Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, approved a target for Dubai AI Campus to attract more than 1,000 AI companies and create over 5,000 specialised jobs by 2030, the Government of Dubai Media Office announced on 26 October 2026. The approval came at the opening of the Dubai AI Festival at Dubai World Trade Centre. The campus is part of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), and its new goals follow the early achievement of its original company target.
Key points
- Sheikh Hamdan approved targets of more than 1,000 campus companies and over 5,000 specialised jobs by 2030.
- The campus has attracted more than 500 companies, whose private equity and venture capital investment exceeds AED1 billion.
- Plans for a 100,000-square-foot campus building place AI laboratories and computing infrastructure in DIFC’s Zabeel District expansion.
DIFC raises the campus target for 2030
Dubai AI Campus launched in May 2024. More than 500 AI companies have joined it, and those companies have collectively secured over AED1 billion from private equity and venture capital funds, according to the Government of Dubai Media Office. It also credits the campus with helping create more than 2,000 specialised technology jobs. The investment figure concerns financing raised by the companies, rather than spending approved by Sheikh Hamdan as part of the new target.
Arif Amiri, chief executive officer of DIFC Authority, said the campus had met its target of attracting 500 AI companies by 2028 two years early, Khaleej Times reported. The authority’s chief executive briefed Sheikh Hamdan on the campus before the new goals were approved. DIFC has plans for a further campus building in its Zabeel District expansion.
The new company goal is framed as a number to attract, while the jobs goal concerns positions to create. Sheikh Hamdan, who is also the UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, called for closer collaboration between the public and private sectors as the campus grows. He described infrastructure, a flexible regulatory environment and access to talent as priorities for companies developing AI technologies in Dubai.
A 100,000-square-foot building in Zabeel District
Sheikh Hamdan also reviewed architectural and development plans for a purpose-built Dubai AI Campus building within the DIFC Zabeel District expansion. The planned facility spans 100,000 square feet. Its proposed infrastructure includes systems prepared for graphics processing units, secure AI development zones, digital twin environments and AI-powered building systems. Modular floors are intended to accommodate AI laboratories.
The laboratories are planned as places where government entities and private companies can develop and test applications before wider deployment, Khaleej Times reported. An AI Experience Centre is intended to present applications from different sectors, including work by campus companies and projects undergoing tests across Dubai. The centre is planned to admit residents, students, visitors, delegations and investors.
The building plans put testing facilities alongside the campus’s company and jobs targets. DIFC Governor Essa Kazim said DIFC was bringing together companies, talent, capital and infrastructure to support AI development and adoption, and that the planned facility would strengthen Dubai’s position in AI. Those facilities remain plans reviewed by Sheikh Hamdan, while the figures for companies, investment and jobs describe activity the campus says has already taken place.
Dubai AI Festival brings companies and officials together
The third Dubai AI Festival is organised by Dubai AI Campus with the Office of the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence. The Government of Dubai Media Office said it had drawn more than 20,000 attendees from over 100 countries, with more than 150 speakers, 500 investors and 200 exhibitors. Its programme covers AI governance and ethics alongside investment, infrastructure and the future of work.
During a tour of the exhibition, Sheikh Hamdan visited Dubai Medical University, where he was briefed on AI in medical education and clinical diagnostic training. He also visited ElevenLabs, Amazon Web Services, Alibaba Cloud and Linkerbot. The exhibits put medical training, cloud services, media tools and robotics alongside the campus plans presented at the festival.
Dubai AI Campus and the Office of the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence will continue the festival at Dubai World Trade Centre until 27 October 2026.
