UAE boosting use of AI in physical world, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber says
Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and its top oil executive told a Washington audience that the country is moving to a new stage of artificial intelligence, using the technology to run business operations and develop its infrastructure.
“In the first phase AI helped generate content. It helped analyze information and automate workflows,” Dr. Al Jaber said Wednesday in a webcast interview with the Atlantic Council. “In the next phase, AI is helping us operate physical systems through robotics, autonomous inspections, intelligent infrastructure, and real-time operational optimization,” he said.
Dr. Al Jaber, who is Group CEO of the UAE’s ADNOC national oil company, linked AI directly to energy production and said the firm is deploying thousands of agentic AI and robotic applications. “The AI race is an electron race, and countries that can provide reliable, scalable, and affordable power will have a major competitive edge and a major strategic advantage,” he said, speaking from his office in Abu Dhabi.
The UAE has emerged as one of the world’s most aggressive state-backed AI investors through firms such as G42 and MGX. UAE funds have invested in OpenAI, xAI and Anthropic, while G42 teamed up with Nvidia on the massive Stargate data center project in Abu Dhabi.
The Emirati cabinet minister said government funds will continue to put money into U.S. companies despite disruptions from the Iran war and volatility in global oil markets.
“We invest in America because we believe in America,” Dr. Al Jaber said. “We believe in its energy resources, its capital markets, its innovation ecosystem, and its people and the quality of the ecosystem that has been created that helps attract investments.”
The minister’s remarks at the Atlantic Council event come as the UAE tries to protect its oil exports from disruptions tied to the Iran war after shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was severely affected and facilities linked to ADNOC were targeted during the conflict.
The UAE, one of the world’s largest oil exporters, formally announced on April 28 that it would withdraw from OPEC, with the decision taking effect on May 1. Officials argued that OPEC production quotas were limiting Abu Dhabi’s ability to expand output despite billions of dollars in investment in new oil capacity.
UAE exit from OPEC will boost investment, Al Jaber says
By announcing its decision to leave OPEC last week, the UAE has seized an opportunity to attract more investment and strengthen the economy, ADNOC chief Dr. Sultan Al Jaber says.
“It serves our national interests and long-term strategic objectives, aligns with our industrial, economic, and developmental ambitions, and gives us greater ability to accelerate investment, expand, and create value,” Al Jaber, the state oil company’s Group CEO and the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said today in Abu Dhabi.
Al Jaber spoke at the opening of the annual “Make it in the Emirates” expo, a four-day government-sponsored trade show that promotes domestic manufacturing by offering incentives to attract global companies.
Among the event’s backers are ADNOC, L’imad Holding, International Holding Co., Mubadala and Dubai Islamic Bank.
The UAE’s exit from OPEC, which took effect May 1, was largely connected to its irritation with the oil cartel’s dictating of production quotas across the industry to keep prices high. UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei has said disruptions to oil shipping caused by the current conflict created favorable conditions to leave the organization.
Parting with OPEC “is part of a broader effort to reshape our economy and industrial base through a vision that connects energy, technology, and industry, aligning our resources with national priorities to build a stronger, more resilient economy,” Al Jaber said.
ADNOC’s Al Jaber pledges sixfold increase in new U.S. investments
Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Chief Executive of the state-owned ADNOC oil company, pledged to boost investments in the U.S. by sixfold during a conference in Washington.
Calling for a global overhaul of national power grids to accommodate the massive demands of artificial intelligence, Al Jaber told the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum on Tuesday that the industry must upgrade its technology while utilizing the broadest menu of resources, including oil, gas, nuclear and renewables.
“You can’t run tomorrow’s technology on yesterday’s grid,” Al Jaber said. “Many of our grids were built for a completely different century.”
XRG, ADNOC’s new international investment arm, plans to inject some $440 billion into the U.S. energy industry over the next decade, Al Jaber said.
The fund is an investor in Houston, Texas-based NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG export facility while Abu Dhabi renewable energy company Masdar, partly owned by ADNOC, has developed 5.5GW of production and storage capacity “from coast to coast,”, Al Jaber said.
Touching on the war between Israel and Iran, Al Jaber called on all parties to show restraint. “The United Arab Emirates stands for dialogue, for de-escalation and diplomacy,” he said.
“We reaffirm our belief in peace over provocation, calm over confrontation and progress through partnership, and only partnership,” Al Jaber said.
TAQA looking to acquire U.S. companies amid expansion drive
Abu Dhabi National Energy Co., the UAE capital’s omnipresent power and water utility known as TAQA, may be getting ready for a shopping spree in the U.S.
