AI Investments: a new market with massive returns

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is described as the most influential technology of the 21st century, rivaling the importance of inventions like electricity and the internet, with the potential to cause radical change worldwide.

Naturally, companies and governments are racing to lead this AI revolution and are spending heavily on its investment. Investopedia indicates that in 2024, a group of countries recorded the highest percentage on the list of global private investment in AI, led by the United States, China, the UK, Sweden, Canada, France, Germany, the UAE, Australia, South Korea, India, the Netherlands, Japan, and Italy.

This massive global investment reveals huge figures in AI. A report by the British newspaper The Guardian estimates the value of data centers at three trillion dollars. These vast repositories become the central nervous system for AI tools, supporting the training and operation of this technology in which investors have poured vast sums.

Belief in AI is not limited to financial and political circles and technology companies but also includes the societies that host its supporting infrastructure. According to The Guardian, AI revenue is expected to grow from $45 billion last year to a trillion dollars by 2028.

Various countries, including the UAE, have entered a race to consolidate their position as a global hub for AI through new horizons for investment and competitiveness, focusing on advanced infrastructure.

Employing Artificial Intelligence

Building international partnerships represents a key part of the UAE’s strategy to enhance its leadership in the field of AI, and this sector is one of the most prominent sectors of the UAE’s strategic partnership with the European Union.

In a post on the “X” platform following a call with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, regarding the launch of strategic partnership negotiations with the EU, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen indicates that “the UAE plays a pivotal economic role and this agreement will open a new era of cooperation in fields such as investment, energy, digital transformation, and the transition to clean energy.”

AI represents one aspect of these investments. The Future Center for Advanced Research and Studies says that “international partnerships particularly serve the achievement of various goals of the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, which aims for the country to become a global leader in employing AI by 100% by 2031 in various services and data analysis; thus enhancing productivity and reducing operational costs.”

The Center monitors these goals in “the UAE government becoming the first globally in investing in AI in its various vital sectors, creating a new promising market in the region with high economic value, supporting private sector initiatives and increasing productivity, in addition to building a strong base in the field of research and development, and investing in the latest AI technologies and tools and applying them in various fields of work with high-level efficiency, investing all energies optimally, and exploiting available human and material resources and capabilities in a creative way.”

Hence, “the UAE has become one of the most attractive countries for specialized skills in AI, with the number of specialists in this field increasing by about 40% since 2022,” according to the Center’s report, which cites “the UAE achieving a leading position within the list of the top 10 countries globally in terms of the number of AI companies per million inhabitants, according to the Global AI Competitiveness Index issued by the International Finance Forum (IFF) and Deep Knowledge Group.”

To achieve this, Deutsche Welle indicated last February the “signing by the UAE and France of a framework for cooperation in the field of AI that aims to plan an investment of between 30 to 50 billion euros in establishing an AI complex with a capacity of 1 gigawatt in France. This complex is scheduled to consist of 35 data collection centers to secure the massive computing capabilities required by AI.”

The framework also seeks to explore new opportunities for cooperation in projects and investments that support the use of advanced chips and data center infrastructure and the development of cadres, in addition to establishing “virtual data embassies” to enable AI infrastructure and cloud computing and purchasing advanced chips in both France and the UAE.

The Future Center for Advanced Research and Studies also sees that “the UAE-French partnership in the field of AI provides a strong impetus for developing digital infrastructure in both countries, where each benefits from massive investments to establish advanced AI complexes, which enhances their ability to process big data and develop cloud computing technologies, and boosts the development of Emirati cadres, thus supporting the nurturing of a new generation of specialists in AI, and reinforces the UAE’s position as a leading global hub in this field.”