Microsoft Stalls Kenya AI Data Center Over Power

A planned $1 billion AI data center in Kenya, a partnership between Microsoft and Abu Dhabi-based G42, has stalled amid disputes over power and payment guarantees. Bloomberg reported that Microsoft and G42 asked the Kenyan government for guaranteed annual payments for a set amount of capacity, and talks broke down when officials could not provide the level of guarantees Bloomberg said Microsoft requested (reported via Reuters). Kenyan President William Ruto warned the full-scale project would require switching off “half the country,” according to reporting by Windows Central. Reuters also quoted Kenya’s Ministry of Information principal secretary John Tanui saying “it is not failed or withdrawn” while noting power requirements remain under discussion. Local reporting places the initial phase at 100MW with longer-term plans up to 1GW, against national installed capacity roughly 3GW and recent peak demand of 2,444MW (TechSpot/Windows Central).