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The Emirates Intelligencer

An Independent Daily Bulletin on Artificial-Intelligence Investment, Adoption and Deployment. Published by otonomi.co

Vol. I., No. 101 Tuesday, October 13, 2026 From the Archive
Federal Budget
Editorial illustration for The Emirates Intelligencer

Cabinet Approves an AED 292.5 Billion Budget Built Around AI

A three-year federal spending plan that names artificial intelligence and financial data analytics among its priorities hands the country's government buyers their clearest capital signal of the season.

By The Otonomi Investment Desk

The UAE Cabinet, chaired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has approved a Federal General Budget Plan for 2027 to 2029 with a total outlay of AED 292.5 billion, alongside a federal budget for the 2027 fiscal year of AED 90.1 billion. The approvals were made under the public finance provisions of Federal Decree-Law No. 26 of 2019 in its amended form and related resolutions.

Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, said the plan should be measured not by the scale of its financial resources but by the sustainable impact it delivers, and that it places particular emphasis on harnessing artificial intelligence and financial data analytics while simplifying requirements to protect the national economy. He described the spending as an investment in a proactive government services ecosystem that exceeds expectations.

For the 2027 fiscal year, social development and pensions takes AED 34.6 billion, or 38.4 per cent, including 18.8 per cent for public and university education, 6.7 per cent for healthcare, 6.4 per cent for pensions, 4.4 per cent for social affairs and 2.1 per cent for public services. Government affairs is allocated AED 29.1 billion, or 32.3 per cent; federal expenses AED 17.8 billion, or 19.7 per cent; financial investments AED 5.6 billion, or 6.2 per cent; and the infrastructure and economic sector AED 3 billion, or 3.4 per cent. Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, said the plan marks a shift towards a more strategic approach to directing expenditure over the medium term. The government said the new strategic planning cycle places digital transformation at its core.

Dubai Media Office Read original source

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Decision Intelligence

Hamdan Reviews Agentic Decision Systems Built in Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, attended a meeting of the Advanced Technology Research Council in Abu Dhabi, where he was briefed on TACTICAAI, a company specialising in decision intelligence, and on systems that use agentic artificial intelligence to support decision-making, readiness and foresight across vital sectors.

The solutions are built on deep technology developed by the Technology Innovation Institute and integrate and analyse data from multiple sources to create an operational picture updated in real time, allowing decision makers to move beyond analysing information towards anticipating developments. Applications were presented for defence, security, crisis management and urban operations. Sheikh Hamdan said the next phase of artificial intelligence would go beyond providing information to building systems capable of understanding reality and anticipating possibilities. The meeting was also attended by Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, and Faisal Al Bannai, adviser to the UAE President for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology Affairs and secretary general of the council.

WAM Read original source
National Talent

Thirty-Two Emirati Experts Turn Programme Work Into National AI Projects

Thirty-two Emirati experts in the National Experts Programme's Artificial Intelligence Track are developing projects that address national priorities across key sectors, with final presentations set for January 2027 and evaluation by specialised panels of 20 leaders, programme alumni and investors. The track was launched by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, in November 2025.

Ahmed ElSawah, programme manager at the Office of Development Affairs in the Presidential Court, said the seven-module track combines specialised learning, mentorship and practical application, and that participants are developing projects which could evolve into solutions delivering sustainable impact.

WAM Read original source
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Further Dispatches
Research Talent

MBZUAI Sends Its First Ruwwad AI Scholar to Oxford

Dr Mohamed Almarei has been named the first recipient of the Ruwwad AI Scholars Fellowship at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and will take up a two-year research placement at the University of Oxford, applying artificial intelligence to synthetic biology and the improved prediction of cellular behaviour.

The fellowship funds Emirati postdoctoral researchers and academic leaders for fully funded placements at leading international institutions, with fellows considered for faculty positions at MBZUAI when they return, and applications for a second cohort are now open. Dr Almarei, who holds a doctorate in bioengineering from Imperial College London, said contributing to the UAE's future had always been part of his ambition, and that success for him means bringing strengthened knowledge and capabilities back to the country.

The National Read original source
Venture Capital

Regional Funds Take the Lead as AI Resets Gulf Venture Capital

Startups across the Middle East and North Africa raised $3 billion in the first nine months of 2026, 7 per cent less than in the same period a year earlier, as capital concentrated in fewer and larger deals and investors pressed founders to show how artificial intelligence improves their operations, according to Magnitt data reported by AGBI. Transactions above $100 million attracted more than half of all capital and had already exceeded the whole of 2025, while funding outside those large rounds fell 32 per cent year on year.

Overseas investors supplied their lowest share of funding in three years at 42 per cent, down from 50 per cent in 2025, and regional investors accounted for 55 per cent of active backers and 58 per cent of capital, their highest share in five years. Bilal Baloch, a partner at the UAE investment company Shorooq, said Western capital was becoming more discerning and co-investing alongside established regional funds rather than leading early-stage rounds directly.

AGBI Read original source
Global AI in Action
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