MILAN, May 16 (Reuters) - United Arab Emirates tech firm

G42 agreed on Friday to partner with Italian artificial

intelligence startup iGenius to develop a major AI supercomputer

in Italy, the companies said in a joint statement.

The deal is part of a broader framework announced at a

bilateral summit in February, where the United Arab Emirates

pledged to invest $40 billion in Italy, Italian Prime Minister

Giorgia Meloni said at that time.

The AI data center project, called Colosseum, will be

developed with $1 billion over five years using Nvidia ( NVDA )

technology in southern Italy.

G42 will be the main financier of the initial phase, to

create what the companies called the "largest AI computer

deployment" in Europe.

The agreement will create an AI hub in Italy, Industry

Minister Adolfo Urso said at the Investopia conference in Milan,

noting "strong chances" that it would be located in the

southeastern Apulia region.

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, the UAE's ruling

family and U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake, hold stakes in

G42.