The U.S. maintained its grip as the most artificial intelligence (AI)-dominant country this year, based on computing power and the highest total power capacity at 19.8K megawatts (MW).
But the runner-up in the rankings — the United Arab Emirates (UAE), not China — that highlighted a study by TRG Datacenters that compares AI power distribution across the world to identify the most dominant countries.
With total AI computing power of 39.7M H100 equivalents, a standardized measure of the NVIDIA H100 chip, currently the gold standard in high-performance AI processing, the U.S. was No. 1. UAE was second, at 23.1M, powered by more than 188,000 AI chips and a total power capacity of 6.4K MW.
The study’s primary data came from the Epoch AI Supercomputers dataset, as one of the most detailed sources on global AI infrastructure. The Epoch AI dataset analyzed 746 AI clusters, providing insight into how many clusters each country has, as well as their power access, AI capacity, and ecosystem depth. While research focused on AI supercomputing power, it also looked beyond hardware, and took into account AI company activity and workforce, and government readiness for AI.
“The battle for AI supremacy is being fought on multiple fronts, and raw computing power is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. While having massive data centers and chip manufacturing capacity provides a strong foundation, the real advantage comes from combining that hardware with skilled talent, supportive government policies, and a thriving ecosystem of AI companies,” TRG Datacenters said in a statement. “Different countries are taking vastly different approaches – some are betting everything on building the biggest supercomputers, while others are focusing on developing specialized AI chips or creating regulatory frameworks that attract international AI research and development.”
The UAE has said its National Artificial Intelligence System will become the world’s first AI cabinet adviser, joining government decision-making as a non-voting advisory member starting in January 2026.
Saudi Arabia, in third place, has more data center clusters than the UAE, and its workforce is using AI more, with 2.2% engagement. The country’s recently announced HUMAIN, a $100 billion initiative focused on Arabic language models and sovereign AI infrastructure.
France, which ranked fifth overall, had the second-most AI chips (989,000).
China has the most data center clusters in the world, with 230. But it trails smaller countries with 289 megawatts of total power capacity. China also has the third-most AI chips, with 629,000, ahead of India and the UAE.
Global investment in AI infrastructure reached a record $200 billion this year as nations race to build the computational power needed to remain competitive in AI, according to TRG Datacenters.
