This article was originally published in Rest of World, which covers technology’s impact outside the West.

Ameca, a humanoid robot, smiled and blinked at the crowd at Dubai AI Week 2025, a celebration of all things artificial intelligence. Landmark announcements marked the event, including a $545 million hyperscale data center to supply Microsoft and Dubai’s first PhD program in AI.

AI engineer Nair, 29, felt inspired. Since moving to the United Arab Emirates last October from Kerala, India, she had applied to hundreds of entry-level jobs and faced rejections, scams and exploitative offers. Rest of World is not revealing her first name to protect her identity.

Now she remembered why she’d emigrated. “Dubai is emerging as a global AI hub,” she told Rest of World. “It was fascinating to see how companies are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.”

Tech workers like Nair are moving to the UAE, attracted by a Golden Visa programme that gives 10 years of residency to skilled professionals, no taxes, high salaries and the ease of setting up business, recruiters and tech professionals told Rest of World.

“The UAE ranks second only to the US in attracting top AI talent, with many of these experts now calling the UAE home,” Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE’s Minister of Economy, said last year.

The UAE has...

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