UAE uses sovereign AI platform to secure its governmental infrastructure

The UAE Cyber Security Council, e& UAE and Open Innovation AI have launched the UAE Sovereign AI Platform, a national-scale artificial intelligence infrastructure designed to support secure AI deployment across government, national security and critical infrastructure environments.

Announced at ISNR 2026 in Abu Dhabi, the platform gives organisations a way to run generative AI, large language models, AI agents, advanced analytics and autonomous workflows inside UAE-controlled infrastructure built for high-security and regulated use cases.

The launch comes as governments are moving quickly to adopt AI while trying to keep sensitive data, models and compute infrastructure under national control. For the UAE, the platform is another step in building local digital infrastructure for the AI era, especially in sectors where public cloud deployments may not meet national security or compliance requirements.

At the centre of the platform is a Sovereign AI Security Framework that validates, governs and monitors AI models, agents, applications and workflows before they are deployed into sensitive environments.

The framework is designed to address risks around model integrity, operational isolation, cyber resilience, data sovereignty, sovereign AI execution, secure AI operations and the handling of classified AI workloads.

The project brings together three parts of the UAE’s digital ecosystem: national cyber governance from the UAE Cyber Security Council, digital infrastructure and secure connectivity from e& UAE, and AI orchestration technology from Open Innovation AI.

Open Innovation AI said the platform’s technology stack, including GPU orchestration, AI infrastructure management, model deployment, AI agents, secure inference and operational controls, was designed, engineered and built in the UAE.

Who it is built for

The platform targets organisations that need air-gapped or cyber-secure AI environments, including national security agencies, mission-critical operators, intelligence and cyber teams, emergency response bodies, critical infrastructure providers, smart government entities and regulated strategic industries.

The message is simple: advanced AI can be useful for government and strategic sectors, but only if the infrastructure is secure by design and controlled locally.

Dr. Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security for the UAE Government, said AI adoption in sensitive environments must be supported by strong governance, secure infrastructure and clear national controls.

“This platform is an important step in enabling government entities and mission-critical organisations to benefit from AI while maintaining the highest levels of cyber resilience, data protection and policy alignment,” he said.

Recently His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, also approved the creation of the UAE Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority.

The new federal body reports directly to the UAE Cabinet and is chaired by Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama.

The authority consolidates three existing entities: the Office of Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications; the Digital Government Sector at the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority; and the Emirates Data Office.

Its mandate spans national AI strategy, digital government services, government data integration and driving AI’s direct contribution to UAE GDP.