United Arab Emirates Enters Global AI Race by Open-Sourcing Competitive Technology
In a significant development highlighting the expanding role of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the worldwide artificial intelligence (AI) landscape, the nation has joined the ranks of technology leaders like the United States and China by releasing an open-source AI model. This move signals the UAE’s ambitions to become a central player in AI innovation and research.
On September 9, 2025, the UAE’s Institute of Foundation Models, a new research laboratory supported by the country’s government, announced the public release of its first open-source AI system named K2 Think. The Emirati lab claims that K2 Think performs comparably to leading AI models available from OpenAI and China’s DeepSeek when measured against standard benchmarks. This effort reflects a strategic push by the UAE to foster sovereignty in technological development and intellectual creativity.
The institute operates under the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi, which has been gaining recognition as a key AI research hub. Eric Xing, the university’s president, emphasized the importance of broadening access to AI technologies. “AI will not be monopolized by just a few countries,” Xing stated, underscoring the UAE’s commitment to establishing a foundation for homegrown research and development.
This release comes amid a global trend where national and corporate entities are actively sharing AI technology to accelerate innovation and establish competitive advantages. Over the past year, numerous Chinese companies have aggressively open-sourced their AI advancements to challenge dominant U.S. firms like OpenAI and Google. In turn, OpenAI has also contributed to this movement by releasing two of its own models to maintain a leading presence in the global AI developer community.
The UAE’s entry into open-source AI development is also part of a broader investment spree by several countries that recognize AI’s strategic importance. Nations such as Saudi Arabia and Singapore have similarly committed billions to build data centers and research facilities aiming to cultivate indigenous AI capabilities. These efforts demonstrate a growing international consensus that leadership in AI technology will be pivotal to future economic and geopolitical strength.
However, the UAE’s open-source initiative is not without controversy, particularly in Washington. The K2 Think model was developed using hardware resources provided by G42, an Emirati technology firm. Notably, G42 recently acquired over 10,000 computer chips in a deal brokered between the former U.S. administration under President Trump and the UAE, which raises complex questions about technology transfer and international cooperation in AI.
As countries race to dominate the AI frontier, the UAE’s decision to freely share its AI technology marks a new chapter in a competitive yet collaborative global environment. By joining the U.S. and China in open-sourcing AI models, the UAE aims to assert its role as an influential innovator and catalyze regional and international research initiatives.
The full implications of the UAE’s open-source release are yet to be fully realized, but the move signals a major shift in how emerging AI powers participate in the global ecosystem — emphasizing openness, sovereignty, and strategic investment in next-generation technology.
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Cade Metz
The New York Times, September 9, 2025
