NVIDIA, an artificial intelligence chip manufacturer, has chosen the United Arab Emirates to establish its first NVIDIA AI Technology Center in the Middle East. This center will partner with Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute to launch a joint lab focused on AI and robotics.
The TII-NVAITC Joint Lab aims to accelerate the development of intelligent systems with practical applications, covering a range of areas from advanced language models to robotics platforms. “By working with TII in Abu Dhabi, we are expanding the scope of the NVAITC network into robotics for the first time in the Middle East, helping researchers and innovators accelerate breakthroughs that will shape the future of intelligent systems,” said Carlo Ruiz, vice president of enterprise solutions and operations at NVIDIA EMEA.
Building on TII’s modular robotic arms and delivery robots, the lab will explore robotic learning and control at scale, as well as the integration of large language models, including TII’s Falcon family of AI systems. “By combining our advanced robotic platforms with powerful AI models and compute, we are accelerating the convergence of perception, control and language, laying the foundation for a new era of intelligent machines,” said Najwa Aaraj, CEO of TII.
As part of the agreement, TII will receive access to specialized NVIDIA edge GPUs, including the new Thor chip. Aaraj mentioned in an interview that the Thor chip will help advance the development of robotic systems that can adapt and reason in complex environments.
The partnership coincides with discussions in the Trump administration about allowing the UAE to import up to 500,000 advanced NVIDIA chips each year through 2027 — this amount exceeds the export limits set during the Biden administration. One-fifth of these chips are designated for Abu Dhabi’s AI firm G42, while the remainder will go to U.S. companies building data centers in the Gulf region.
Following the launch of the U.S.-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership in May, experts said that both nations are poised to see increased investment in advanced semiconductors and data center infrastructure.
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