OpenAI has signed four agreements with Abu Dhabi-based entities to deploy its AI models across government, energy, investment and education, following a meeting between CEO Sam Altman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The agreements cover the deployment of OpenAI’s AI models at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the development of an AI-native government system, the use of AI in investment analysis, and the adoption of AI across government, enterprises and educational institutions in the UAE.
In the energy sector, ADNOC, G42 subsidiary Inception42 and OpenAI signed an agreement to integrate OpenAI’s models across ADNOC’s operations. The company will use the technology to support operational, investment and commercial decision-making.
The deployment will run on OpenAI’s GPT models using inference infrastructure located within the UAE. Under the agreement, ADNOC becomes the first company in the energy sector to deploy OpenAI’s frontier AI technology.
In the government sector, Abu Dhabi Government and OpenAI have launched what they describe as the world’s first AI-native Machine-Readable Government initiative.
The initiative will convert selected government policies and regulations into machine-readable formats, allowing AI systems to assist officials with regulatory compliance assessments, including applications for permits and certificates.
The first pilot is already in production at the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), where it is being used to assess food imports. The system runs on OpenAI models through its UAE inference infrastructure, with computation taking place on GPUs within local data centres.
Government officials will retain oversight of the assessments and remain responsible for final decisions. Each AI-generated assessment will also be traceable to the relevant regulation.
In the investment sector, Mubadala, Inception42 and OpenAI signed an agreement to use AI for investment analysis, identifying opportunities and assessing risks.
The fourth agreement is a five-year partnership between Inception42 and OpenAI to support the adoption of AI across government, enterprises and education in the UAE. The companies will work on enterprise solutions for large organisations, combining OpenAI’s models and AI engineering capabilities with Inception42’s applied AI expertise and consulting services.
“Abu Dhabi and the UAE are setting a bold, global standard for AI integration across both the public and private sectors to make sure the benefits of AI reach everyone,” said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
“We are proud to support the UAE’s ambition, anchored in a shared commitment to safety, accessibility and responsible innovation,” he added.
The agreements follow a meeting between Altman and Sheikh Khaled, who is also chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. The discussions focused on using AI to improve government services and accelerate innovation across the emirate’s strategic sectors.
Abu Dhabi has been investing in digital infrastructure and talent development as it works towards its ambition of becoming the world’s first fully AI-native government.
