Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed has approved new 2030 goals for Dubai AI Campus: attract more than 1,000 AI companies and create over 5,000 specialised technology jobs. The announcement was made on 26 October 2026 at the opening of the third Dubai AI Festival at Dubai World Trade Centre.
According to DIFC and Dubai Media Office, the updated strategy locks in the emirate's course to become a leading global AI-economy hub by the end of the decade. Sheikh Hamdan — Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai Future Foundation — approved the targets on the opening day of the third Dubai AI Festival (DWTC, 26–27 October 2026).
2030 goals for the campus
The new strategy sets two headline metrics:
- more than 1,000 AI companies registered at the campus;
- more than 5,000 specialised technology jobs;
- cementing Dubai's position as a leading global AI-economy hub by 2030.
Dubai AI Campus is hosted inside DIFC, one of the region's core financial and business hubs. If you are picking a jurisdiction for a tech company, it helps to compare conditions via our overview of DMCC, IFZA and Meydan free zones: DIFC plays in the same league but with an English-language common-law environment and its own DIFC Courts.
What has already been achieved: a five-year plan in two
Since the campus launched in May 2024, according to DIFC, its network now includes:
- more than 500 AI companies — the original five-year target achieved two years ahead of schedule;
- more than 2,000 specialised technology jobs;
- more than AED 1 billion in private equity and venture capital investment.
This is one of the fastest starts of any themed jurisdiction in MENA. Broader context on the UAE's non-oil growth drivers is in our analysis of the UAE economic outlook for 2026: AI, fintech and green finance remain the backbone of diversification.
Infrastructure: a new building in DIFC's Zabeel District
Sheikh Hamdan reviewed the architectural concept of the purpose-built Dubai AI Campus facility in DIFC's Zabeel District extension. Per DIFC:
- a 100,000 sq ft footprint;
- GPU-ready engineering and secure AI development zones;
- digital-twin environments and AI-controlled building systems;
- modular AI Lab floors for government and private sector;
- conference halls and an AI Experience Centre.
Partners and the festival
Dubai AI Campus operates jointly with the UAE government's Office of the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence. The third Dubai AI Festival featured Dubai Medical University, ElevenLabs, Amazon Web Services, Alibaba Cloud and Linkerbot — among more than 200 exhibitors, 150 speakers and 500 investors from over 100 countries, with total attendance above 20,000.
"Artificial intelligence has become one of the world's most significant drivers of technological and economic progress," said Sheikh Hamdan (quote via DIFC / Dubai AI Campus press materials). "Our priority is to position Dubai at the forefront of adopting advanced technologies."
What this means for UAE businesses
For AI start-ups and global tech firms, Dubai AI Campus is a turnkey platform inside DIFC's English-speaking jurisdiction: a regulated financial cluster with purpose-built infrastructure for LLM and GPU workloads, access to regional LPs and VC funds, visa support via DIFC and proximity to the Office of the Minister of State for AI. For incumbents and service partners, this is a signal that the investment flow into the emirate's AI ecosystem will continue at least to the end of the decade — and that related services (audit, legal, accounting, business setup) will grow alongside it.
