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Interview: Shaping the future of AI in the UAE

By Andrea Benito

Chiara Marcati’s move from consulting to AI71 was motivated by a desire to see technology create tangible, human-centred impact. “After years in consulting, I realised I wanted to combine my technical skills with the ability to make a direct difference for people and organisations,” she says.

“AI71 offered the perfect balance between innovation, business transformation and seeing the outcomes of our work in real time.”

At AI71, the artificial intelligence (AI) company created by Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council, Marcati works on projects that go beyond coding or algorithms. “My role is to help organisations integrate AI into the way they operate, to ensure that technology adoption is meaningful and creates real value,” she says.

For her, the excitement comes from tackling complex business problems and transforming processes in ways that improve efficiency, decision-making and everyday work.

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 the AI strategy is embedded into operational workflows rather than treated as an isolated innovation track.

“It’s a bold strategy,” says Marcati. “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.

“My role is to help organisations integrate AI into the way they operate, to ensure that technology adoption is meaningful and creates real value”

Chiara Marcati, AI71

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, which is a major priority in rapidly expanding urban development projects.

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

She underscores that the company is not positioned as a traditional supplier 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.