Dubai AI Campus sets new target of 1,000 AI companies and 5,000 jobs

Dubai AI Campus has set a new target of more than 1,000 AI companies and over 5,000 highly skilled jobs by 2030. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum approved the target on 26 October 2026 during the third Dubai AI Festival at Dubai World Trade Centre. The campus, located at the Dubai International Financial Centre, has already attracted more than 500 AI companies since its launch in May 2024. Those companies have collectively secured more than AED 1 billion in investment from private equity and venture capital funds. The campus has also contributed to the creation of more than 2,000 specialized technology jobs. It exceeded its original five-year target of 500 companies by 2028 two years ahead of schedule. The original target was set for the five-year period ending in 2028. Arif Amiri, chief executive of DIFC Authority, said the campus had achieved its 2028 company target two years early and that the new ambition raises the goal to more than 1,000 companies and over 5,000 jobs by 2030. Sheikh Hamdan reviewed plans for a new purpose-built Dubai AI Campus building in the DIFC Zabeel District expansion. The facility is planned to span 100,000 square feet and will include AI laboratories where government entities and private companies can develop and test solutions, secure development zones, computing infrastructure and an AI Experience Centre. The building is described as the world’s first purpose-built facility of its kind. The campus has not published a breakdown of the more than 500 companies by stage, sector or country of origin. Those details would show the concentration of activity and the share of companies that have raised capital versus those that have registered only. DIFC has not published the number of companies that have left the campus or the current occupancy rate of the existing space. The AED 1 billion investment figure is cumulative and does not show the average or median amount raised per company. It also does not distinguish between capital raised by companies after joining the campus and capital raised before. For AI companies the practical change is a higher public target and plans for a larger purpose-built facility. The value depends on whether the additional space and licenses translate into signed tenancies and whether the job numbers reflect net new specialized roles rather than reclassified existing positions. Neither DIFC nor the campus has published a timeline for the new building or the criteria that will be used to count the 5,000 jobs. The Dubai AI Festival, where the target was announced, drew more than 20,000 attendees from over 100 countries. Other financial centers in the region have also set targets for technology companies and specialized jobs. Dubai AI Campus pairs an early achievement of its original company target with a doubled goal for 2030. The campus has not published a comparison of its company and job density with other AI hubs or the share of the AED 1 billion that came from local versus international investors. Scale AI is among the companies that have established a presence at the campus. The announcement does not list the sectors that will be prioritized under the new target or the number of specialized jobs already filled that meet the definition of highly skilled. Those details would show the composition of the next 500 companies and 3,000 jobs. Without them the target remains a description of aggregate numbers rather than a measured plan for specific types of activity. DIFC has said the campus forms part of the Dubai Universal Blueprint for Artificial Intelligence. If DIFC publishes the number of companies that have signed for space in the new building, the share of the 5,000 jobs that are net new and the timeline for the 100,000-square-foot facility, the target has a measurable follow-through. If the next update is only a restatement of the 1,000 and 5,000 figures, the change for the market remains the same as the initial announcement. The figures missing are the building timeline and the definition of highly skilled jobs