ICYMI: Key Highlights from Dubai AI Week The inaugural Dubai AI Week aimed to foster global collaboration around AI as a catalyst for smarter governance, stronger economies, and future-ready societies.

Held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, Dubai AI Week was held from April 21-25, attracting key global experts, policymakers, innovators, and industry leaders representing the world's leading organizations and companies specializing in AI.

Key events of the week included the AI Retreat, Dubai Assembly for AI, Global Prompt Engineering Championship, Dubai AI Festival, Machines Can See summit, AI Week in Schools, 8th edition of the International Conference on Education Quality, HIMSS Executive Summit Dubai, and Hackathon: Agentic AI.

Organized by the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DCAI) and overseen by the Dubai Future Foundation, the event provides a landmark platform to advance public-private collaboration, accelerate the adoption of AI technologies, and promote innovation for global good and sustainable growth.

H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications. Image source: Dubai AI Week

"Every single conversation about AI that takes place across the world today talks about two paradigms: innovation and regulation," said H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, at the Dubai AI Retreat at the Museum of the Future. "There is another paradigm that most people don't talk about, but that we in the UAE have adopted as our ethos when it comes to pushing this technology forward. And that is: acceleration. We believe that we should not compromise regulation for the sake of innovation, but we should focus on accelerating the use of this technology in the best way possible."

Digital Dubai and Dubai Future Foundation unveiled the inaugural Dubai State of AI Report, a strategic publication highlighting the emirate's accelerating adoption of AI across government operations. The launch coincides with the official rollout of Dubai's AI Policy for Government Entities, both announced during Digital Dubai's participation in Dubai AI Week via a dedicated exhibition.

The Dubai State of AI Report is the first in a series of strategic publications and offers an in-depth look at how AI is being deployed today—from predictive healthcare and digital twins for urban mobility to automated business licensing, fraud detection, and AI-powered procurement and auditing platforms. Many of these use cases are already operational and delivering measurable outcomes.

Internal estimates and proportional economic modelling suggest that by 2030, AI implementation could contribute a cumulative amount of over AED 235 billion in projected economic impact, reinforcing Dubai's position as a key driver of digital economic transformation in the UAE, and supporting the national goal of AI contributing up to 14% of the country's GDP by the end of the decade.

Meanwhile, the Dubai Government Human Resources Department (DGHR), in partnership with the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG), launched a new report titled 'Generative AI Adoption Amongst Dubai Government Employees' in a special session at Dubai AI Week 2025. Based on a detailed fieldwork conducted between October 2023 and October 2024 with responses received from over 1531 public sector employees across at least 34 government departments in Dubai, the report is the first comprehensive analysis of the usage, perceptions and potential exposure of generative AI (gen AI) technology by Dubai Government employees, across different departments and at different levels, ranging from senior management to front-line employees. According to the study, 97% of generative AI users in the public sector believe they have a positive impact on the government sector, while 89% consider acquiring generative AI skills essential for government employees.

In other notable highlights of the week, Sheikh Hamdan attended the announcement of an AED2 billion hyperscale data centre. The facility will be developed and operated by du, the UAE-based telecommunications and digital services provider, in collaboration with Microsoft.

The hyperscale data centre is expected to be developed in multiple phases, progressively expanding capacity to meet the growing demand. Microsoft will serve as the primary tenant, leveraging the facility's advanced computing capabilities to support its cloud infrastructure and next-generation digital services.

Sheikh Hamdan said, "The project marks a significant investment in digital infrastructure, reinforcing Dubai's leadership in adopting the latest technologies, innovations, and digital services."

The inaugural Dubai AI Week also saw the Museum of the Future in Dubai unveil the latest version of Ameca –an advanced humanoid robot– now equipped with enhanced capabilities to interact with visitors in multiple languages, including Hindi and Chinese. Ameca, featuring a human-like face and robotic body, has been greeting visitors on the museum's 'Tomorrow, Today' floor since October 2022. Serving as an intelligent assistant, Ameca has fascinated visitors with its uniquely human-like interactive abilities. The upgraded version of Ameca, revealed during the inaugural Dubai AI Week, now boasts even more realistic facial expressions, natural human-like responses, and highly precise movements.

Museum of the Future debuted upgraded AI-enabled humanoid robot 'Ameca' with advanced human interaction capabilities during Dubai AI Week.

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) launched a comprehensive training program aimed at equipping its employees with the knowledge and capabilities required to keep pace with the rapid digital transformation of the healthcare sector.

This initiative reflects DHA's commitment to supporting Dubai's annual strategy to accelerate the adoption of AI and to building a future-ready, innovation-driven health system.

DHA is also encouraging private healthcare facilities across Dubai to participate in the initiative as strategic partners in achieving the emirate's future health vision. The aim is to build a skilled workforce capable of leading innovation and pioneering the use of advanced technologies in line with Dubai's smart health objectives.

Source: DHA

The five-day long event also saw the launch of innovative solutions and platforms from the UAE's startup ecosystem.

Dubai-based proptech startup Huspy launched what it said to be the GCC's first AI-powered mortgage chatbot on WhatsApp during Dubai AI Week 2025. "This is more than just a technological milestone — it is a step toward a fully digital and frictionless home financing experience, in line with the UAE's vision for AI and innovation," said Jad Antoun, founder and CEO of Huspy, following the announcement.

Dubai-based startup The Game Company (TGC) launched its AI-powered cloud gaming platform that aligns with the Dubai Program for Gaming 2033—a national strategy to establish the emirate as a global leader in gaming and emerging tech.

TGC's platform brings over 1,300 AAA titles directly from the cloud, making high-performance gaming accessible to anyone, on any device, without the need for costly consoles or downloads. Built on custom AI architecture, the platform features optimised GPU utilization for maximum visual performance, predictive forward buffering for ultra-smooth gameplay, and cloud-agnostic integration that ensures seamless, low-latency experiences across devices.

Osman Masud, founder and CEO of The Game Company, said, "Gaming is not just entertainment. It is culture, economy, and infrastructure. We have built the foundation for a new generation of gaming and we are proud to launch it here in Dubai. Dubai gave us the platform and belief. We are proud to showcase a homegrown product that is setting a new global benchmark."

The platform has already seen strong traction during its alpha phase, with over 43,000 registrations and 10,000 gamers onboarded. TGC is backed by key partners including Tencent Cloud, BytePlus (TikTok), Immutable and Fetch.ai.

Dubai AI Week's startegic partners included Digital Dubai, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, and the UAE AI Office. It also brought together local collaborators such as, Dubai Health Authority, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA Dubai), Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), Dubai Police, DAMAC and du.

The event's global tech partnets and leading AI pioneers included the likes of Google Cloud, Microsoft, Meta, IBM, NVIDIA, as well as OpenAI, Palantir Technologies, Eleven Labs, Cohere, Swift, Accenture, HP and Yango. PwC, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), QuantumBlack AI by McKinsey have joined as Knowledge Partner.