UAE unveils new AI model to rival major tech companies

The United Arab Emirates is making waves in the world of artificial intelligence with the release of a new open-source GenAI model by the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in Abu Dhabi. The Falcon 2 series, consisting of Falcon 2 11B and Falcon 2 11B VLM, is set to rival models from big technology companies and showcase the UAE’s capabilities in AI research.

TII, a research center within Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council, unveiled the Falcon 2 series on Monday, marking a significant milestone in the country’s AI development. The Falcon 2 11B is a text-based model, while the Falcon 2 11B VLM is a vision-to-language model that can generate a text description of uploaded images.

The UAE, known for its significant investments in artificial intelligence, has been under scrutiny from U.S. officials who have issued warnings about the use of American or Chinese technology. In response, Emirati AI firm G42 made strategic moves to distance itself from Chinese hardware and investments before securing a $1.5 billion investment from Microsoft, in coordination with Washington.

Faisal Al Bannai, Secretary General of the Advanced Technology Research Council and adviser to the president on strategic research and advanced technology, emphasized the UAE’s commitment to becoming a major player in artificial intelligence. He highlighted the importance of the Falcon 2 series in demonstrating the country’s capabilities on a global scale.

The release of the Falcon 2 series comes at a time when companies and countries are racing to develop their own large language models, following the success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022. While some have chosen to keep their AI code proprietary, others, like UAE’s Falcon and Meta’s Llama, have opted to make their code publicly available for wider use.

Al Bannai expressed optimism about the performance of the Falcon 2 series and revealed that the team is already working on the next generation, Falcon 3. He stated, “We’re very proud that we can still punch way above our weight, really compete with the best players globally.”

The UAE’s advancements in AI research and development are positioning the country as a key player in the global tech industry. With the release of the Falcon 2 series, the UAE is showcasing its innovation and expertise in artificial intelligence, setting the stage for further advancements in the field.