AI Megaprojects Push UAE and Saudi to Global Frontlines in AI Development
The findings underscore how strategic investments by Gulf nations are translating into global competitiveness.
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[Image source: Chetan Jha/MITSMR Middle East]
The UAE and Saudi Arabia are rapidly establishing themselves as global artificial intelligence (AI) leaders, according to a new report by TRG Datacenters, a Texas-based firm specializing in national AI infrastructure analysis. In a global ranking of artificial intelligence superpowers, the US took the lead, followed by the UAE in second place and Saudi Arabia in third—placing the two Gulf states ahead of countries such as South Korea, France, India, China, the UK, Finland, and Germany.
TRG’s analysis measured national capabilities across three key dimensions: AI supercomputing power, the activity of AI firms, and government readiness. The findings underscore how strategic investments by Gulf nations are translating into global competitiveness.
“The country [UAE] has over 188,000 AI chips and a total power capacity of 6.4K megawatts,” the report noted, highlighting the UAE’s vast computing resources.
The ranking also drew on supercomputing data from research institute Epoch AI, in addition to national power capacity statistics.
“The battle for AI supremacy is being fought on multiple fronts and raw computing power is just one piece of a much larger puzzle,” a TRG spokesman said. While infrastructure remains a key component, the spokesman added that some governments are emphasizing regulatory agility by developing frameworks “that attract international AI research and development.”
The strong performance of the UAE and Saudi Arabia reflects a broader shift in the AI landscape, as emerging markets increasingly compete with traditional tech hubs. The report follows recent findings from Counterpoint Research that placed Dubai ahead of San Francisco in AI adoption. Abu Dhabi also made the global top 10, ranking eighth.
Momentum across the Gulf is accelerating. In June, a separate report by online learning platform Coursera found the UAE leads the Arab world in AI maturity. The country’s sustained efforts to build an AI-driven economy have resulted in a growing ecosystem of startups, global partnerships, and landmark investments from companies including Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI.
The UAE has made early, bold moves in institutionalizing its AI ambitions. In 2017, it became one of the first nations to appoint a minister of artificial intelligence. Two years later, it established the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, the world’s first graduate-level AI university.
Most recently, in July, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence, introduced a new classification system using icons to identify AI-generated content in research and publications, which reflects the country’s focus on transparency and governance in the AI era.
The UAE’s standing received another boost in May during a visit by US President Donald Trump to Abu Dhabi, where he witnessed the unveiling of a joint 5GW UAE-US AI Campus.
Described by analysts as one of the world’s largest AI infrastructure undertakings, the campus could further entrench the UAE’s role as a key player in shaping the global AI future.
