Global عربي
KSA عربي
Global عربي
The National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 is the UAE’s ambitious plan to position itself as a global AI leader and hub by 2031.
It aims to integrate emerging AI technology into government, attract top AI talent and partnerships, and build a base for AI exports that will drive its economy into the future. The UAE even appointed the world’s first Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence in 2017.
The flurry of initiatives couple world class AI infrastructure with smart regulations to make the UAE the “world’s most prepared” country for AI and a testing ground for frontier technology.
- Central to the AI investment drive is MGX, a $100 billion AI investment company launched by sovereign wealth fund Mubadala that is investing in leading AI technologies and partnerships, both in the UAE and globally.
The fund is investing in data centers and energy infrastructure and taking stakes in major players like OpenAI.
- Another key player is Abu Dhabi-based G42, an AI development holding company backed by a mix of state-owned entities like Mubadala and private investors like Microsoft and private equity firm Silver Lake. G42 invests in and integrates AI across critical sectors like health, security, and oil and gas.
The UAE government is partnering with some of the biggest private sector players and governments worldwide to build an AI hub at home and gain a strategic foothold abroad.
As part of the US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership, the UAE will build the largest AI campus outside of the US, part of a deal that is expected to give the UAE’s G42 expanded access to Nvidia’s advanced AI chips.
The UAE will in turn invest in and build data centres in the U.S.Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in partnership with IBM launched an AI Center of Excellence focused on climate solutions. The two are also working to improve natural language processing for Arabic dialects.
Microsoft invested $1.5 billion in G42 and joined its board of directors. The collaboration includes integrating Microsoft’s Azure cloud services across the UAE and building a sovereign cloud platform.
The UAE and Chinese firms like Huaei and Alibaba Cloud have in the past collaborated on projects like telecom infrastructure and smart cities, but these partnerships are expected to be more limited moving forward as new US-UAE agreements entail relying more exclusively on US technology, part of US efforts to avoid its technology being leaked to China.
The UAE and France are jointly developing a 1-gigawatt data center dedicated to AI that will be located in France. The two countries have said they will spend $30-$50 billion on the project and will also invest in chips and talent development as part of plans to develop homegrown AI technology and cloud infrastructure.
G42 is partnering with Italy’s iGenius to build the largest AI computing infrastructure in Europe and with Paris-based Mistral AI to develop AI platforms and infrastructure to promote broader AI accessibility.
- AI4SD - The UAE partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on AI4SD, a platform that offers open-source AI models, datasets, training resources and a collaborative space to share AI related insights.
- Stargate UAE - Set to be built in the UAE-U.S. AI Campus in Abu Dhabi, Stargate UAE is a 1-gigawatt supercomputing cluster that can host large AI models, a crucial component for the UAE’s AI hub ambitions. The project involves collaboration between OpenAI, G42, Oracle, NVIDIA and others.
As part of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the UAE is partnering with Malaysia and Rwanda to promote AI adoption across the global south.
In recent years, the UAE has been building out its regulatory framework to encourage responsible and ethical AI development. Some key pieces of legislation include:
Data protection and privacy - In 2021 the UAE passed Federal Decree-Law No. 45 on Personal Data Protection to ensure transparency and accountability in AI systems, tackling issues like user consent for data collection and preventing personal data leaks.
In 2022 the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence issued its AI Ethics guidelines that include non-binding guidelines for developers and investors. It argues that AI systems should adhere to eight key principles, namely that they be:
1- Explainable
2- Transparent
3- Accountable
4- Fair
5- Privacy Preserving
6- Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly
7- Human Centered
8- Robust, Safe and Secure
- The UAE Charter for the Development and Use of AI - issued in June 2024, the charter outlines core principles for ethical and inclusive implementation of AI technologies.
- International Policy on AI - further building on the UAE charter for AI development, the UAE cabinet issued an international policy on AI in September 2024 that provides a strategic framework for achieving its AI targets while following international best practices.
In order to recognize high quality, ethical AI companies and reward them for safe and efficient AI technology, the UAE will verify their work with a ‘UAE Seal of Approval’.
Abu Dhabi’s sovereign funds Mubadala and ADQ are funding large scale AI infrastructure, founding AI funds and companies, and partnering with established international players to gain a foothold worldwide and lure top talent to the UAE itself.
Yes. Foreign companies can open branches or HQs in the UAE and 100 percent foreign ownership is permitted, but this may require the appointment of a local service agent (a UAE national or company wholly owned by UAE nationals) for administrative purposes.
While the UAE is generally investor-friendly and encouraging of innovation, AI businesses must comply with UAE personal data laws. Businesses can face penalties if AI models trained on personal data misuse or leak the data collected.
The best UAE free zones for AI or deep tech include the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Dubai Internet City (DIC), Masdar City Free Zone, Dubai Science Park (DSP), Sharjah Research, Technology & Innovation Park (SRTIP), and Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO). Each offer world class infrastructure and feature clusters specialised in specific industries.
Disclamer:
This post is for educational purposes only, and does not constitute investment advice or a solicitation to take any financial action. It should not be relied upon when making investment or financing decisions.
