Dubai Opens AI 'Sandbox' to Companies from Around the World

The Dubai Future Foundation announced the opening of applications for companies from around the world to join the "Dubai AI Sandbox," an experimental regulatory program aimed at testing artificial intelligence solutions in real-world environments prior to large-scale deployment. Applications will remain open until December 18, 2026.

The program welcomes startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), major tech companies, and government entities that possess AI products that have reached the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) stage. It covers several sectors, including education, healthcare, transport and mobility, logistics, tourism and hospitality, media, and government services, in addition to real estate, retail, manufacturing, and public safety.

The Foundation stated that selected participants will be able to test their solutions in real-world environments, communicate directly with regulatory bodies and government entities, and leverage technical, regulatory, and commercial expertise. It clarified that the program may consider granting temporary regulatory waivers or data access arrangements, though this remains subject to approval by competent authorities and is not granted automatically.

The program falls within Dubai's R&D and innovation ecosystem and is one of the transformative initiatives under the Dubai Economic Agenda D33. The Foundation requires submitted solutions to be mature enough for practical testing, demonstrating commercial readiness and the capacity to generate data supporting policy and regulatory framework development.

What do these terms mean?

Regulatory Sandbox: An experimental environment that allows companies to test new products under the supervision of regulatory authorities before full rules are applied to them.

Minimum Viable Product (MVP): An initial version of a product containing only essential features, released for testing and feedback collection prior to full development.

Temporary Regulatory Waiver: A time-limited exemption from certain rules, granted by the competent authority to a company so it can test its product in the market.