The Abu Dhabi Government and several leading companies in the emirate announced on Monday, November 2, the signing of four cooperation agreements with OpenAI, the US company behind ChatGPT, to expand the use of artificial intelligence in government services, energy, investment and education. The agreements were signed following a meeting between Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. One of the key initiatives is a pilot programme using AI to review regulations and government licensing procedures.

According to the Abu Dhabi Media Office and the Emirates News Agency, WAM, a “Machine-Readable Government” initiative has been launched in the government services sector, which UAE officials described as the first of its kind globally. Led by the Department of Government Enablement, the authority responsible for implementing Abu Dhabi’s digital strategy, the initiative converts selected government policies and regulations into formats that AI systems can read and analyse. The technology will help government employees conduct routine compliance assessments, including during licensing and certification procedures. Each assessment will be traceable and linked to the relevant regulations, while final decision-making authority and accountability will remain with government officials. The first pilot is already operational at the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, focusing on food imports, with processing carried out on graphics processing units at data centres within the UAE.

In the energy sector, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC, signed a three-way agreement with OpenAI and technology group G42 through its subsidiary Inception42. Abu Dhabi officials said the partnership makes ADNOC the world’s first energy company to deploy OpenAI’s advanced technologies. Using GPT models and computing infrastructure based in the UAE, the collaboration aims to better align operational, commercial and investment decisions and enhance efficiency across ADNOC’s operations.

In the investment sector, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign investment company, signed a separate agreement with OpenAI and Inception42 to use AI for investment analysis, identifying economic opportunities and assessing risks, with the aim of generating long-term economic value.

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The fourth agreement is a five-year partnership between OpenAI and Inception 42 to expand the use of advanced artificial intelligence technologies across UAE government entities, large companies and the education sector. It will combine OpenAI’s models and engineering expertise with Inception 42’s consulting and implementation capabilities.

Commenting on the agreements, Sam Altman said: “Abu Dhabi and the UAE have set an ambitious global benchmark for deploying AI across the public and private sectors to ensure its benefits are accessible to everyone.” He added that OpenAI was proud to support the UAE’s goals through a shared commitment to safety, broad access and responsible innovation. However, Monday’s official announcement did not disclose the financial value of the four agreements or a timetable for their full implementation.

Bloomberg reported on October 5, 2026, that OpenAI was in talks with several UAE investment funds, including Abu Dhabi-based MGX, to raise billions of dollars. OpenAI’s cooperation with Abu Dhabi began in 2023 through a partnership with G42. In May 2025, the two companies, together with Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco and SoftBank, announced plans to build the one-gigawatt Stargate UAE computing cluster in Abu Dhabi. Under the initial plan, its first 200-megawatt phase was due to become operational in 2026.

Since August 2026, the UAE has also been one of only three regions worldwide, alongside the United States and Europe, where OpenAI offers local model processing for eligible enterprise, education and application programming interface customers. The service allows qualifying customers to process AI models using computing infrastructure located within the UAE.

The agreements support Abu Dhabi’s goal of becoming the world’s first fully AI-powered government by 2027. As part of that strategy, the Department of Government Enablement – Abu Dhabi launched the AiNative training programme on October 7 in partnership with OpenAI, Microsoft and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, aiming to train 20,000 government employees by the end of 2026.