The UAE’s lofty ambitions of developing competitive AI models are facing challenges, despite initial excitement about homegrown AI models like Technology Innovation Institute ’s (TII) Falcon and G42’s Jais, Bloomberg reports.

Tough to compete in a two-horse race: Despite being the Emirates’ most competitive AI model, Falcon has struggled to gain traction against competition from global heavyweight open-source models like the US’ Meta Platforms and China’s Deepseek. European AI ventures have also struggled to keep up with US firms that are throwing bns in funding into developing models and Chinese players offering low-cost alternatives.

Shifting focus: G42 is now prioritizing its data center business and investing in AI firms like OpenAI and xAI. Some Emirati firms are now using existing models to provide customized AI solutions and tools for specific business use cases.

What’s the appeal? Developing “sovereign models” allows governments to reduce reliance on foreign technology and to have more control over their AI systems, Bloomberg added, citing AI professor at Oxford University Michael Bronstein. It also allows them to better represent their language and culture — with companies like Tarjama and G42 also developing Arabic models.

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