UAE Unveils New Open Source AI Model to Compete with Big Tech

UAE recently launched a new open-source generative AI model. After this step, the government-backed research institute is drawing attention and marking the UAE as a big player in the global AI race.

The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) announced the Falcon 2 series in Abu Dhabi. This new open-source GenAI model is poised to challenge the dominance of big technology companies in the AI landscape.

According to Reuters, this series will include Falcon 2 11B, a text-based model, and Falcon 2 11B VLM, a vision-to-language model capable of generating text descriptions from images. 

The UAE is investing heavily in AI development and is emerging as a major player in the field of AI and innovations.

The new announcement has caught the attention of American officials.

In a move coordinated with Washington, Emirati AI firm G42 pulled out of Chinese investment and switched to Chinese hardware, securing a US$1.5 billion investment from Microsoft.

Secretary General of the Advanced Technology Research Council- Faisal Al Bannai, said that the UAE is proving that it is a big player in AI. The release of the Falcon 2 series is a recent example of it. The Meta’s Llama of UAE is making this accessible for coders all over the world.

By making the Falcon 2 model publicly available, the UAE is democratizing access to advanced AI technologies and empowering developers around the world to create impactful solutions. This commitment to openness and inclusivity is in line with the UAE’s vision of using AI for the good of humanity. As AI is reshaping the fabric of society, the UAE stands at the forefront of a new era of technological innovation.

“We’re very proud that we can still punch way above our weight, really compete with the best players globally.”- said Al Bannai.

So, UAE is investing in the field of AI and technology and attracting the world attraction. According to  Wall Street Journal, Sam Altman the CEO of OpenAI met with Sheik Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Sheik Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan is taking care of Abu Dhabi’s major sovereign wealth fund. With OpenAI’s CEO he discussed chip maker projects with Nvidia that would cost more than US$7.

The UAE recently launched ‘Generative AI’ and it unleashed the potential in education, healthcare and media. These are proactive steps by the UAE that reflect the UAE’s commitment to establishing itself as a global destination for AI powerhouses.