Focus on investment in AI as Mena lags in research

• Minimal AI research in Mena, says report
• UAE stands out though
• Region makes strategic investments

The Gulf and wider Middle East and North Africa region make a woefully small contribution to global artificial intelligence research and academics, but strategic investments could help mitigate some of the risk of dependency on others, industry experts say.

The Mena region contributed just 5 percent of all AI-related academic publications and less than 10 percent of associated citations in the decade to 2023, according to Stanford University’s AI Index Report 2025.

The UAE, home to the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, was the only Mena country outside Israel to appear in a list of economies publishing highly-cited AI research, the index shows.

In 2023 four research papers published in the UAE were among the world’s 100 most cited. This is an improvement on two papers in 2022 and one in 2021, the report shows.

“The fact that less than 10 percent of global AI research articles and citations come from the Middle East offers one snapshot of the region’s standing,” Nestor Maslej, research manager for the Stanford AI Index tells AGBI.

“It’s a lagging indicator reflecting past performance.”

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Only Saudi Arabia and the UAE are acknowledged as having “notable” AI models, such as the UAE’s Falcon LLM, or large language model, the report says.

Large language models are machine learning models that are pre-trained on vast amounts of data. They can comprehend and generate human language text.

Perhaps “more relevant” than the Gulf’s contribution to global AI research is its investment in the technology, Maslej says.

For example Stanford’s AI report highlights Saudi Arabia’s “Project Transcendance”, a $100 billion investment programme focused on AI, targeting data centres, startups and others. 

The report also highlights Abu Dhabi’s launch of MGX Fund Management, a state-owned investment firm specialising in AI technologies targeting $100 billion in investments.

“The region’s immediate contribution to foundational AI knowledge remains limited,” says Manual Abat, partner and head of digital transformation at consultancy company Oliver Wyman.

“This does not necessarily translate into a permanent reliance on foreign innovation hubs.”

Instead it may be an opportunity to leverage global AI advancements, adapting and scaling solutions tailored specifically for regional challenges, Abat says.

“By prioritising applied AI development, facilitating strategic knowledge transfer and enhancing local research capabilities, the region can progressively establish more self-sustaining AI ecosystems,” he says.