While the world was watching the regulatory sandboxes of Dubai, the Gulf countries moved from experiments to large-scale construction of the future. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into creating a new economy based on artificial intelligence and Web3.
And this is not just the acquisition of technology, but the creation of a complete cycle: from purchasing advanced "hardware" and poaching the best minds to developing proprietary neural networks and integrating blockchain into megaprojects like NEOM. ForkLog figured out how this ambitious plan is structured.
New oil - silicon and data
At the heart of the technological race between the UAE and Saudi Arabia lies a cold calculation. The Saudi Vision 2030 and UAE Centennial 2071 strategies are not just beautiful presentations, but roadmaps for a complete departure from oil dependence. The leaders of the countries in the region are directing colossal resources towards creating a new economic foundation.
Instead of diversifying into traditional industries, as was done previously, the focus has shifted to sectors with maximum added value: artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and data economy. These areas require enormous computing power, and the monarchies of the Persian Gulf have approached the issue radically — they need to buy up all the best on the market.
In 2023, it became known that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are massively acquiring high-performance NVIDIA H100 chips, necessary for training large language models (LLM). According to the Financial Times, the Saudis, through the research center at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), acquired at least 3,000 such chips costing about $40,000 each. The total amount of the deal was approximately $120 million.
In May 2025, Nvidia and Saudi Arabia entered into a partnership to create a large-scale infrastructure in the kingdom. The key project is the construction of "AI factories" with a total capacity of up to 500 MW, which will be equipped with hundreds of thousands of GPUs over five years. The first stage will involve the deployment of a supercomputer with 18,000 of the latest GB300 chips, and the Data and AI Management (SDAIA) will additionally host up to 5000 Blackwell GPUs. The goal of the project is to transform the country into one of the leaders in artificial intelligence as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 strategy.
The UAE is operating on a large scale. The country has become a key partner for American AI companies. For example, the technology group G42 from Abu Dhabi, led by the UAE's National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is collaborating with Cerebras Systems. Together they are building a series of nine AI supercomputers called Condor Galaxy. The first of them, CG-1, launched in the USA, is already ranked among the top 50 most powerful supercomputers in the world. The others will be deployed both in the States and in the UAE.
In July of this year, the WSJ reported that the US suspended a deal to sell chips from Nvidia and other companies to the United Arab Emirates. The reason is concerns that the semiconductors could end up in China. According to the publication, the risk of smuggling was discussed during the conclusion of the agreement. At that time, representatives of the UAE and Saudi Arabia assured the US of the existence of protective measures.
"Silicon Rush" is not just a race for power. It is a strategic move aimed at achieving "digital sovereignty." By having their own advanced computing clusters, Gulf countries reduce dependence on foreign tech giants like Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure and gain the ability to train their own AI models tailored to regional tasks.
Battle for Minds: Reversible Leak of Minds
"Iron" without talented specialists is a dead weight. Understanding this, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have launched an unprecedented campaign to attract human capital. Their goal is not just to hire expats, but to create a global talent hub capable of competing with Silicon Valley.
The main tool has become the "golden visa" program. In the UAE, outstanding specialists in the fields of science and technology, researchers, programmers, and entrepreneurs in the Web3 sector can obtain a 10-year entry permit. The visa grants the right to live and work in the country without being tied to a specific state or private company, to bring family members, and to enjoy tax benefits.
Saudi Arabia has launched the Premium Residency program and offers similar conditions to attract foreign professionals.
Salaries are another powerful magnet. AI engineers and blockchain developers in Dubai or Riyadh can expect an income comparable to or even exceeding offers in the US and Europe, while income tax is absent here.
But the region is not limited to just the "purchase" of ready-made specialists. Billions of dollars are being invested in the creation of its own scientific schools. A striking example is the Mohammed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZAI) in Abu Dhabi, the world's first university fully focused on training specialists in the field of AI. It offers free education, scholarships, and accommodation for the best students from around the world, attracting them with the opportunity to work with leading professors and have access to the most advanced computing resources.
Source: MBZAI. Saudi Arabia is developing KAUST as a center for fundamental research, generously funding its laboratories and providing grants for breakthrough projects.
Source: KAUST The goal is simple: to create an environment where the best minds can not only work but also create, launching startups and forming a new technological ecosystem from scratch.
From Falcon to NEOM: National Technological Stack
The strategy of the Gulf countries is to build a complete technological stack — from fundamental research to its practical application in gigantic infrastructure projects.
The pinnacle of this approach in the UAE was the development of its own large language model, Falcon. The LLM was created by the Institute of Technological Innovations in Abu Dhabi. The Falcon-180B model, at the time of its release in 2023, surpassed the Llama 2 from Meta in several metrics and competed with GPT-4 from OpenAI. Importantly, Falcon was released as open access for commercial and research use, which was a strong move in the battle for influence in the global AI community. This demonstrates that the UAE can not only consume but also create advanced products.
