Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, at the launch of Forge42 with Peng Xiao, group chief executive of G42, right, and Omar Mir, international board member of WWT, during the Make it in the Emirates forum in Abu Dhabi. Photo: G42
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, at the launch of Forge42 with Peng Xiao, group chief executive of G42, right, and Omar Mir, international board member of WWT, during the Make it in the Emirates forum in Abu Dhabi. Photo: G42
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, at the launch of Forge42 with Peng Xiao, group chief executive of G42, right, and Omar Mir, international board member of WWT, during the Make it in the Emirates forum in Abu Dhabi. Photo: G42
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, at the launch of Forge42 with Peng Xiao, group chief executive of G42, right, and Omar Mir, international board member of WWT, during

Abu Dhabi's G42 and US-based WWT launch Forge42 to position UAE as AI exporter


Dana Alomar
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Abu Dhabi-based technology group G42 has launched an artificial intelligence accelerator called Forge42, in partnership with World Wide Technology of the US, to help transform the UAE into an exporter of AI solutions.

The initiative, unveiled on Wednesday at the Make it in the Emirates forum, will enable companies to make prototypes, test and scale AI products across sectors including logistics, energy, manufacturing, health care and finance, according to a statement from G42.

It marks a shift in the UAE’s role – from a consumer of emerging technologies to a producer of sovereign, export-ready innovation, the company said.

The launch follows a string of recent AI-focused announcements, including G42’s tie-up with France’s Mistral AI and plans by Nvidia and Abu Dhabi-based MGX to build an AI campus in France.

Together, the deals reflect the UAE’s growing investment in AI talent, infrastructure and international partnerships.

Forge42 offers a full-stack infrastructure that helps businesses build and use AI tools more quickly and securely. It is designed to serve as a launch pad where AI is developed and tested, G42 said.

By partnering with global players such as Nvidia, AMD, Dell and Microsoft, the platform provides access to next-generation computing power and secure data environments, while keeping development rooted in the UAE.

Omar Mir, international board member of WWT, said the two companies are creating an "innovation environment that allows ideas to move quickly from prototype to impact – both within the UAE and beyond".

G42 said the initiative aligns with the country’s goal to boost competitiveness in advanced industries by embedding AI into products and operations.

The platform is also expected to accelerate time-to-market and improve productivity, the company added.

“This collaboration with WWT represents a shared commitment to building meaningful, lasting AI infrastructure and solutions that empower nations and industries alike,” said Peng Xiao, group chief executive of G42.

Forge42 joins G42’s growing AI portfolio, which includes partnerships with OpenAI, Microsoft and Cisco.

It also builds on the group’s 2023 consolidation of key units into Core42, which focuses on delivering AI at a national scale.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Fanney Khan

Producer: T-Series, Anil Kapoor Productions, ROMP, Prerna Arora

Director: Atul Manjrekar

Cast: Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Rajkummar Rao, Pihu Sand

Rating: 2/5 

In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
  • Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000 
  • Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000 
  • HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000 
  • Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000 
  • Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000 
  • Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000 
  • Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000 
  • Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
  • Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
  • Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
UK-EU trade at a glance

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Company%20profile
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
  1. Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
  7. Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

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Mane points for safe home colouring
  • Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
  • Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
  • When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
  • Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
  • If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
Company%C2%A0profile
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Sweet%20Tooth
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Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions

There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.

1 Going Dark

A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.

2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers

A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.

3. Fake Destinations

Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.

4. Rebranded Barrels

Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.

* Bloomberg

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo

Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic

Power: 242bhp

Torque: 370Nm

Price: Dh136,814

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