H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, has chaired a meeting of the Advanced Technology Research Council’s (ATRC) board of directors, during which His Highness reviewed the council’s plans to launch three new ventures, as well as its pioneering achievements and ambitious plans for Abu Dhabi and the UAE to reaffirm their respective positions in the global research and development landscape.

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed reaffirmed the significance of continuing to implement plans and initiatives launched by ATRC locally and globally to advance research and development in innovative technologies and AI solutions, highlighting the UAE’s position as an incubator for innovation while encouraging the application of technology-based solutions across vital sectors.

He also highlighted the importance of the council’s UAE Research Map in enhancing research cooperation efforts among relevant entities nationwide and supporting UAE National talent and competencies in technological innovation, as well as research and development of large language models.

He cited that elevating quality of life and enhancing efficiencies in relevant industries and sectors through the harnessing of technological innovations will support comprehensive and sustainable socio-economic development across the country.

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed also reemphasised the need to qualify and prepare UAE National talent in STEM-based fields, referring to the significance of these vital disciplines in enhancing the UAE’s research landscape and developing advanced innovations to positively impact key sectors, particularly education, research and development, advanced industries, healthcare, agriculture, environment, robotics, and new technologies.

As the UAE pursues its National Innovation Strategy, ATRC is executing its mandate to shape Abu Dhabi’s R&D ecosystem and promote higher education and careers in STEM, ensuring the UAE develops a dynamic talent pool that meets current and future demands, in line with the UAE Centennial Plan 2071.

The council discussed its progress toward shaping an innovative R&D ecosystem. This included the council's commercialisation arm, VentureOne, preparing to introduce three innovative ventures to transform data security in the quantum era, smart autonomous mobility, and Agritech with robotic technologies, which align with the emirate’s economic priorities. These ventures are slated for launch later this year, marking a significant step in translating pioneering research into products and services.

The meeting also reviewed the council’s UAE Research Map, which has become a key resource for the research community. Since its launch in May 2024, the portal has attracted more than 2,000 visits in its first two months and features 30 participating entities, with more than 450 registered experts. Its success in centralising access to national research resources while fostering collaboration between academia and the public and private sectors has recently led to 10 additional entities expressing interest in joining the portal.

Aligning with its ongoing endeavours to support advanced research and relevant subsidiaries, ATRC has attracted proposals from nations to access the council’s US$200 million ATRC Global Tech R&D Fund and is accelerating the integration of the UAE’s Falcon large language model (LLM) into local and global technological infrastructure and government services.

Additionally, the meeting reviewed ATRC’s applied research pillar, the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), which continues to excel in alignment with national priorities. It recently unveiled the new Abu Dhabi Quantum Optical Ground Station, representing the Arab World’s first and largest facility in the MENA region dedicated to developing secure free-space optical communications. Furthermore, in supporting the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 agenda, TII’s Directed Energy Center received a prestigious award from the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science (UAEREP), which addresses critical environmental challenges.

TII’s latest Falcon large language model (LLM) was independently verified by the global LLM leaderboard, Hugging Face. The model has witnessed 85,000 downloads since its launch in May 2024, with a total of more than 45 million downloads across all Falcon LLM models.

The progress of ASPIRE’s work, the council’s programme management arm, was also discussed during the meeting. ASPIRE aims to execute several significant projects to support the UAE’s National Food Security Strategy 2051 and contribute to global food security through its partnership with XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion.

The ATRC meeting was attended by board members Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; Dr. Ahmed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the President’s Office for Strategic Affairs within the Presidential Court; Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority; Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Minister of Investment; Faisal Abdulaziz Al Bannai, Secretary-General of ATRC; Mansoor Ibrahim Al Mansoori, Chairman of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi; and Ahmed Tamim Al Kuttab, Chairman of the Department of Government Enablement - Abu Dhabi.