Davos: The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) have announced the launch of the Abu Dhabi Centre for Frontier Technologies, a new centre within WEF's Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) Global Network.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the collaboration was formalised during a signing ceremony held on the sidelines of the WEF Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos. This marks a significant step in strengthening international cooperation to shape the future of frontier technologies.

TII Chief Executive Officer, Dr Najwa Aaraj, stated that the new centre brings together research excellence, policy leadership, and global collaboration on a single platform to advance frontier research and development while enabling scientific breakthroughs to move from the laboratory into real-world application. She emphasized that by translating innovation into responsibly governed, scalable solutions, Abu Dhabi's role as a global hub for science, innovation, and impact is reinforced.

Supported by an agile regulatory environment and a strong link between research, policy, and execution, the United Arab Emirates offers a unique platform for piloting, deploying, and scaling emerging technologies at a national level. This capability will be amplified via WEF's globally connected C4IR network.

The new centre positions Abu Dhabi as a global epicentre for pioneering research of advanced technologies, with a focus on quantum computing, robotics, propulsion and space systems, and related artificial intelligence applications. Through this strategic partnership, TII joins a globally connected innovation ecosystem designed to accelerate the responsible adoption of transformative technologies.

The centre aims to advance research and development in critical frontier technologies while showcasing Abu Dhabi's thought leadership through proof-of-concept pilots, regulatory sandboxes, and global convenings.