It can be said that this is the race to deploy, not just develop, beyond the AI models surge. Jake Loosararian, CEO of Gecko Robotics, said in an interview that the United Arab Emirates has carved out a unique position in the global tech race.
While the U.S. and China dominate foundational AI model development, the UAE is leading in the practical use and deployment of AI and robotics technologies.
Loosararian highlighted that the UAE is really focused on getting practical AI and robotics into the real world to change how critical infrastructure is operated and maintained.
A strategy rooted in real-world results
UAE is putting this strategy to work through its partnership with Gecko Robotics. ADNOC, the state oil giant, has been way ahead of the curve, using Gecko’s wall-climbing robots and their AI Cantilever platform for its gas operations.
The results are pretty wild: they have seen asset coverage jump by 99.6 percent and efficiency improve by over 93 percent compared to manual processes. Also, it’s making everything safer and cutting down on downtime.
On top of that, the deal is expected to save more than $300 million over the next five years. Loosararian thinks Dr. Sultan Al Jaber’s leadership was key in turning ADNOC into a real tech-forward company that actually uses AI.
The “AI-native” infrastructure advantage
Loosararian stressed that the UAE’s competitive edge lies in its massive, world-class physical infrastructure and the vast data it generates. He likened this data to the “rails that algorithms run on.”
As the next phase of AI depends on connecting digital models to the physical world, the UAE is uniquely positioned. Its investments, like the TII-NVIDIA lab in Abu Dhabi that’s working on embodied AI, reinforce this practical approach to becoming an “AI-native” nation.
In a very clear remark, the CEO said that “the UAE won’t be leading in AI model development any time soon,” with China and the U.S. already doing a great job with the foundation models for the brains of the robots. In contrast, “the UAE is leading the way in practical, pragmatic usage of robots and AI that drive how facilities and industries work.”
The Gecko Robotics blueprint: From Pittsburgh to Abu Dhabi
Gecko Robotics itself embodies the cross-border collaboration driving this shift. The Pittsburgh-based company, which builds wall-climbing robots for industrial inspection, chose the UAE as its first major international partner.
Loosararian noted that the UAE’s leadership was willing to take risks on unproven technology, a deep contrast to the bureaucratic hesitancy often found in Western infrastructure sectors.
That openness, plus how massive ADNOC is, let Gecko test and fix their tech fast in real, high-stakes spots. The UAE basically turned into a giant lab, proving that when the people in charge and the tech innovators work together, AI can move way faster than anyone expected, thus leapfrogging years of conventional progress.
