(Corrects to say that Stargate UAE is first phase of AI campus, not overall project in paragraphs 2 and 6)

By Federico Maccioni

DUBAI (Reuters) -AI chip startup Cerebras Systems aims to deploy its infrastructure to the United Arab Emirates to support the Gulf state's rapidly growing AI sector, as well as markets in India and Pakistan, CEO Andrew Feldman told Reuters on Monday.

"I'm very confident that there will be big clusters here of our gear," including "megawatts worth of equipment" for the Stargate project, Feldman, referring to the first phase of the world's largest planned set of AI data centres outside the United States.

California-based Cerebras makes high-performance AI chips and systems designed to speed up the training and deployment of large AI models, competing with industry leader Nvidia NVDA.O in the rapidly expanding AI chip market.

Among its largest clients is Abu Dhabi-backed cloud and AI firm G42, which signed a deal in 2023 to acquire supercomputers from the startup.

G42's past ties to China have attracted scrutiny in Washington, due to concerns around Beijing's access to advanced semiconductors including via third parties such as the UAE, which has been spending billions of dollars on its AI push, looking to leverage its strong relations with the U.S. to secure access to the technology.

Technology giants, including Nvidia ( NVDA ) and OpenAI, are working with G42 to build Stargate UAE, the first phase of an AI campus project announced in May under a multi-billion dollar deal which however has not been finalised amid security concerns due to the UAE's close ties to China, Reuters has previously reported, citing sources.

Cerebras-built computers for G42 have so far remained in the U.S., with Middle East deals requiring export licences from the Trump administration.

Cerebras this month filed to withdraw its plans for a U.S. listing, after raising $1.1 billion in a funding round that valued the company at $8.1 billion.

New investors include 1789 Capital, a fund in which Donald Trump Jr is a partner.

Feldman said the company will use the proceeds to scale up manufacturing and finance the new data centres, aiming to grow to as many as 12 or 15 sites from six over the next months.

Cerebras still intends to go public, Feldman said, adding it has an "intention to refile it as quickly as we can", without providing a timeline.