In Saudi Arabia, the main testing ground for future technologies has become the NEOM megaproject, valued at $500 billion.
It is conceived as a "cognitive city" where the real and digital worlds are fully merged. The digital layer is managed by the subsidiary NEOM Tech & Digital, which is building the metaverse XVRS. It will serve as a digital twin of the city and provide residents with interaction with urban services through AR/VR interfaces.
This system is based on AI and blockchain. Artificial intelligence will manage urban infrastructure — from autonomous transportation and energy networks to personalized medicine and education. Blockchain will serve as the foundation for creating a secure digital identity for each resident and a transparent data management system.
Similar initiatives are also present in the UAE. The Dubai Metaverse Strategy aims to create 40,000 virtual jobs and add $4 billion to the emirate's GDP by 2030. The strategy involves the integration of Web3 technologies into tourism, education, retail, and government services.
Blockchain as Rails for a New Economy
In the context of the Persian Gulf, cryptocurrencies and blockchain are not speculative assets, but primarily an infrastructural level for the economy of the future. The states of the region were among the first to recognize the potential of the technology to solve real problems and create new markets.
The key focus is RWA. Projects for real estate tokenization have already been launched in Dubai. This allows an expensive asset, such as a floor in a skyscraper, to be divided into thousands of tokens. Investors from around the world can purchase such a token, gaining a share in the real asset and the right to a portion of the rental income. This makes the PropTech market more liquid and accessible.
To regulate this sector in Dubai, a special authority has been established — the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. Its task is to create clear and transparent rules for crypto companies, attracting global players to the emirate and ensuring investor protection.
Another important application of blockchain is to ensure transparency in massive construction and logistics projects. In NEOM or when constructing new districts in Dubai, blockchain is used to create an immutable ledger of all operations: from the supply of building materials to the execution of contract work. Every action is recorded in the blockchain, which eliminates fraud, reduces costs, and simplifies the oversight of projects worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
New financial markets are being created. For example, the Abu Dhabi stock exchange is actively piloting the use of distributed ledger technology for the issuance of digital bonds and other securities.
Thus, the technological transformation of the Gulf countries is not a chaotic acquisition of trendy technologies, but a carefully planned and generously funded strategy. By betting on AI and Web3, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are building a new global technology power center on their sands, which may pose serious competition to recognized leaders in the coming years.
This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.
Digital Sands
While the world was watching the regulatory sandboxes of Dubai, the Gulf countries moved from experiments to large-scale construction of the future. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into creating a new economy based on artificial intelligence and Web3.
And this is not just the acquisition of technology, but the creation of a complete cycle: from purchasing advanced "hardware" and poaching the best minds to developing proprietary neural networks and integrating blockchain into megaprojects like NEOM. ForkLog figured out how this ambitious plan is structured.
New oil - silicon and data
At the heart of the technological race between the UAE and Saudi Arabia lies a cold calculation. The Saudi Vision 2030 and UAE Centennial 2071 strategies are not just beautiful presentations, but roadmaps for a complete departure from oil dependence. The leaders of the countries in the region are directing colossal resources towards creating a new economic foundation.
Instead of diversifying into traditional industries, as was done previously, the focus has shifted to sectors with maximum added value: artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and data economy. These areas require enormous computing power, and the monarchies of the Persian Gulf have approached the issue radically — they need to buy up all the best on the market.
In 2023, it became known that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are massively acquiring high-performance NVIDIA H100 chips, necessary for training large language models (LLM). According to the Financial Times, the Saudis, through the research center at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), acquired at least 3,000 such chips costing about $40,000 each. The total amount of the deal was approximately $120 million.
In May 2025, Nvidia and Saudi Arabia entered into a partnership to create a large-scale infrastructure in the kingdom. The key project is the construction of "AI factories" with a total capacity of up to 500 MW, which will be equipped with hundreds of thousands of GPUs over five years. The first stage will involve the deployment of a supercomputer with 18,000 of the latest GB300 chips, and the Data and AI Management (SDAIA) will additionally host up to 5000 Blackwell GPUs. The goal of the project is to transform the country into one of the leaders in artificial intelligence as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 strategy.
The UAE is operating on a large scale. The country has become a key partner for American AI companies. For example, the technology group G42 from Abu Dhabi, led by the UAE's National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is collaborating with Cerebras Systems. Together they are building a series of nine AI supercomputers called Condor Galaxy. The first of them, CG-1, launched in the USA, is already ranked among the top 50 most powerful supercomputers in the world. The others will be deployed both in the States and in the UAE.
