Sheikh Hamdan approves Dubai AI Campus goal of over 1,000 companies by 2030
Dubai AI Campus is targeting more than 1,000 artificial intelligence companies and over 5,000 specialized jobs by 2030 under new goals approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The campus has attracted more than 500 companies since its May 2024 launch.
Layla Haddad
Growth outpaces the original timetable
The announcement came during the third Dubai AI Festival, running October 26-27 at Dubai World Trade Centre. Companies at the campus have secured more than Dh1 billion in private equity and venture capital funding, while the campus has helped create over 2,000 specialized technology jobs, according to the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
The campus surpassed its original five-year company and investment targets two years early. DIFC Authority CEO Arif Amiri said it had already reached the goal of attracting 500 AI companies by 2028 and was now aiming for more than 1,000 companies and over 5,000 jobs by 2030.
At the May 18, 2024, inauguration, DIFC reported that the completed first phase occupied 10,000 square feet and had more than 75 registered businesses. Plans at that time called for a second phase spanning over 100,000 square feet, with targets of more than 500 companies and 3,000 jobs by 2028.
Sheikh Hamdan, Dubai's crown prince, UAE deputy prime minister and minister of defense, outlined the approach behind the expansion: "Our priority is to position Dubai at the forefront of adopting advanced technologies by providing state-of-the-art infrastructure, a flexible regulatory environment and access to the world's best talent and expertise." He also said Dubai would continue investing in advanced technologies to create opportunities for economic growth.
Labs, testing spaces and a public experience center
Alongside the new targets, Sheikh Hamdan reviewed a proposed 100,000-square-foot Dubai AI Campus building in the DIFC Zabeel District expansion. Plans provide space for developing, testing and commercializing AI technologies, bringing businesses, government entities, investors and technology specialists together to accelerate adoption across Dubai.
Government entities and private companies would use the building's AI laboratories to develop and test solutions before broader deployment. Other planned features include secure AI development zones, computing infrastructure, digital twin environments and AI-powered building systems.
The proposed AI Experience Centre would give residents, students, visitors, delegations and investors access to demonstrations of AI applications across sectors. Its displays would include innovations from campus companies and projects undergoing testing elsewhere in Dubai.
DIFC Governor Essa Kazim said the campus's growth and its planned purpose-built facility would "further strengthen Dubai's position as a global leader in AI and the technology economy."
The wider Zabeel District expansion
The campus building forms part of a much larger DIFC expansion publicly launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on January 27, 2026. DIFC Zabeel District spans a 7.1 million-square-foot site, with 17.7 million square feet of total gross floor area and an estimated gross development value exceeding AED100 billion.
Delivery is planned in six phases. The first is expected to open to the public by 2030, with completion of the full masterplan expected by 2040. The district is designed for more than 42,000 companies and a workforce of over 125,000.
More than 1 million square feet within the district is allocated to what DIFC describes as the world's largest Innovation Hub and the world's first purpose-built AI Campus. Those facilities are being custom-designed for the future needs of over 6,000 businesses and 30,000 technology specialists.
The expansion also includes a tenfold increase in the size of the DIFC Academy, to 370,000 square feet, giving it capacity to serve 50,000 learners a year.
Festival focuses on putting AI into practice
More than 20,000 attendees from over 100 countries are taking part in the festival, including policymakers, technology leaders and entrepreneurs. The event also features over 150 speakers, 500 investors and 200 exhibitors.
According to DIFC, the program includes more than 50 roundtables and workshops, with particular attention to the move from AI experimentation to implementation. Sessions address global AI governance, agentic AI, enterprise transformation, infrastructure and computing power, investment trends, ethics, AI literacy and the future of work.
DIFC's executive speaker lineup includes Glean founder and CEO Arvind Jain; DAMAC Properties founder and chairman Hussain Sajwani; ElevenLabs co-founder and CEO Mati Staniszewski; Oxa founder and CEO Prof. Paul Newman CBE; G42 group CEO Peng Xiao; and Scale AI global managing director Trevor Thompson. Participating organizations include Amazon Web Services, Alibaba Cloud, Mistral AI, Mubadala, Snowflake and Scale AI.
Dubai AI Campus, which is part of DIFC, is organizing the event with the Office of the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence. This year's theme is "Where Intelligence Meets Opportunity."
Sheikh Hamdan also toured exhibits from local and international organizations. Dubai Medical University briefed him on AI applications in medical education and clinical diagnostic training. His other stops included ElevenLabs, whose tools cover AI-powered audio, images and video; cloud computing and AI providers Amazon Web Services and Alibaba Cloud; and Linkerbot, which specializes in robotic hands and advanced robotic control technologies.
