine hyperscale capabilities with national data assurance. This has given UAE organizations access to the scalability and features of a global hyperscaler, while still maintaining full sovereignty over their data, workloads, and AI models.

We are also expanding our international footprint through strategic collaborations across Europe. In France for example, we partnered with AMD to establish a state-of-the-art AI data centre in Grenoble, and joined forces with Oréus to provide in-country access to scalable compute capacity. In Italy, we partnered with iGenius to deploy Europe’s largest AI compute cluster powered by NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs, marking a major milestone in advancing sovereign AI infrastructure for European markets. And we entered into a strategic partnership with Northern Data Group to provide access to large-scale European sovereign AI Cloud capacity, supported by up to 10,000 GPUs from its Taiga Cloud business, to help meet growing demand for high-performance compute.

Through these partnerships, Core42 is building an ecosystem where innovation, compliance, and collaboration work in harmony. Together with our partners, we are creating the foundations of a trusted, AI-enabled future that positions the UAE and the wider Middle East at the centre of global AI progress.

Working with regulated industries often involves complex compliance, data protection, and governance requirements. How does Core42 ensure its sovereign cloud infrastructure meets the highest standards of security and trust required by these sectors?

Security, compliance, and trust are central to Core42’s value proposition. Our entire cloud and AI infrastructure is sovereign by design, meaning that data protection, governance, and regulatory alignment are built into every layer of our technology. This approach ensures that organizations operating in regulated industries such as government, healthcare, finance, and energy can innovate confidently while maintaining full control over their data.

Our Sovereign Public Cloud meets the highest standards of assurance, with all workloads, models, and data processed within the UAE under national jurisdiction. It is governed by Insight, Core42’s compliance and controls platform, which provides complete visibility and policy enforcement across every environment. For industries that require the highest levels of protection such as defense and national security, we are introducing the Signature Private Cloud, which offers an isolated and secure environment for classified or top-secret workloads.

We work closely with regulators and policymakers to ensure our platforms meet and often exceed national and international standards for data security and privacy. By embedding compliance into the foundation of our infrastructure rather than treating it as an add-on, Core42 enables regulated industries to modernize securely, accelerate innovation, and uphold the highest levels of public trust.

Over the past year, Core42 has made remarkable progress across infrastructure and partnerships. How would you describe this growth journey, and what have been some defining milestones for the government sector?

The past year has indeed been transformative for Core42. We have strengthened our position as the region’s leading provider of sovereign cloud and AI infrastructure, and deepened our partnerships with both government entities and global technology leaders. Our growth has been driven by a clear mission to deliver the infrastructure, intelligence, and innovation that enable nations to build AI-ready economies.

In the government sector, one of our most significant milestones has been our collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Department of Government Enablement to establish a sovereign cloud system capable of processing more than 11 million digital interactions every day. This initiative supports Abu Dhabi’s ambition to become the world’s first AI-native government by 2027 and stands as a model for how AI can improve the speed, quality, and transparency of public services. We also signed a landmark agreement with the UAE Accountability Authority to advance governance and transparency in AI adoption. This partnership reflects a shared commitment to embedding trust and accountability at the core of digital transformation. Beyond the UAE, we have continued to expand our collaborations internationally, including partnerships in Europe that are extending the reach of sovereign AI infrastructure to new markets.

These milestones reflect how Core42’s growth journey is closely aligned with the UAE’s national vision. As we look ahead, our goal is to continue supporting governments in building secure, data-driven, and AI-enabled public services that set new global standards for innovation and trust.

Looking ahead, what are Core42’s strategic priorities for the next five years, particularly in advancing the UAE’s ambition to become a global leader in sovereign AI and digital innovation?

Over the next five years, our strategic focus is on playing our part to accelerate the UAE’s vision to become a global leader in sovereign AI and digital innovation. We see this as both a national responsibility and a regional opportunity. Core42 will continue to build the infrastructure, partnerships, and AI capabilities that enable governments and enterprises to innovate securely, sustainably, and at scale.

Our top priority is to expand the reach of our sovereign cloud and AI platforms. The Sovereign Public Cloud will continue to evolve to meet the needs of regulated industries, while the Signature Private Cloud will provide secure environments for the most sensitive and classified workloads. The AI Cloud will remain a cornerstone of our innovation strategy, offering high-performance compute and AI development tools that make advanced AI more accessible to public and private sectors alike.

We are also committed to advancing responsible AI adoption by working with regulators and policymakers to shape governance models that ensure transparency, accountability, and ethical use. At the same time, we are exploring opportunities to export the UAE’s sovereign AI blueprint to other regions, sharing the success of a model that balances global innovation with national sovereignty.

Ultimately, our goal is to help position the UAE and the wider Middle East as a trusted hub for AI-driven progress, where technology not only fuels economic growth but also enhances societal well-being and resilience.