Dubai wants its businesses to do more than experiment with artificial intelligence. A government-backed programme aims to put “agentic AI”, software that can plan and carry out tasks with limited supervision, into the hands of a large share of the emirate’s private sector.
This report is an explainer on that programme and its latest international partnerships rather than a single-day announcement.
An ambitious target
Dubai’s executive plan aims to bring agentic AI to 295,000 companies across the emirate within two years, while supporting the creation of 100 specialised AI assistants and 50 new agentic AI companies.
The scale is notable. Dubai’s economy is dominated by small and medium-sized firms in trade, logistics, retail, hospitality and professional services. Many of those businesses handle repetitive back-office work such as invoicing, customer queries, scheduling and compliance, tasks that agentic systems are designed to automate.
Who is running it
The private-sector push is led by Dubai Chambers. As part of implementing the initiative, the body formed an Executive Committee for Agentic AI in June. The committee approves specialised training tracks, designs and establishes incubators for agentic AI companies and supports firms that develop agentic solutions.
Training is a central pillar. A tool is only useful if managers and staff know how to supervise it, and Dubai’s planners are betting that structured courses will help firms adopt systems safely and productively.
International partnerships
Dubai is also looking abroad for talent and technology. In August, Dubai Chambers signed a memorandum of understanding with India’s National Association of Software and Service Companies, known as NASSCOM, to support Indian companies specialising in agentic AI that want to grow in Dubai.
NASSCOM represents India’s $315 billion technology industry and has more than 3,500 member companies, from startups to multinationals. The agreement foresees specialised agentic AI business events and joint initiatives to strengthen links between companies, investors and entrepreneurs in Dubai and India.
Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, president and CEO of Dubai Chambers, said the aim was to build an integrated ecosystem that supports adoption, improves efficiency and productivity and creates economic opportunities.
Dubai has been courting other markets too. The fifth Dubai Business Forum China was scheduled for Shenzhen on October 14, and Lootah has presented the agentic AI initiative as a route for Chinese firms to cooperate on innovation. The same source notes that the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy has helped more than 3,400 digital startups establish and expand in the emirate since 2023.
Why it matters
For Dubai, the logic is competitive. Cities and regions around the world are racing to attract AI companies and to show that their existing businesses can use the technology productively. A broad adoption programme can raise productivity, create specialised jobs and make Dubai more attractive as a base for AI start-ups.
The approach also fits the UAE’s wider strategy of making AI a pillar of economic diversification. Federal and emirate-level bodies are applying it in areas from tax administration to healthcare, as recent announcements show.
Risks and open questions
Experts caution that scale does not guarantee success. Agentic systems can make mistakes, act on faulty data or be manipulated, and businesses need clear lines of responsibility when software takes actions on their behalf. Cybersecurity is a particular concern, given that the UAE’s own Cyber Security Council has reported large volumes of attack attempts, including AI-powered ones.
Smaller firms may also struggle with cost, skills and data quality. Reaching 295,000 companies in two years will require simple, affordable tools and strong support rather than one-off workshops. Policymakers will likely be judged on how many firms use the technology in practice, not simply how many register interest.
Reporting on results is another gap. Authorities have not yet published detailed metrics on how many businesses have been enrolled or what productivity gains they have seen.
Looking ahead
The next phase should show whether the programme can move from announcements to measurable outcomes. Watch for the first graduates of the training tracks, the launch of incubators and further partnership deals. If the plan works, Dubai could become a reference point for how a city-scale economy adopts autonomous AI. If it stalls, it will offer a lesson in how hard that transition is.
