The UAE is positioning itself to become a global producer and exporter of artificial intelligence, applying a development strategy that previously transformed the country into a major hub for energy, aviation and trade.
Industry leaders say the country is now shifting its focus from physical commodities and transport networks to what they describe as the industrial production of intelligence.
According to Al Kaissi, the UAE’s economic model has historically centred on identifying future demand early and building infrastructure before markets fully mature. That approach helped establish the country as a leading centre for oil exports, aluminium production, logistics and aviation.
Now, he argues, the same strategy is being applied to artificial intelligence.
“We went from exporting barrels of oil, diversifying into financial services, aluminium, structural composites, ports and aviation, to now manufacturing intelligence, for both domestic consumption and export,” Al Kaissi told Khaleej Times.
At the centre of this effort is a growing network of AI infrastructure led by G42 and its digital subsidiary Core42, supported by Khazna, which develops data centre facilities.
Executives describe the concept as a “token factory,” treating AI data centres as industrial facilities where computing power and energy are converted into digital output known as tokens. These tokens are generated whenever AI systems respond, reason or perform tasks.
Core42 provides sovereign cloud and AI systems designed to keep sensitive government and corporate data within national infrastructure rather than relying on foreign platforms.
“Capacity is strategy,” Al Kaissi said. “You can have the best ideas in the world, but you either rent compute and become dependent on someone else, or rent intelligence at the model layer, unless you build indigenous capability.”
A major pillar of this vision is a five-gigawatt AI campus under construction in Abu Dhabi. Officials expect domestic demand to consume part of the facility’s computing power as government agencies and businesses expand AI use. The remainder is expected to support export markets.
Geography is also central to the strategy. Al Kaissi said the UAE’s location allows digital services to reach nearly half the global population within a 3,200-kilometre radius.
“The same reason UAE ports and airline carriers became such powerhouses applies here,” he said, noting that early infrastructure investment had previously transformed Jebel Ali and the country’s aviation sector.
Core42 is developing what it calls an “intelligence grid,” linking sovereign AI systems across countries through government-backed digital agreements designed to protect data sovereignty. The company already operates AI infrastructure in the UAE, the United States and Europe, with additional expansion planned by 2027.
The UAE also believes it holds an advantage through unique national datasets. These include healthy chest X-ray records collected during expatriate tuberculosis screenings, genomic information from the Emirati Genome Programme, satellite imagery and decades of geological data from energy exploration.
Al Kaissi said these datasets could support advances in healthcare, precision medicine, geospatial analysis and energy research.
The first 200 megawatts of the Abu Dhabi campus is nearing completion, while long-term expansion plans continue. For UAE planners, the ambition mirrors earlier national projects that transformed trade and transport, this time focused on digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence.
