Why Microsoft sees UAE as ‘hugely important hub’ for AI

Country's early drive to set itself up as centre for technology caught the eye of US tech giant

The UAE was praised for its early investments and interest in AI by officials at Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Photo: Cody Combs

Microsoft says the UAE is playing an increasingly important role in the company's success and turning the many promises of AI into reality.

“It's a growing hub of innovation,” said Doug Dawson, the company's vice president of global communications, during an exclusive interview with The National near its headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

Mr Dawson noted that the country was among the first in the world to start a university dedicated to artificial intelligence, MBZUAI, back in 2019.

“The UAE was very proactive in making AI investments,” he said.

“To have that foresight to make the investments in advanced technology like that, the UAE is a hugely important hub.”

Microsoft's garage growth framework is posted at its in Redmond, Washington headquarters. Photo: Cody Combs

Mr Dawson also reflected on Microsoft's $1.5 billion investment in the UAE's artificial intelligence and cloud company, G42, last year. The UAE's emphasis on AI so many years before it went mainstream gave the company confidence, he said.

The UAE has shown tremendous interest in all aspects of AI, ranging from solutions in science and health care, to the energy needed make the burgeoning technology possible, he added.

“The infrastructure needed for all the advanced compute power is an opportunity where the UAE has been quite forward in thinking about 'how can we tap our natural resources like sunshine to help power AI centres',” he said.

Mr Dawson's comments come several weeks before the company's chief executive Satya Nadella is expected to visit the UAE for a Microsoft AI tour in Dubai, where he will also give a keynote address on the potential of the technology and the progress made.

Inside Microsoft's Redmond headquarters, Mr Dawson's comments about the UAE were echoed by Somanna Palacanda, the head of country-specific social impact strategies at the company.

“It's one of the first countries in the world to set up a minister for AI,” he said, referring to Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for AI, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications.

Mr Palacanda also pointed out that the UAE has trained government employees on various aspects of AI, and that Microsoft had also opened its first Middle East “AI for Good Lab” in Abu Dhabi.

“They're creating a whole ecosystem, and that's what you need,” he said.

President Sheikh Mohamed met with Satya Nadella, chief executive of Microsoft, during an official visit to the US last year. Hamad Al Kaabi / UAE Presidential Court

“I think in terms of government regulations, the UAE clearly looked at AI as a tool to help them become more competitive in the global space.

“They invested in changing the curriculum of the schools to make sure that future generations are more competitive. They're creating, you know, favourable work environments for innovators to move to the UAE to create companies on AI with the golden visa.”

The UAE's golden visa is designed to make residency more accessible and the process faster.

According to online learning platform Coursera, people in the UAE and the Middle East overall are seeking to stay ahead of the AI learning curve this year, based on course enrolments.

In recent years the UAE, the Arab world’s second biggest economy, has expressed its desire to be a front-runner on AI as it diversifies away from oil.

The country’s efforts have resulted in the establishment of several start-ups, partnerships and investments from industry leaders.

The UAE has also created several large language models, such as Jais, seen as the backbone of the technology.

Core42 unveiled Jais Chat, a bilingual Arabic and English chatbot, last year. Photo: Core42

For Microsoft, AI has helped to boost the company’s bottom line through products such as Copilot assistant and its Azure cloud computing platform.

For many consumers, AI has led to a renaissance for Microsoft, a company previously known for operating systems and office productivity software.

Eric Boyd, Microsoft's corporate vice president for the Azure AI platform, also spoke about the company's affinity for the UAE and the Middle East.

“I think there's a huge opportunity to continue to grow and do more there,” he said.

“The Gulf area economically is a massive growth area because there's a good amount of money but also because amount of interest in how they can do things with AI and build the economy in that area, so it remains a major focus for us.”