Abu Dhabi ranked top AI city in Middle East

Abu Dhabi has been ranked as the top AI city in the Middle East and 11th globally in The Observer’s 2026 AI Cities Index. The emirate is pursuing an ambitious goal to become the world’s first AI-native government by 2027, supported by investments exceeding AED13 billion in digital transformation.

Integration of artificial intelligence is expanding across multiple sectors in the capital, including healthcare, education, energy, and transport. In the medical field, an intelligent surgical network is connecting operating rooms at facilities such as Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and PureHealth. In the public sector, approximately 35,000 government employees have gained access to Microsoft 365 Copilot to assist with daily operations.

To further its position as a global technology hub, Abu Dhabi will host the Ai Everything Abu Dhabi 2026 Expo and Summit at the ADNEC Centre. The event is expected to feature over 400 AI infrastructure builders, model makers, and startups, alongside speakers such as Mistral AI CEO Arthur Mensch and Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert. The summit aims to showcase the city’s model of public sector AI use-cases and sovereign AI development.