Abu Dhabi setzt erneut auf KI

Many years ago, Abu Dhabi relied more on directly purchasing technical services from outside. However, with the advancement of the economic diversification strategy, government departments have realized the importance of independent technological R & D capabilities. For some key technologies, apart from purchasing from outside, it is more necessary to "rely on one's own efforts" and develop proprietary technologies.

In mid - September, during an official visit to China organized by the UAE's Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Ali Mohammed Al Marzouqi, the Director - General of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce (hereinafter referred to as "Marzouqi"), led several local enterprises to Beijing, focusing on the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligent robots.

When talking about this trip, Marzouqi said that Abu Dhabi has become the fastest - growing AI center in the Middle East and North Africa region. In fields such as artificial intelligence and fintech, China has world - class capabilities. The chamber hopes to promote connections between the private sectors of both sides and transform the cooperation potential into feasible profit - making projects.

In recent years, as the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi has invested heavily in the AI field. At the beginning of this year, the Abu Dhabi government released the "Government Digitalization Strategy 2025 - 2027", clearly proposing a plan to invest 13 billion dirhams (approximately 25.3 billion yuan) to promote the application of artificial intelligence in government services, with the goal of building a globally leading AI - driven government and further boosting economic growth.

At the end of September, when a media group composed of Chinese media such as Economic Observer visited Abu Dhabi, in the exchanges with local economic development departments, environmental agencies, science and technology development departments, and business associations, AI became a frequently mentioned term when many Abu Dhabi officials and association managers were interviewed.

Marzouqi said that the reason why Abu Dhabi's strategies in technology fields such as AI are so ambitious is that the government leadership attaches great importance to technological development, which has promoted the rapid implementation of AI and other technological strategies from top to bottom. At the same time, Abu Dhabi has a large amount of funds invested by high - quality sovereign wealth funds, venture capital firms, family offices, and high - net - worth individuals, which can provide procurement and investment opportunities for many enterprises and help them integrate into the local supply chain.

Heavy Investment in AI

Located in the Middle East and having an active capital market, Abu Dhabi is known as the "Capital of Capital". In 2024, the per capita GDP in Abu Dhabi exceeded 500,000 yuan. According to the research and consulting firm "GlobalSWF", Abu Dhabi is the city with the largest managed capital of sovereign wealth funds (SWF) in the world. In 2024, the total assets of Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth funds exceeded 1.7 trillion US dollars, and the annual overseas investment exceeded 57.6 billion US dollars, with a large amount of funds flowing into the AI industry.

For a long time in the past, the economic growth of Abu Dhabi and even the UAE has been highly dependent on the oil and gas industries. Since 2007, Abu Dhabi has actively promoted economic "de - oilization" and focused on increasing the technological content. In 2022, the GDP of the non - oil sector accounted for 50% of Abu Dhabi's total GDP for the first time, and currently it has exceeded 56%.

Among various technological development strategies in recent years, AI has become the top priority.

On September 27, UAE President Mohammed met with Sam Altman, the CEO of the artificial intelligence company OpenAI, in Abu Dhabi. Mohammed emphasized that the UAE has invested billions of dollars in an effort to become a global leader in the field of artificial intelligence. The focus of the talks between the two sides was to strengthen cooperation between OpenAI and UAE counterparts in the fields of artificial intelligence research and its practical applications.

Stefan Timpano, the CEO of ASPIRE under the Advanced Technology Research Council of Abu Dhabi, told reporters that many years ago, Abu Dhabi relied more on directly purchasing technical services from outside. However, with the advancement of the economic diversification strategy, government departments have realized the importance of independent technological R & D capabilities. For some key technologies, apart from purchasing from outside, it is more necessary to "rely on one's own efforts" and develop proprietary technologies.

Thanks to the advancement of the AI strategy, a large number of AI - related R & D, practical scenario applications, and industrial parks have been rapidly established in Abu Dhabi. As of June 2024, the number of AI enterprises in Abu Dhabi reached 673, a 61% increase compared to the same period in 2023. In the first half of 2025, a total of 150 artificial intelligence enterprises were established in Abu Dhabi.

