Partnership with technology leaders
Partnerships with global technology leaders are strengthening this trajectory. In April 2024, Microsoft invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 and won a seat on minority stakes and its committees to collaborate on AI solutions using Microsoft Azure in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi has launched UAE-US AI Campus, home to Stargate UAE, the largest AI data center complex outside the United States. Leading with partners such as Openai, Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco, SoftBank and G42, the multiphase hyperscale hub provides an infrastructure for AI model development, training and inference, integrating renewable energy sources and advanced cooling systems to mitigate environmental impact. The facility will also house research and development centres and training programs to expand the local AI talent pool, where early projects in government services, healthcare, energy, finance and logistics are expected.
Investing in skill development
To ensure these benefits are widely shared, the UAE is investing heavily in AI-focused skill development. The flagship program includes the AI Prompters, a three-year global initiative launched in 2024 to train one million people with AI prompt engineering, and the federal government's “AI Talents” initiative announced in 2024 in collaboration with Microsoft. AI capabilities are invading the labor market deeply. Overall, the UAE efforts were built to ensure that AI is properly delivered in the future, not just as the next technical step, but also as the cornerstone of the post-Yor economic model.
