French artificial intelligence company Mistral AI is exploring investment in UAE data centres as part of an infrastructure expansion in the region, chief executive Arthur Mensch told The National at the AI Everything summit in Abu Dhabi. The company has already formed partnerships with local entities, including G42 for platforms and infrastructure, and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence for research, talent, and model development.
Mensch stated that the UAE possesses "very powerful" cyber defences capable of repelling digital threats amid regional geopolitical instability. He emphasized the necessity of technological sovereignty, noting that sovereign cyber capabilities allow countries to deploy defence mechanisms independently without external clearance, while pointing out that model deployments should remain under Abu Dhabi's control.
The executive's remarks follow data disclosed by UAE cyber security chief Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, who reported that the Emirates faced roughly 640,000 cyber attacks on September 15 alone, identifying Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a primary threat actor utilizing increasingly sophisticated AI-driven tools.
During the summit, Mistral AI also introduced its new Mistral Large 4 model, which the company claims is among the fastest in the world and rivals leading open-weight models from China. Mensch warned against a global duopoly dominated by US firms such as OpenAI and Anthropic, advocating for distributed and open technological alternatives.
Sources
- The National · 2026-10-07