In May this year, G42, a local UAE AI company (backed by the UAE's sovereign wealth fund), and OpenAI announced a cooperation to build the world's largest AI super - computing center in Abu Dhabi, which is expected to cover an area of 26 square kilometers.

In terms of the specific application of AI. In October last year, Abu Dhabi updated its digital government services and launched the AI assistant "Digital Government Services Platform" (TAMM), which integrates 1100 public and private services. Users can directly obtain public services such as business registration, industrial license processing, and insurance affairs by chatting with the AI on TAMM. In October this year, Abu Dhabi plans to launch the TAMM 4.0 platform.

To address the shortage of talent in the field of artificial intelligence, Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi offers professional degrees and minors in AI and robotics, and has a research center for data science and AI. In the past two years, the school has also integrated AI concepts into core courses such as Python and data science, enabling graduates to have the skills required for the booming AI - driven industries and to tackle complex challenges in fields such as energy, healthcare, and sustainability.

Ibrahim Al Hajri, the President of Khalifa University, said that even if the school does not actively plan how to use artificial intelligence in education, students will use it on their own, which will limit the development potential of artificial intelligence in the education field. "Humans are very good self - regulators. Just as people were worried about the negative impacts of nuclear energy in the past, but nuclear energy has finally played a positive role in many fields such as cancer treatment. Therefore, university education should see the positive side of AI and should also become a testing ground for AI."

Regarding the characteristic that AI is mostly driven by private enterprises, Marzouqi said: "If the Abu Dhabi government sees that a certain technology, including AI technology, is effective and trusts this technology, it will directly adopt it first, rather than hesitatingly observing the usage effects of the private sector."

The Presence of Chinese AI Enterprises

With the vigorous development of Chinese AI technology, in recent years, a large number of Chinese AI enterprises have emerged in Abu Dhabi. In 2019, SenseTime established an EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) artificial intelligence R & D center in Abu Dhabi. In the same year, the world's first research - oriented artificial intelligence university focusing on postgraduate training was established in Abu Dhabi, and its founding board members include Yao Qizhi, the Dean of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences at Tsinghua University, and Li Kaifu, the CEO of Zero One. In May 2025, WeRide launched the first fully driverless Robotaxi service in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi.

Marzouqi said that currently, the number of members of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce exceeds 158,000. In 2023, the number of Chinese enterprises registered with the chamber increased by 38%, and in 2024, the increase further climbed to 69.4%, mainly in the fields of autonomous driving of vehicles, photovoltaics, energy storage, and agricultural technology. "The change in data reflects that Abu Dhabi's attractiveness among Chinese businesses and investors is constantly increasing. Currently, more than 6,000 Chinese enterprises are registered and operating in Abu Dhabi."

Take the Hub71 industrial park as an example. Supported by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, it was established in 2019 and currently has 371 companies, with the core fields being artificial intelligence and healthcare. In the first half of this year, 13 new AI startups were added to the park, and the number of AI enterprises reached 53, among which SenseTime was one of the earliest enterprises to settle in.

It is understood that in the past three years, the Hub71 industrial park has received more than a hundred applications from Chinese enterprises to settle in. Currently, there are 4 Chinese startups in the park. Among them, Archireef, a company headquartered in Hong Kong, whose main business is to reconstruct coral reefs using 3D printing technology, has established relevant facilities in Abu Dhabi and reached cooperation with several local enterprises. In the latest round of settlement applications, Hub71 received applications from about 2,000 enterprises around the world. After multiple screenings, a total of 27 companies successfully settled in.

The key to attracting global enterprises to compete for settlement in Hub71 lies in its comprehensive support for enterprises, including housing subsidies, office space, medical insurance, consulting support, legal support, etc. Since its establishment in 2019, enterprises in Hub71 have generated revenues of 4.5 billion UAE dirhams (approximately 8.75 billion yuan) and obtained billions of yuan in financing.

Ahmad Ali Alwan, the CEO of Hub71, said that Abu Dhabi has invested a large amount of funds in the field of artificial intelligence. The role of the industrial park is to guide these resources to the startups in the park and actively promote cooperation between startups and AI companies such as G42, Google, and SenseTime in the park.

