US chip maker Nvidia and Abu Dhabi's Technology Innovation Institute are teaming up to establish a joint lab dedicated to artificial intelligence and robotics.
The collaboration will develop next-generation AI models, robotics platforms and humanoid technologies that will “accelerate innovation” across industries, said TII, the research arm of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council.
“This collaboration with Nvidia marks a major step toward building AI-enhanced robotic systems capable of reasoning, adapting and acting in complex environments,” Najwa Aaraj, chief executive of TII, said.
“By combining our advanced robotic platforms with powerful AI models … we are accelerating the convergence of perception, control and language – laying the foundation for a new era of intelligent machines.”
The move comes as the Emirates pushes to accelerate AI adoption across government and business as part of the UAE Vision 2031, which seeks to position the country among the world’s most advanced digital economies.
The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, launched in 2017 under the Centennial 2071 vision, also seeks to make the country a global hub for AI and future-driven sectors.
Earlier this year, the UAE and US governments agreed to establish the US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership, a framework to bolster co-operation around critical technologies. This included plans for a 5GW UAE-US AI Campus.
The campus was announced during US President Donald Trump's visit to the Emirates in May, when he announced deals with country totalling more than $200 billion.
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The TII-NVAITC [Nvidia AI Technology Centre] Joint Lab for AI and Robotics will integrate Nvidia's accelerated computing platforms and expertise with TII’s multidisciplinary research in AI, robotics, autonomous systems, and high-performance computing, according to the TII statement.
The launch “marks a new chapter in our global NVAITC network”, said Carlo Ruiz, Nvidia's vice president of enterprise solutions and operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“By working with TII in Abu Dhabi, we are expanding the scope of these centres into robotics for the first time in the Middle East – helping researchers and innovators accelerate breakthroughs that will shape the future of intelligent systems.”
The two organisations will speed up the development of intelligent systems with real-world applications – advancing the field of physical AI through embodied AI models, state-of-the-art robotics and humanoid stacks, and hardware designed for real-time robotic systems, the statement said.
Research will span robotic learning and control at scale, as well as the development and integration of large language models, including TII’s Falcon family of AI models.
