The initiative aligns with the UAE's broader strategy to build domestic capabilities across the entire AI value chain, enhancing its status as a global center for innovation and increasing technical expertise within the country. Together AI is set to establish a presence in Abu Dhabi, bringing its inference and research capabilities closer to developers working on AI applications in the UAE and the surrounding region.
Ali Al Mheiri, executive director of diversified assets at Mubadala's UAE Investments platform, stated that the partnership supports Mubadala's goal of attracting leading technology firms, enhancing local expertise, and creating an environment where innovation can transition from research to practical application. He emphasized that the collaboration with Together AI will bolster a crucial segment of the AI ecosystem and broaden access to necessary infrastructure.
The UAE is actively pursuing its National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031, with the objective of becoming a world leader in AI by integrating advanced technologies into government operations, businesses, and daily life. This strategic push, coupled with economic diversification efforts over the past decade, has spurred the creation of startups, partnerships, and investments from major industry players like Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI. The UAE is also collaborating with the US on an AI campus designed to support AI data centers with a 5-gigawatt capacity in Abu Dhabi.
This partnership with Together AI follows Mubadala's involvement in the company's $100 million Series C funding round in July. Mubadala, which manages investments on behalf of the Abu Dhabi government, has been systematically expanding its global investment portfolio, with a particular focus on sectors such as renewable energy, mobility, advanced technology, AI, and life sciences. The sovereign investor's extensive portfolio, valued at $385 billion, spans across six continents and various asset classes.
Together AI, founded in 2022 and headquartered in San Francisco, operates as an AI platform specializing in inference, model shaping, and accelerated computing. Its research-focused capabilities are designed to assist developers and enterprises in building and running applications utilizing both open-source and custom AI models. Vipul Ved Prakash, founder and CEO of Together AI, highlighted the growing demand for open-source AI, which is currently exceeding available compute power, and expressed that Mubadala is a key partner in their global infrastructure expansion.