Dubai Targets 1,000 AI Companies by 2030 as Chinese Tech Firms Join Festival

Dubai has raised its strategic growth targets for the Dubai AI Campus, setting a goal to attract more than 1,000 specialized artificial intelligence companies and generate over 5,000 skilled jobs by 2030, Fast Company Middle East reported. The new targets were approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence, during the opening of the third edition of the Dubai AI Festival on October 26, 2026.

According to the Dubai government, the Dubai AI Campus had already achieved its original five-year targets two years ahead of schedule. The campus, which includes plans for a purpose-built facility within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Zabeel District, has so far attracted more than 500 AI firms, drawn over AED 1 billion ($272 million) in investment, and supported more than 2,000 specialized technology jobs.

The festival gathered significant international industry participation, including more than 100 Chinese technology companies showcasing digital innovations, alongside a dedicated Bharat Pavilion featuring 23 Indian companies focused on cloud, data center, and GPU infrastructure. The broader event hosted more than 20 global unicorns, 20 government entities, 20 venture capital firms, and 20 multinational corporations.

In parallel with the campus targets, the festival saw the debut of multiple regional AI initiatives, including Legaline Platform's launch of Meta Legal Space—an AI mock-courtroom simulator adapted to UAE onshore, DIFC, and ADGM legal frameworks—as well as the rollout of AIJobsUAE, a specialized recruitment platform for AI architects and forward-deployed engineers.