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Abu Dhabi Sets 2027 Target For AI-Run Government
Officials attended the Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council meeting, where AI trends and investment opportunities were also discussed.
Abu Dhabi has set a deadline of 2027 to run the world’s first government fully enabled by artificial intelligence. The plan was reviewed this week at a meeting chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed in attendance.
The Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council assessed the Government Digital Strategy 2025-2027, which places AI at the center of public services. The push combines new technologies, expanded research, and training for civil servants. Public awareness campaigns are also being rolled out. “Equipping the workforce and the broader community to participate in Abu Dhabi’s digital transformation is essential,” Sheikh Tahnoon said.
State entities including ADQ, Adnoc, the Department of Government Enablement and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence briefed the council on projects already under way. The oil and gas major Adnoc is pursuing its own AI targets, aiming to be the most AI-enabled energy company by 2030. Abu Dhabi is committing Dh13 billion ($3.53 billion) between now and 2027 to accelerate adoption across government departments.
The review comes as the federal government advances its own program. From 2026, the UAE’s National Artificial Intelligence System will sit in Cabinet meetings as an advisory member. It is designed to provide technical analysis and policy input. In August, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid launched a new federal strategy cycle that places AI at the heart of planning and service delivery.
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The UAE is also opening channels with global players. Last week, President Sheikh Mohamed met OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman in Abu Dhabi. Altman, who received MBZUAI’s first honorary doctorate during the visit, discussed research partnerships and practical applications with local institutions.
Formed last year, the council is tasked with shaping Abu Dhabi’s AI policy, investment and research agenda. Its work is anchoring the emirate’s attempt to establish itself as a global hub for advanced technology, a position reinforced by direct engagement with international firms and talent pipelines.
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Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict
Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.
Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.
“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.
The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.
The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.
Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.
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The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.
So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.
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