Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates has launched a cutting-edge Arabic language artificial intelligence (AI) model, intensifying the Gulf region’s rapidly growing competition in AI development.
The new model, Falcon Arabic, was unveiled on Wednesday by Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC). It aims to reflect the full linguistic diversity of the Arab world by utilizing a native, high-quality Arabic dataset—not one derived from translations, according to an official statement.
Falcon Arabic is designed to be both powerful and efficient, matching the performance of models up to ten times its size, while being more accessible and practical to deploy.
“Today, AI leadership is not about scale for the sake of scale. It’s about making powerful tools useful, usable, and universal,” said Faisal Al Bannai, Secretary General of ATRC.
As part of the same initiative, ATRC also launched Falcon H1, a high-performance AI model that reportedly outperforms rival systems developed by Meta and Alibaba, particularly in reducing the computing resources and technical barriers typically required to operate such technologies.
The UAE has invested billions of dollars into positioning itself as a global AI leader, leveraging its strategic ties with the United States to gain access to advanced technologies. During a recent visit to the region, former U.S. President Donald Trump highlighted an AI partnership that would allow the UAE to access next-generation AI semiconductors from American firms—a significant strategic win for the Gulf nation.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is also accelerating its own AI ambitions. Earlier this month, the kingdom announced the launch of a new state-backed company focused on developing AI infrastructure and technologies. It is working toward releasing one of the world’s most powerful multimodal Arabic large language models, underscoring its intent to become a central AI hub outside the United States.
With both countries vying for AI supremacy in the Arab world, the Gulf’s AI race is set to reshape the region’s digital and economic future.
