UAE private sector should invest in Artificial Intelligence to deliver Dh335bn extra growth, DSIG officials say

Investment is likely to push the Artificial Intelligence market value to a whopping US$200 billion (Dh730 billion) by next year as most companies are using AI to boost productivity of businesses, factories and industries.

Dubai, UAE; September 3, 2024

Increased investment in Artificial Intelligence is expected to deliver additional Dh335 billion value to the UAE economy by 2031;

The sum of assets and acquisitions from minority stakes, private investments, and public offerings totalled US$934.2 billion from 2013 to 2022.

Recent investment peaked in 2021 at US$276.1 billion with the emergence of ChatGPT.

In 2023, the global Artificial Intelligence market garnered US$142.3 billion;

Increased investment is likely to push the Artificial Intelligence market value to US$200 billion globally;

Increased private sector investment in Artificial Intelligence could deliver additional Dh335 billion (US$91.28 billion) value to the UAE economy, according to industry experts and officials, participating at a conference titled: Artificial Intelligence (AI) For All: Empowering Responsible Investment, organised by the Dubai Stockbrokers and Investment Services Group (DSIG), held at the Dubai Chambers head office.

“The UAE has a vision to become one of the leading nations in AI by 2031 in line with the UAE Centennial 2071 Vision, creating new economic, educational, and social opportunities for citizens, governments and businesses and generating up to Dh335 billion in extra growth,” according to HE Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAEMinister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications.

Speakers at the seminar urged all industry stakeholders to work closely to invest in AI, which will be the next biggest game-changer for the GCC economies and help them in their transformational journey from hydrocarbon-dependent economy to a more digitised and sustainable economy.

Global corporate investment in AI has increased dramatically over the past decade. A Stanford University analysis estimates the sum of assets and acquisitions from minority stakes, private investments, and public offerings totalled $934.2 billion from 2013 to 2022. Recent investment peaked in 2021 at $276.1 billion with the emergence of ChatGPT.

“The UAE Government wants the country to become one of the top global hubs in innovation, technology, especially AI. Unfortunately, private sector investment in this sector is not great. Increased investment in AI will help the private sector to not only become much smarter, but also sustainable in the long run,” Sameera Fernandes, Chairwoman of DSIG and Chief Sustainability Officer and Board Member of Century Financial, told delegates at the seminar.

“In future people will produce more with less efforts through the use of technology in which machine learning, robotics, algorithms, big data, the Internet of Things will play a crucial role in advancing the economies to the next level. The UAE Government has already started to deploy these technologies so that the private sector could invest and grow these sectors, such as driverless cars, flying taxis, etc that will hit the UAE roads once the testing phases of these technologies are over.”

By 2026, single-modality AI models will lose out to multimodal AI models (text, image, audio and video) in over 60 percent of GenAI solutions, up from less than 1 percent in 2023, globally, according to studies.

By 2026, workflow tools and agents will drive efficiencies for 20 percent of knowledge workers, up from less than 1 percent today, said a research report. By 2027, foundation models will underpin 70 per cent of natural language processing (NLP) use cases, up from less than 5 percent in 2022.

By 2027, 30 percent of environmental, social and governance (ESG) software offerings will leverage GenAI for automatic sustainability report generation. By 2028, 20 percent of repetitive processes will be automated by domain-specific GenAI implementations in every industry, the report say.

In 2023, the global AI market garnered US$142.3 billion, and it is growing due to the influx of investments. AI investment is ramping up quickly. According to Goldman Sachs Economic Research, global investment in AI technologies will reach $200 billion by 2025.

Sameera Fernandes, Chairwoman further added that investors will have to invest responsibly and in futuristic technology.

“As we are already in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, investment should be made in digital assets and businesses that will help the UAE to remain at the forefront of innovation and transformation so that we can lead the world in economic activities,” she said. “Our private sector should also invest in developing human talents to manage the new-age economy with digital skills so that they can lead the new economy.”

Investing in generative AI offers potential economic growth and boosts labour productivity by 1 percent annually. Additionally, AI investment can peak as high as 2.5 percent to 4 percent of GDP in the US and 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent in other AI leaders.

Each country has invested in Artificial Intelligence, but the United States holds the most prominent investment — with $328,548 billion spent in the last five years. This is followed by China having around $195 billion in the same period. The third-placed is the UK, with $25.5 billion. According to Accenture, AI is predicted to add $6 trillion to top three industries’ Gross Value Added by 2035.

The Dubai Stockbrokers and Investment Services Group (DSIG) is one of the 105 Business Groups and more than 50 Business Councils that operate under the umbrella of Dubai Chamber of Commerce, one of the three chambers under Dubai Chambers. Sector-specific Business Groups and country-specific Business Councils advance the interests of Dubai’s dynamic business community, empowering companies to explore greater economic opportunities in the UAE and beyond – and play a greater role in the global economy.

The launch of the DSIG comes when the market capitalisation of Arab stock exchanges exceeded US$4.36 trillion at the end of April 2024, according to the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF). Data from the Abu Dhabi and Dubai markets shows that institutional investors had purchased Dh302.7 billion worth of stocks from January to December 2023, compared to total sales of approximately Dh295.8 billion.

Stockbrokers, investment advisors, fund managers, wealth managers and private equity managers play a significant role in the growth of the stock market and the overall economy. DSIG acts as a platform for secured investment. Coupled with innovation and sustainability, the Business Group will not only implement ideas, but also empower people through its educational programmes. Poised to become the leading business group in the Middle East, DSIG is committed to facilitate more cross-border investments and market expansion.