The Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF) and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to co-curate a program involving international professors, artists, and scientists. The collaboration will focus on STEAM projects, artist residencies, and publishing research papers. The partnership was announced in conjunction with the Riwaq Al Fikr talk exploring AI's implications for the music and creative industries. Why it matters: This MoU signifies a growing trend of integrating AI with arts and culture in the UAE, potentially fostering innovation and new forms of artistic expression.
MBZUAI's Incubation & Entrepreneurship Center (IEC) hosted an Open Day for over 200 community members, including the university's first undergraduate students, to promote building AI startups in Abu Dhabi. The IEC highlighted its progress with 14 Abu Dhabi-based AI startups and announced a new demo day called "Build It" to showcase working demos from students, researchers, and founders. The "Build It" demo day aims to accelerate prototype development into real products, prioritizing submissions from within MBZUAI but also open to external teams. Why it matters: This initiative reinforces Abu Dhabi's growing ecosystem for AI entrepreneurship by providing resources, capital, and community support to foster innovation and product development.
California-based AI startup CoreWeave has raised $900 million in funding, backed by Saudi Arabia-affiliated investment firm Mubadala. CoreWeave specializes in providing cloud infrastructure for compute-intensive tasks like AI and machine learning. The investment signals growing Saudi interest in AI infrastructure and capabilities. Why it matters: This move could accelerate AI development in Saudi Arabia by providing access to specialized computing resources.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed has issued a resolution to reconstitute the Board of Trustees of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI). The board is chaired by His Excellency Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, with other members including Jassem Mohamed Bu Ataba Al Zaabi, Saif Saeed Ghobash, and Professor Daniela Rus. MBZUAI is recognized as a leading global institution in AI, focusing on research and innovation across sectors like healthcare and sustainability. Why it matters: The restructuring reinforces the UAE's commitment to AI leadership and MBZUAI's role in driving innovation and supporting the nation's AI strategy.
MBZUAI and TII have formed a partnership to advance AI research and strengthen the AI ecosystem in the UAE. The collaboration framework enables joint fundamental and applied research in key domains of AI, including neuromorphic computing and autonomous vehicles. The two organizations will share research resources and exchange students, faculty, and researchers. Why it matters: This partnership strengthens Abu Dhabi's position as a regional AI hub and promotes economic growth through AI-based knowledge.