The London‑based entity will cater to a wide spectrum of sectors, including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and energy, by offering end‑to‑end AI capabilities—from model development and infrastructure deployment to ongoing managed services. Leadership will be shared by Omar Mir, a veteran of World Wide Technology’s international board, and Marty Edelman, G42’s Group General Counsel, combining technical, regulatory and compliance strengths.
Mir brings more than 20 years of experience in deploying cloud, 5G, edge and AI solutions across Europe, the US, Middle East and UK. He described the strategy: “Our goal is to harness G42’s proven AI expertise and localise it for European and UK businesses—fuelling digital transformation, enhancing competitiveness, and building resilient, sovereign AI infrastructure in partnership with public and private stakeholders”. Edelman echoed this vision, noting that the new hub strengthens G42’s understanding of local regulation and its ability to deliver compliant solutions.
The creation of G42 Europe & UK follows the group’s investments in AI compute clusters and data‑centre infrastructure in France and Italy over the past year. The company’s global network, comprising supercomputing nodes, data centres and AI research platforms, will support scalable and secure operations tailored to regional needs.
G42’s ambitions are shaped by a growing appetite for home‑grown infrastructure in Europe, particularly amid concerns over data sovereignty and regulatory oversight. Their services are expected to align closely with national and EU frameworks that emphasise local control over data assets. Establishing a London base offers strategic access to both UK regulatory bodies and a gateway to EU markets.
The timing coincides with G42’s expanding influence. In May, the company unveiled a major initiative—Stargate UAE—a collaboration in Abu Dhabi involving OpenAI, Oracle, NVIDIA, SoftBank and Cisco to build a 5‑gigawatt data‑centre complex. Earlier partnerships included supercomputing projects in Italy with iGenius and AI infrastructure investments in France.
G42’s prominence comes amid heightened geopolitical scrutiny. The firm’s ownership and ties to Microsoft, which took a $1.5 billion stake in April 2024, have provoked discussions in the US over dual‑use technologies and data security. Domestic regulators in Europe are now intensifying focus on ensuring AI deployment aligns with standards such as data privacy under GDPR, while avoiding overreliance on non‑European providers.
In London, the subsidiary aims to nurture partnerships with governments and regional regulators on digital policy, while collaborating with private sector clients to build secure, accountable AI systems. Analysts view this as part of a larger effort by G42 and its Emirati backers to offer an alternative to dominant US and Chinese cloud‑AI ecosystems.
G42’s integrated portfolio—spanning sovereign cloud, cybersecurity, analytics and AI research —will underpin the European subsidiary’s offerings. Its Intelligence Grid architecture combines these capabilities into a cohesive platform. The London hub is expected to prove pivotal, enabling local deployment while maintaining global interconnectivity.
Employee feedback on LinkedIn has been overwhelmingly positive, emphasising enthusiasm for a “localized AI solutions” hub that promises to accelerate infrastructure build‑out across Europe. Industry executives note that G42’s move aligns with a broader trend: European governments are seeking robust local infrastructure providers that meet sovereignty demands without compromising on speed or scale.
By combining regulatory engagement with technical muscle and global backing, G42 Europe & UK could emerge as a serious competitor to major Western AI infrastructure players. As Europe accelerates its autonomous AI agenda, its need for local, high‑performance compute and services will only grow—and G42 aims to meet that demand from the heart of London.
Topics
Technology