In July of this year, the WSJ reported that the US suspended a deal to sell chips from Nvidia and other companies to the United Arab Emirates. The reason is concerns that the semiconductors could end up in China. According to the publication, the risk of smuggling was discussed during the conclusion of the agreement. At that time, representatives of the UAE and Saudi Arabia assured the US of the existence of protective measures.
"Silicon Rush" is not just a race for power. It is a strategic move aimed at achieving "digital sovereignty." By having their own advanced computing clusters, Gulf countries reduce dependence on foreign tech giants like Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure and gain the ability to train their own AI models tailored to regional tasks.
Battle for Minds: Reversible Leak of Minds
"Iron" without talented specialists is a dead weight. Understanding this, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have launched an unprecedented campaign to attract human capital. Their goal is not just to hire expats, but to create a global talent hub capable of competing with Silicon Valley.
The main tool has become the "golden visa" program. In the UAE, outstanding specialists in the fields of science and technology, researchers, programmers, and entrepreneurs in the Web3 sector can obtain a 10-year entry permit. The visa grants the right to live and work in the country without being tied to a specific state or private company, to bring family members, and to enjoy tax benefits.
Saudi Arabia has launched the Premium Residency program and offers similar conditions to attract foreign professionals.
Salaries are another powerful magnet. AI engineers and blockchain developers in Dubai or Riyadh can expect an income comparable to or even exceeding offers in the US and Europe, while income tax is absent here.
But the region is not limited to just the "purchase" of ready-made specialists. Billions of dollars are being invested in the creation of its own scientific schools. A striking example is the Mohammed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZAI) in Abu Dhabi, the world's first university fully focused on training specialists in the field of AI. It offers free education, scholarships, and accommodation for the best students from around the world, attracting them with the opportunity to work with leading professors and have access to the most advanced computing resources.
From Falcon to NEOM: National Technological Stack
The strategy of the Gulf countries is to build a complete technological stack — from fundamental research to its practical application in gigantic infrastructure projects.
The pinnacle of this approach in the UAE was the development of its own large language model, Falcon. The LLM was created by the Institute of Technological Innovations in Abu Dhabi. The Falcon-180B model, at the time of its release in 2023, surpassed the Llama 2 from Meta in several metrics and competed with GPT-4 from OpenAI. Importantly, Falcon was released as open access for commercial and research use, which was a strong move in the battle for influence in the global AI community. This demonstrates that the UAE can not only consume but also create advanced products.
In Saudi Arabia, the main testing ground for future technologies has become the NEOM megaproject, valued at $500 billion.
It is conceived as a "cognitive city" where the real and digital worlds are fully merged. The digital layer is managed by the subsidiary NEOM Tech & Digital, which is building the metaverse XVRS. It will serve as a digital twin of the city and provide residents with interaction with urban services through AR/VR interfaces.
This system is based on AI and blockchain. Artificial intelligence will manage urban infrastructure — from autonomous transportation and energy networks to personalized medicine and education. Blockchain will serve as the foundation for creating a secure digital identity for each resident and a transparent data management system.
Similar initiatives are also present in the UAE. The Dubai Metaverse Strategy aims to create 40,000 virtual jobs and add $4 billion to the emirate's GDP by 2030. The strategy involves the integration of Web3 technologies into tourism, education, retail, and government services.
Blockchain as Rails for a New Economy
In the context of the Persian Gulf, cryptocurrencies and blockchain are not speculative assets, but primarily an infrastructural level for the economy of the future. The states of the region were among the first to recognize the potential of the technology to solve real problems and create new markets.
The key focus is RWA. Projects for real estate tokenization have already been launched in Dubai. This allows an expensive asset, such as a floor in a skyscraper, to be divided into thousands of tokens. Investors from around the world can purchase such a token, gaining a share in the real asset and the right to a portion of the rental income. This makes the PropTech market more liquid and accessible.
To regulate this sector in Dubai, a special authority has been established — the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. Its task is to create clear and transparent rules for crypto companies, attracting global players to the emirate and ensuring investor protection.
Another important application of blockchain is to ensure transparency in massive construction and logistics projects. In NEOM or when constructing new districts in Dubai, blockchain is used to create an immutable ledger of all operations: from the supply of building materials to the execution of contract work. Every action is recorded in the blockchain, which eliminates fraud, reduces costs, and simplifies the oversight of projects worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
New financial markets are being created. For example, the Abu Dhabi stock exchange is actively piloting the use of distributed ledger technology for the issuance of digital bonds and other securities.
Thus, the technological transformation of the Gulf countries is not a chaotic acquisition of trendy technologies, but a carefully planned and generously funded strategy. By betting on AI and Web3, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are building a new global technology power center on their sands, which may pose serious competition to recognized leaders in the coming years.