Interview: Shaping the future of AI in the UAE

A new AI ecosystem emerging in Abu Dhabi

Unlike traditional tech ventures that evolve in isolation, AI71 sits within a government-orchestrated ecosystem built to accelerate AI adoption across every layer of industry and public administration. Abu Dhabi is not just investing in AI talent or infrastructure separately, it is orchestrating research centres, sovereign compute capabilities, global partnerships and new AI governance roles into a single strategic framework.

The UAE was among the first countries in the world to appoint a minister of artificial intelligence, signalling early on that AI was a national economic and social priority. Today, ministries and major institutions across the UAE are appointing chief AI officers and AI advisors to ensure that AI strategy is embedded into operational workflows rather than treated as an isolated innovation track.

“It’s a bold strategy,” Marcati says. “Other countries are watching because the UAE is not waiting for AI to evolve around them, they are building the infrastructure, the regulation and the talent pipeline at the same time. That’s what makes it unique.”

AI71’s role: Turning vision into scalable solutions

Within this national strategy, AI71 plays a critical role by building scalable AI products tailored for government and complex industries, with a focus on measurable outcomes rather than experimentation.

In Abu Dhabi’s healthcare ecosystem, the company is deploying AI to automate complex administrative cycles such as hospital billing and compliance documentation, dramatically reducing manual processing time and allowing staff to focus on frontline care.

Meanwhile, in the construction sector - one of the UAE’s most strategic industries - AI71 is working with government entities to accelerate permit approvals, automate regulatory compliance checks and optimise project workflows, helping developers and authorities move faster without compromising standards.

In construction, AI71 works on compliance automation and workflow optimisation, reducing manual processing and accelerating approval cycles - a major priority in rapidly expanding urban development projects.

“These are not experimental pilots,” Marcati says. “They are full-scale deployments, and that changes the culture of AI adoption.”

She underscores that the company is not positioned as a traditional vendor but as part of a national AI enablement effort, designed to bring global talent into Abu Dhabi, build sovereign capability, and reduce dependency on external technology ecosystems.