Falcon and beyond: Abu Dhabi’s blueprint for national AI governance

As governments around the world race to define national artificial intelligence (AI) strategies, Abu Dhabi has emerged as one of the most structured and deliberate examples of how AI can be developed responsibly, at scale and with long-term national sovereignty in mind.

At the heart of this approach is a technology ecosystem that tightly links research, governance and deployment. Since the early stages of its AI journey, the UAE has embedded responsibility, transparency and safety into its national strategy, with Abu Dhabi playing a central role through institutions such as the Technology Innovation Institute (TII).

“From the outset, Abu Dhabi has focused on advancing AI research that is safe, transparent and sovereign by design,” said Ray O Johnson, chief executive of TII. “Our goal is to ensure governments, industry and society can adopt AI with confidence.”

TII’s work spans AI safety, evaluation and deployment frameworks, alongside large-scale research programmes. A flagship outcome of this effort is Falcon, the UAE’s homegrown large language model, first launched by TII in 2023. Falcon quickly gained international attention for its performance and for being released as an open source model, reflecting Abu Dhabi’s belief that openness and governance can coexist.

Falcon is not positioned merely as a technical achievement, but as part of a broader national system for AI development. By combining scientific research with agile decision-making at a government level, Abu Dhabi aims to accelerate adoption while maintaining oversight and trust.

This strategy has taken a further step forward with the launch of the Falcon Foundation, a non-profit entity established to spearhead the open-sourcing of generative AI models and to build sustainable ecosystems around them. Beginning with Falcon, the foundation brings together developers, academia, industry and policymakers to collaborate on responsible AI innovation.

“In a world where AI continues to advance at an unprecedented pace, initiatives like the Falcon Foundation play a crucial role in steering AI development towards greater transparency and accessibility,” said Faisal Al Bannai, secretary general of the Advanced Technology Research Council.

The foundation is designed to support the customisation of Falcon models for specific industries and sectors, while providing open computing resources for ongoing research and development. By reducing dependence on external suppliers, it also strengthens technological sovereignty and business continuity for organisations operating in the UAE and beyond.

Crucially, the Falcon Foundation also integrates global best practices into its regulatory and legal frameworks, reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s emphasis on governance alongside innovation. This alignment of open source development, national oversight and international cooperation reflects a distinctive model for AI at a time when many countries are still debating how to balance innovation with control.

TII, Falcon and the Falcon Foundation illustrate how Abu Dhabi is building a coherent AI system, one that supports rapid technological progress while prioritising trust, sovereignty and long-term societal impact. In doing so, the emirate is positioning itself not only as a consumer of advanced AI, but also as a global contributor to shaping the future of responsible artificial intelligence.