The government-owned company, whose largest shareholder is sovereign wealth fund ADQ, will focus its current plans for international expansion in the American arena, CEO Jasim Hussain Thabet tells Reuters.
“The U.S. is a key market for us,” Thabet said. “If the right opportunity presents itself for TAQA, we would be pursuing that.”
Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology as well as CEO of the national oil company ADNOC, told President Donald Trump during his visit two weeks ago that the government plans to boost energy investments in the U.S. over the next decade to $440 billion.
TAQA, which raised $1.8 billion from a bond sale last October, would generally prefer to acquire a fully integrated company with generation, networks and “a pipeline of growth,” Thabet said.
The company’s Masdar unit last year acquired a 50% stake in U.S. renewable energy firm Terra-Gen.
UAE promotes manufacturing with $11B financing program
The UAE and its largest banks are pouring nearly $11 billion into a financing plan aimed at spawning new manufacturing companies and building the country’s industrial base.
Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said at the opening session of the “Make it in the Emirates” conference in Abu Dhabi on Monday that the government will provide backing for a cross-section of target industries, from food and construction to renewable energy and artificial intelligence.
“Investing in manufacturing is an investment in an advanced economy,” Al Jaber said in a speech at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. “Every investment in the industrial sector has a multiplier effect, stimulating growth and related sectors.”
Among the lenders lined up to finance the program are Emirates Development Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Mashreq, Emirates NBD, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, and Wio Bank.
In his address, Al Jaber noted last week’s visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to Abu Dhabi, where he was shown a model of a new campus being built in the emirate that is planned to be the largest hub for development of AI technology outside the U.S.
“We do not see artificial intelligence as just a tool or a new technology, but as a complete economic sector expected to generate over US$1.5 trillion globally by 2040,” Al Jaber said.
Trump heads home after sewing up $200 billion in UAE deals
President Donald Trump wrapped up his four-day tour of the Gulf with a pomp-filled visit to the UAE, locking in some $200 billion in contracts that starts to fulfill the UAE’s pledge to spend $1.4 trillion in the U.S. over the next decade. He took off for Washington in the early afternoon.
With attention focused on the U.S. leader’s commitment to ease restrictions on selling advanced AI semiconductor chips to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the two countries signed an agreement to build an AI development campus in Abu Dhabi that would be the world’s largest outside the U.S.
Though specifics on the AI tech purchases were not disclosed, Trump and Sheikh Mohamed met together with Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, which is the largest maker of the most advanced chips.
“We’re making great progress for the $1.4 trillion that the UAE has announced that it intends to spend in the United States over the next couple of years,” Trump told the UAE-U.S. Business Forum in an address early today. “This will generate billions and billions of dollars in business and accelerate the UAE plans to become a really major player in artificial intelligence.”
Trump also met with Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and CEO of ADNOC, at the business summit.
Among the deals were a $14.5 billion commitment from Etihad Airways for the purchase of 28 Boeing aircraft and a $60 billion oil and gas deal with ADNOC involving ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, and EOG Resources. UAE officials said today the country will increase the value of its energy investments in the U.S. to $440 billion over the next 10 years.
Before returning to Washington, Trump visited the Abrahamic Family House on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island, the monumental prayer compound built by the UAE that contains a mosque, a church and a synagogue.
Gliding into President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed’s Qasr Al Watan palace grounds on Thursday night for a state dinner, Trump’s motorcade was flanked by mounted camels to the right and Arabian stallions to the left, The Circuit’s Omnia Al Desoukie reports from Abu Dhabi.
The Emirati and American leaders then strode together through the palace’s grand marble halls, where Emirati children waved flags while the national anthems of both countries were played. President Trump was presented by Sheikh Mohammed with the Order of Zayed, the country’s highest civilian award, which was also given to former U.S. President George W. Bush in 2008.
Among the guests at the state dinner were Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed; UAE Vice President; Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, UAE National Security Adviser; Sheikh Abdallah bin Zayed, the UAE Foreign Minister; and Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE Ambassador to the U.S.
Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Managing Director and Group CEO of the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, and Peng Xiao, CEO of AI tech company G42 were also present.
Senior U.S. officials at the state dinner included U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Martina Strong, U.S. Ambassador to the UAE.
BlackRock joins Abu Dhabi’s IHC in $1 billion reinsurance venture
Wall Street titan BlackRock is teaming up with Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Co. to create a $1 billion reinsurance firm with its foundations in AI.