Marzouqi also noticed an interesting phenomenon: "Chinese enterprises prefer to settle in quickly, such as directly using the built - in factory facilities and office spaces. In contrast, European and American investors prefer to build infrastructure in a specific way."

He said: "The government departments and business associations in Abu Dhabi are not static in attracting enterprise investment. We don't want enterprises to be forced to change their development speed because they come to Abu Dhabi. Therefore, we will adopt the opinions of different enterprise managers and make targeted adjustments to meet the actual needs of enterprises, ultimately achieving a win - win situation."

Further Facilitate the Entry of Technology Enterprises

"Is this policy feasible for the private sector?"

Before launching a new policy, this sentence is the focus of communication between the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and the Abu Dhabi government departments. In this context, the two sides will conduct in - depth discussions on various expected impacts of the new policy on the private sector.

Marzouqi said that the chamber is a "super - connector". On the one hand, the chamber represents the voice of the private sector in Abu Dhabi, so it will widely collect the needs and opinions of enterprises and hold regular round - table meetings with government departments to ensure the creation of a better policy framework for enterprises' development in Abu Dhabi. On the other hand, the chamber is also a link between Abu Dhabi and overseas countries. If enterprises from countries such as China want to go to Abu Dhabi to seek investment or cooperation opportunities, the chamber can provide a series of guidance in terms of office space selection, enterprise establishment procedures, etc.

Marzouqi said: "The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce shoulders the mission of promoting the vigorous development of the private sector. Its responsibility is to 'bring back' various enterprises to Abu Dhabi and help them achieve a soft landing as much as possible. In the first half of 2025, the number of members of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce increased by 4.9% year - on - year, and the total number exceeded 158,000."

Attracting various enterprises through the chamber is just one of the measures taken by Abu Dhabi to facilitate the settlement of technology enterprises. In recent years, Abu Dhabi has also launched a number of reforms in optimizing government services and improving talent supply.

Ibrahim Al Hajri said that looking to the future, the development goals of Khalifa University are closely aligned with national strategies, such as the "UAE Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031" and the "UAE Energy Strategy 2050". Specifically, the school aims to cultivate future - oriented talents, embed artificial intelligence and sustainability into undergraduate programs, and expand interdisciplinary AI research into fields such as healthcare, sustainability, and advanced materials.

Rashid Al Qubaisi, the Executive Director of the Business Registration and Licensing Department of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, said that in terms of the business environment, Abu Dhabi continuously benchmarks against international best practices to optimize the processes and regulatory requirements of government departments. Abu Dhabi hopes to provide "one - stop services" for enterprises, that is, investors can complete all business service applications at one government department window without having to run around and submit similar documents repeatedly. Nowadays, it only takes a few days to establish a new company in Abu Dhabi.

He said: "We will ensure that any enterprise that can contribute to Abu Dhabi's GDP, especially in the non - oil sector, is welcomed and well - treated. After bringing companies in, we don't want them to fail but will help them succeed through different entities."

During the interview, Rashid Al Qubaisi also specifically mentioned the hope of further attracting investment from Chinese technology enterprises. In 2024, Abu Dhabi held two Abu Dhabi Investment Forums in Beijing and Shanghai. During this period, Rashid Al Qubaisi and his team members met with more than 1,500 Chinese businessmen and investors.

In 2024, the bilateral trade volume between China and the UAE exceeded 100 billion US dollars, a 7.2% increase year - on - year. The UAE has been China's largest export market and second - largest trading partner in the Middle East for many consecutive years. To attract more Chinese technology companies, the Beijing Office of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office was established in 2021, aiming to support long - term economic cooperation between Abu Dhabi and China and help more Chinese enterprises understand the local geographical advantages and beneficial strategies.

Rashid Al Qubaisi said: "As a young city, although Abu Dhabi is developing rapidly, there is still a lot of room. Various global enterprises can easily seek development opportunities in this investment hot - spot and embed their product technologies into various development projects of government departments. Abu Dhabi has always adhered to the spirit of business openness and welcomes the arrival of enterprises."

This article is from the WeChat official account "Economic Observer", author: Tian Jin. Republished by 36Kr with permission.