Robo.ai CEO Highlights UAE’s Role in Global AI Machine Economy

March 10, 2026
Robo.ai CEO Benjamin Zhai said the UAE remains a key base for the company’s AI operations, citing its policy framework, sovereign capital, and infrastructure that support the growth of a machine economy.

Benjamin Zhai, CEO of Robo.ai, said the United Arab Emirates continues to serve as an ideal foundation for the company’s global machine economy initiatives, announced in a press release. Zhai cited the UAE’s stable policy environment, sovereign capital investments, and advanced infrastructure as key factors supporting Robo.ai’s operations.

He explained that Robo.ai aligns its strategy with the UAE’s National AI Strategy 2031, which targets artificial intelligence contributing 14 percent of the country’s GDP by 2031. The company is leveraging the Dubai Autonomous Transportation Strategy to deploy its AI-powered vehicles, including RoBUS commercial units and Robotaxis, linking algorithmic models to real-world transport operations.

Zhai outlined the UAE’s AI ecosystem as comprising three layers: policy framework, capital infrastructure, and application layer. Sovereign funds such as ADIA, Mubadala, and L’IMAD Holding, along with AI group G42, are driving capital and technological integration. Robo.ai operates at the application layer, commercializing this infrastructure through intelligent transportation networks and embodied AI data services.

He also noted that Robo.ai’s joint venture with DaBoss.AI recently completed its first commercial delivery of embodied AI data. This milestone advances a 30,000-hour data backlog, underscoring the company’s ability to monetize physical AI interactions and contribute to the broader intelligent machine economy.

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