By Federico Maccioni
DUBAI (Reuters) -Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute and Nvidia have launched a joint research lab in the United Arab Emirates that will focus on developing next-generation AI models and robotics platforms, TII said on Monday.
The joint research hub is the first Nvidia AI Technology Center in the Middle East, TII said in a statement, combining its multidisciplinary research with the U.S. company’s AI models and computing power, which are fuelling a global artificial intelligence boom.
Under the agreement, the institute will be able to use specific edge GPU chips to advance its research on robotics among other areas, said Najwa Aaraj, the CEO of TII, which is working on humanoids, four-legged robots and robotic arms.
“It will be a chip that we will newly use…It’s called the Thor chip, and it is a chip that enables advanced robotic systems development,” Aaraj said in an interview.
TII is the applied research arm of the Advanced Technology Research Council, an Abu Dhabi government entity that is part of the UAE’s efforts to become a global AI player.
The Gulf country, a major oil exporter, has been spending billions of dollars in recent years on its AI push, looking to leverage its strong relations with the United States to secure access to technology.
During a Gulf visit by U.S. President Donald Trump in May, the UAE signed a multi-billion dollar deal to build one of the world’s largest data centre hubs in Abu Dhabi with U.S. technology, including the most advanced Nvidia chips.
However, the deal has not been finalised amid security concerns due to the UAE’s close ties to China, Reuters previously reported citing sources.
TII has worked closely with the U.S. company for some time, Aaraj said, adding that TII has been using Nvidia chips to train its own language models.
Discussions for the joint lab started around a year ago and the hub will host teams from both parties, Aaraj said, with more staff to be hired specifically for the project.
(Reporting by Federico Maccioni; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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