"AI will be our government executive partner to support decisions, enhance services, boost the efficiency of operations, and even evaluate results and introduce improvements in real time."
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Those were the words of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announcing one of the most ambitious AI transformation programmes of any government in the world. While most countries are still debating how AI should be used in public life, the UAE is already transforming systems.
In April, the Gulf nation announced a framework to transform 50% of government sectors, services and operations through agentic AI within two years. Days later, H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, went further – directing Dubai Chamber of Commerce to begin an equally sweeping transformation of the private sector, centred on the technology.
The ambition is not to use AI as a tool that people ask questions of, such as a chatbot. It is to build a country where AI works alongside every single person as a matter of daily routine – both in businesses and across public services.
Agentic AI refers to systems that go beyond simply generating text and images or answering queries like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. These are AI models capable of independently planning, making decisions and proactively completing tasks. Think renewing your passport before it expires, processing and paying contracts without prompting or pre-empting – and resolving – customer complaints before they arise. And all without a human in the loop. The difference between a chatbot and an agentic AI is roughly the difference between a calculator and a bookkeeper.
Dubai's private sector initiative includes specialised training tracks for Business Groups and Councils operating under Dubai Chamber of Commerce, which will be rolled out over the next two years. The chamber will also establish dedicated incubators for agentic AI companies, create opportunities for young people entering the field and set up funds to back the transition. The goal, in Sheikh Hamdan's words, is for Dubai to become "the world's leading city in adopting these technologies, economically and commercially”.
For founders and business owners outside the UAE, there are two reasons to take note. The first is competitive. The global agentic AI market is projected to grow from $5.25 billion in 2024 to $199 billion by 2034, according to Precedence Research. McKinsey's State of AI survey, published in late 2025, found that 23 per cent of respondents’ organisations are already scaling agentic AI systems, with a further 39 per cent experimenting – meaning nearly two-thirds are somewhere on this journey. Companies that move earliest tend to build leads that are hard to catch. Dubai is attempting to move an entire city's private sector at once.
The second reason comes down to where this is happening. The UAE's push creates a market that, almost by design, will be looking for agentic AI products, partnerships and investment from outside its borders. Businesses that can offer solutions – whether in logistics automation, finance, healthcare or retail – will find a market that actively welcomes them. Incubators, dedicated support funds and direct access to corporate decision-makers are already being assembled. That is an unusual combination to find in one place.
His Excellency Eng. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Chairman of Dubai Chambers and Chairman of the recently formed Executive Committee for Agentic AI, said the initiative reflects Dubai’s determination to prepare its business community for the next wave of technological change.
The shift towards Agentic AI, he said, is designed to strengthen the competitiveness of the private sector, improve productivity, and help companies benefit from advanced technologies across their operations.
“We are committed to strengthening Dubai’s global leadership, enhancing the competitiveness of the private sector, and ensuring businesses are ready for rapid technological change,” H.E. Al Mansoori added.
The public sector is moving on a similar timeline. The UAE’s national framework targets the transformation of 50% of government sectors, services, and operations to Agentic AI within two years, with the pace and effectiveness of adoption forming part of how ministers, directors general, and government entities are assessed. The result is a public and private sector shift running in parallel, with each intended to support and reinforce the other.
For businesses already operating in Dubai, the practical question is how quickly they can integrate. The chamber's training tracks are designed to bring companies up to speed regardless of their size or starting point, while the planned incubator network will provide structured support for those building agentic AI products from scratch.
For those watching from Singapore to Sao Paulo, one of the most pressing questions is whether a city moving this deliberately and this fast on a technology that most enterprises are still experimenting with is a market they should be entering now – before the ground shifts beneath them.
