Moving from oil to data, from sand to space, from commodities to “compute” – the United Arab Emirates is rapidly reshaping its economy and racing into the future.
The UAE is transforming itself into a global hub and forerunner for next-generation technologies in fields like artificial intelligence (AI), life sciences and the space economy. This is a remarkable shift enabled by visionary leadership, access to clean energy, ample investment capital, a whole-of-government commitment, and a hub and home to some of the world’s best tech talent.
And the United States (US) is the UAE’s most important partner in this transformation.
Advanced technology and AI are the newest pillars of the deep and enduring UAE-US relationship, which is built on a foundation of security cooperation, trade ties and cultural exchange.
Accelerating this shift, UAE institutions and companies like G42, Mubadala, NYU Abu Dhabi and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center are joining with American counterparts like Microsoft, IBM, the Cleveland Clinic and NASA to launch new businesses, initiatives and missions to space.
In the UAE, we are embracing change and welcoming the future of AI and advanced technology. And we are doing it together with the US.
Learn more about our progress and ambition.
Yousef Al Otaiba
UAE Ambassador to the US
UAE Tech News
The UAE’s AI Ambitions
Being an early AI adaptor and innovator, the UAE’s AI sector is among the world’s most advanced. The UAE appointed the world’s first AI minister in 2017, created the first dedicated AI research university in 2020, and launched Falcon, a top-rated open-source large language model in 2023. In March 2024, the UAE's Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council launched MGX, a technology investment company with Mubadala and G42 as founding partners. In September, MGX, BlackRock and Microsoft announced plans for a $30 billion fund to support the construction of data centers and related energy infrastructure. The new Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP) aims to enhance AI supply chains and mobilize up to $100 billion in total investment potential.
The UAE-US AI Partnership
From Nvidia, AMD and Microsoft to OpenAI and IBM, the UAE is forging deep partnerships with America’s leading technology companies.
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Microsoft's expanded partnership and investment in Abu Dhabi's G42 will deliver advanced AI solutions to global public sector clients and ensure AI technologies and cloud capabilities are equitably shared with growing economies worldwide. Microsoft announced the expansion of its Global Engineering Development Center to the UAE, one of Microsoft’s first engineering centers to be launched in the Arab world.
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Nvidia and G42 are working together to develop AI solutions aimed at boosting weather forecasting accuracy globally and will set up an operational base and climate tech lab in Abu Dhabi.
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Close bilateral space cooperation facilitated the launch of a UAE probe to Mars, trained Emirati astronauts for NASA-led missions, and will see the UAE construct the airlock for NASA’s Lunar Gateway space station.
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Significant investments by the UAE’s Mubadala Investment Company helped reenergize US semiconductor manufacturing; New York-based GlobalFoundries is now the third largest chipmaker in the world.
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Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, part of the M42 network, and Cleveland Clinic colleagues in the US conducted the UAE’s first robot-assisted kidney transplants.
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IBM and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) launched an AI Center of Excellence to develop carbon-neutral solutions to existing energy supplies and further natural language processing (NLP) for Arabic dialects.
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The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) adopted Microsoft’s smart assistant program ‘Copilot’ to enhance public services and utilities.
These ventures not only enhance UAE-US relations but are expected to have a positive impact on the Global South. Following Microsoft’s $1.5 billion investment in G42 in April 2024, the two companies announced they are joining forces to build a $1 billion geothermal-powered data center in Kenya. In September 2024, the pair announced the launch of two new centers in Abu Dhabi to advance AI best practices and develop large language models for underrepresented languages. Microsoft will also open its first ‘AI for Good Research Lab’ in the region to support social goals, including advancing food security and strengthening climate resilience. Close government-to-government cooperation is creating a new policy and oversight framework to expand commercial and research initiatives while protecting valuable intellectual property and national interests.
As Ambassador Al Otaiba and Ambassador Strong wrote in The National, “When it comes to advanced technologies and artificial intelligence, few countries are working as closely and moving as quickly together as the United States and the UAE. The US Silicon Valley and the UAE ‘Silicon Oasis’ are driving AI research and innovation towards the frontier. And they are doing so in partnerships that span labs, boardrooms and advanced production facilities.”
Discover more about leading UAE-US partnerships shaping the future of AI below.
"Microsoft’s investment in G42 will enhance the UAE’s position as a leading AI hub and provide digital infrastructure and services to help underserved nations innovate and grow. We will combine world-class technology with world-leading standards for safe, trusted, and responsible AI, in close coordination with the governments of both the UAE and the United States."
“In MGX, we are establishing a UAE national champion focused on AI and advanced technologies that will shape a future where technology enables a more prosperous, sustainable and interconnected world.”
“The world will need a unified policy to rein in future advances in AI, I think, for a bunch of reasons, the UAE would be set up to be a leader in the discussions about that. The UAE could serve as the world’s regulatory sandbox to test artificial intelligence technologies and later spearhead global rules limiting their use.”
“If you look at the UAE vision, their vision is to be an AI-driven nation.. everything they are doing is building towards that perspective.”
"The partnership between the United States and the United Arab Emirates is strong and growing stronger. Together, we are taking giant leaps in science and technology that will further the Artemis campaign, and the future of human space exploration."
“At G42 we made our bet. We believe that the most advanced AI players in the world are centralized around Silicon Valley.”
“The future of AI will not be determined by technocrats and bureaucrats like myself. It will be decided by…the [tech] unicorns who decided to call Dubai home, by technology experts who appreciate the speed of our government and the openness this country has… Our job is to enable you, our job is to ensure you're able to use Dubai and the UAE as a springboard to make global companies that will make global impact and change the future.”
“The UAE is very much on Team USA when it comes to advanced technologies like artificial intelligence.”
“I think based on the op-ed that you’ve seen, based on the various engagements that we’ve been having with the US, based on looking at companies like Microsoft investing in G42 – I think these are all signs of closer collaboration when it comes to AI. Whether it is on the AI model itself, whether it is on the chipset side and ensuring the supply of NVIDIA chips and other things, whether it’s looking at furthering investments in chipsets or other areas – there is definitely a closer collaboration that’s happening to further improve areas related to compute, areas related to software partners and areas related to use cases.”
When you think of industries in the UAE, you probably think of energy and aviation. But this country is forging ahead with artificial intelligence. I spoke with Faisal Al Bannai about the Gulf state’s latest breakthrough: @TIIuae’s Falcon 2. pic.twitter.com/uGob8FbcC8
— Becky Anderson (@BeckyCNN) May 13, 2024
“Masdar with Terra-Gen, Microsoft with G42, Mubadala with Global Foundries, Adnoc with NextDecade, and many others are forging partnerships and charging forward to generate new value, growth, efficiencies, scientific and technological breakthroughs. Increasingly, we are partnering together not just in the UAE and the United States, but also in other countries around the globe as we build safely and responsibly the AI-driven economic architecture of the future.”