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DAMAC Properties, led by Hussain Sajwani, announced plans to invest $20 billion in U.S. data centers on January 7, 2025. The figure describes a planned investment—not money verified as spent or facilities confirmed to be operating. President-elect Donald Trump named eight states for a proposed first phase, but the available reporting does not verify that those sites became a construction pipeline.

What DAMAC announced

President-elect Donald Trump announced the plan on January 7, 2025, naming DAMAC Properties, a company led by Hussain Sajwani, as the investor. The Associated Press reported the proposed $20 billion commitment; Axios also reported Sajwani’s stated plan to invest that amount, with the possibility of more if market opportunities allowed.

Sajwani told Axios: “For the last four years, we’ve been waiting for this moment and we’re planning to invest $20 billion and even more than that, if the opportunity in the market allow[s] us.” Trump said Sajwani “was very inspired by the election and wouldn’t do it without the election,” describing why he believed Sajwani made the commitment. These remarks explain the announcement; they do not establish how much, if any, was later deployed.

Where Trump said the first phase could be built

Axios reported that Trump described data centers in the Midwest and Sun Belt and named these eight states for the first phase:

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  • Texas
  • Arizona
  • Oklahoma
  • Louisiana
  • Ohio
  • Illinois
  • Michigan
  • Indiana

This is the state list from Trump’s announcement remarks, not independently verified evidence of acquired sites, permits, financing, or construction. AP reported that the United States was not previously part of DAMAC’s EDGNEX data-center portfolio at the time of the announcement.

What is—and is not—verified about the plan

The reporting establishes an announced investment plan, not its completion. The material available here does not verify that DAMAC spent the full $20 billion, acquired sites, began construction, or opened U.S. facilities. It also does not establish later project milestones, realized U.S. jobs, economic output, or completed data-center capacity. Those outcomes should not be inferred from the announced dollar figure.

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How the DAMAC plan differs from Stargate UAE

DAMAC’s proposed U.S. investment is separate from Stargate UAE, which Abu Dhabi announced in May 2025. Stargate UAE is a planned AI compute project in Abu Dhabi, not a DAMAC U.S. data-center development.

Announcement Investor, builders, and operators Location and stated scale Status and timing
DAMAC U.S. data centers DAMAC Properties; Hussain Sajwani spoke at the announcement. The reviewed reporting does not identify a project operator. United States; $20 billion planned investment. Trump named eight states for a proposed first phase. Announced January 7, 2025. Later implementation is not verified in the available reporting.
Stargate UAE Built by G42 and operated by OpenAI and Oracle, with Cisco and SoftBank as partners; NVIDIA was named as supplier of Grace Blackwell GB300 systems. Abu Dhabi; planned 1-GW AI compute cluster within a separate planned 5-GW UAE–US AI campus. The first planned cluster phase is 200 MW. Announced May 2025. The first 200-MW cluster was expected to go live in 2026; that target is not proof of completion.

Peng Xiao, G42 Group CEO, said of the separate project: “The launch of Stargate UAE is a significant step in the UAE–US AI partnership.”

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The U.S. Department of Commerce described the U.S.–UAE AI Acceleration Partnership as a government framework for technology cooperation. It includes an announced 1-GW data center and a planned 5-GW cluster in Abu Dhabi, as well as a process intended to facilitate UAE investment in U.S. digital infrastructure. That bilateral framework provides context, but it does not establish that DAMAC’s $20 billion plan was funded through Stargate or made under the framework.

Separately, Mubadala and Together AI announced a partnership on September 29, 2026, to explore AI infrastructure and ecosystem opportunities in the UAE, including a planned Together AI presence in Abu Dhabi. That announcement does not connect the partnership to DAMAC’s U.S. plan.

Sources

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