UAE Launches Falcon Arabic AI Model Matching Larger Global Systems

The United Arab Emirates has launched Falcon Arabic, a new AI language model developed by Abu Dhabi's Technology Innovation Institute (TII) and Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), designed to capture the full linguistic diversity of the Arab world by training on both Modern Standard Arabic and regional dialects. Falcon Arabic reportedly matches the performance of models up to ten times its size and outperforms comparable models from major global players like Meta and Alibaba. Alongside Falcon Arabic, TII introduced Falcon H1, a more compact multilingual model optimized for efficiency and accessibility, targeting developers with limited computing resources. Despite early leadership in the open-source AI race, Falcon’s prominence has declined recently due to competition from Meta and China’s DeepSeek, although it has achieved over 55 million downloads globally. The launch aligns with the UAE’s broader strategy to establish itself as a global AI leader through investments and partnerships, including a notable AI agreement with the U.S. to access advanced AI semiconductors. This development is part of a regional AI race in the Gulf, with Saudi Arabia also accelerating its AI initiatives to become a key technology hub.