OpenAI Launches UAE Inference Residency Program
OpenAI has launched Inference Residency in the UAE for eligible API, ChatGPT Enterprise and ChatGPT Edu customers. The move allows qualifying organisations to keep model inference on GPUs located inside the country.
Previously, UAE customers could use OpenAI’s data residency option for storing eligible customer content at rest. Now, inference residency adds a separate control over where GPU execution occurs. Therefore, the UAE joins the United States and Europe as OpenAI’s supported inference residency regions.
Farouk El Hamzawi, Head of Enterprise, OpenAI MENA, said that, “Organizations across the UAE are adopting AI at a remarkable pace, supported by the Government’s clear long-term vision and commitment to technology leadership. With the launch of UAE Inference Residency, we are giving eligible customers greater control over where AI workloads are executed, building on our existing residency offerings and supporting institutions that need stronger regional assurances as they scale AI adoption.”
He added, “This is another important step toward broader compute residency in the UAE, and we look forward to continuing to support organizations across the public and private sectors as they build with AI,” El Hamzawi added.
What inference residency provides
Inference residency means GPU execution on in-scope customer content occurs within the selected region. However, it does not mean every part of an AI request remains inside the UAE. Authentication, routing, analytics and other CPU-based processing may still occur globally.
Additionally, OpenAI says inference residency requires data residency in the same region. For UAE deployments, current limitations include support for GPT-5.2, while ChatGPT image generation and internal search remain unavailable under UAE inference residency.
Focus on regional AI governance
The expansion gives UAE enterprises, public-sector bodies and education providers greater control over AI workload location. Consequently, organisations handling sensitive information can align AI deployment more closely with local governance and compliance requirements.
OpenAI introduced UAE data residency last year. Now, inference residency extends that approach from data storage toward local compute, strengthening the country’s position as a regional hub for controlled AI infrastructure.