The venture announced Thursday is one of a cavalcade of deals that are being cooked up amid Trump’s tour of the Gulf next week, which will take him to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, followed by Qatar and the UAE.
BlackRock, the world’s largest alternative investment firm, and Abu Dhabi asset manager Lunate will join as minority partners, according to a statement issued by IHC.
The new company will be chaired by Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Chairman of ADNOC. Mark Wilson, the former chief executive of Aviva and AIA Group, will serve as CEO.
Lunate, which was founded two years ago and manages $110 billion, will provide expertise in private and public markets to the reinsurance company, which will operate from the capital city’s free zone financial center, ADGM.
Also in the run-up to the Trump visit, the U.S. is developing a fast-track process for screening foreign investments, which could smooth the process for sovereign wealth funds such as the Saudi Public Investment Fund, the UAE’s Mubadala, and the Qatar Investment Authority to sign contracts next week, Bloomberg reports.
Trump energy secretary sees ‘huge cooperation’ with the UAE
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright kicked off his tour of the Gulf this week with a palace visit in Abu Dhabi and a tour of the UAE’s state oil company.
Wright, laying the groundwork for President Donald Trump’s trip to the region, expected next month, was received by UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed on Thursday for talks that focused on joint investments in artificial intelligence and other technologies, The National reports.
The U.S. energy czar, founder of an oil fracking company, also paid a visit to the Abu Dhabi headquarters of Adnoc, where he said partnerships with the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar were key to meeting growing global demand for oil and gas. He also plans to visit Riyadh and Doha during the trip.
“You’re going to see a lot of energy cooperation between the United States and the UAE,” Wright told reporters. “You’re going to see a huge cooperation on AI.”
Also meeting Wright at Qatr Al Shati Palace in the UAE capital were Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the ADNOC Chairman and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior; Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure; and Yousef Al Otaiba, Minister of State and the UAE’s Ambassador to Washington.
Musk’s xAI, Nvidia join with MGX in artificial intelligence fund
The UAE’s biggest tech firms are capitalizing on White House support to tighten partnerships with America’s leaders in the booming industry of artificial intelligence.
A consortium created last year by Abu Dhabi investment fund MGX, Microsoft and BlackRock to finance power-hungry AI data centers welcomed chipmaker Nvidia and Elon Musk’s xAI to the group on Wednesday.
Expansion of the top-level venture came amid the Washington visit by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the UAE National Security Advisor and Chairman of MGX and a constellation of other tech companies, who dined at the White House this week with President Donald Trump.
Sheikh Tahnoon, who held a meeting with Musk through a video feed on Wednesday, has been accompanied through the trip by Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the MGX Vice Chairman and CEO of the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund. Also on the visit is Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of the ADNOC national oil company and the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology. Peng Xiao, CEO of the Abu Dhabi-based AI company G42, joined the call with Musk.
Among the other meetings in his U.S. rounds, Sheikh Tahnoon said he “explored opportunities for collaboration and investment” with Oracle’s Larry Ellison.
ADQ, meanwhile, another Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon, agreed to invest a combined $5 billion in a partnership with U.S-based Energy Capital Partners to build power stations for data centers and AI projects – with the investment eventually reaching $25 billion.
The announcement came as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told the company’s GTC conference in San Jose, Calif., that the industry is preparing for a massive leap in building data centers and chip manufacturing plants with accompanying energy demand.
“Over the next several years, we’re going to be building giant AI factories,” he said. Not normal AI factories … ones you see from space,” Huang said.
Vance hosts ADNOC’s Al Jaber for energy, tech talks at White House
U.S. Vice President JD Vance welcomed Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Chief Executive of ADNOC, to the White House on Monday as the two countries sought to add heft to their growing economic ties.
Al Jaber and UAE Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba were part of a top-ranking Emirati delegation led by National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed that fanned out in the presidential mansion for a series of meetings with senior Trump administration officials.
The meeting with Vance was arranged “to discuss deepening UAE-U.S. collaboration on supporting energy investment and abundance, technological leadership, and unleashing unprecedented economic growth,” the UAE Embassy said in a post on X.
On the agenda this week for Sheikh Tahnoon, Chairman of Abu Dhabi-owned International Holding Co. and sovereign wealth funds ADIA and ADQ, are meetings with Tesla’s Elon Musk, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and Oracle’s Larry Ellison, Semafor reports.
Also scheduled to meet Sheikh Tahnoon are Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, and Palantir’s Alex Karp, the news outlet said.
