Dubai AI Campus Raises 2030 Goal to 1,000 AI Firms After Early Hit

Dubai AI Campus has doubled its ambition to more than 1,000 artificial intelligence companies by 2030, after clearing its previous 2028 target two years ahead of schedule. The revised goals, including over 5,000 highly skilled jobs, were approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Dubai's Crown Prince, at the third Dubai AI Festival.

The campus sits inside the Dubai International Financial Centre and opened in May 2024. More than 500 AI firms have joined since. Companies there have raised upwards of AED1 billion from private equity and venture capital funds, according to DIFC, and the campus has helped create more than 2,000 technology jobs.

The festival, held at the Dubai World Trade Centre, drew more than 20,000 people from over 100 countries.

Sheikh Hamdan said Dubai seeks to support AI through advanced infrastructure, flexible regulation and access to global talent.

Arif Amiri, chief executive of DIFC Authority, said AI is becoming central to the global economy and is changing how companies operate, how they deploy capital and how financial services are delivered. DIFC is working to build AI into its legal and business systems.

Sheikh Hamdan also reviewed plans for a new campus building in DIFC's Zabeel District. The 100,000 sq ft facility will offer GPU-ready systems and secure zones for building AI, and its design includes digital twins, virtual models used to test real systems. AI Labs inside will let public bodies and private firms build and test tools before wider deployment. It will also hold conference rooms and an AI Experience Centre open to the public.

Reaching the 2028 target early moves the constraint from filling desks to supplying compute and space, which is what the Zabeel building is meant to answer.