The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has announced plans to become the world's first financial centre fundamentally built on artificial intelligence. The centre is looking to embed the technology across its legal frameworks, regulatory environment, operational systems, infrastructure, and talent development programs, the UAE’s 24 reported.

The initiative goes beyond the pilot projects being tested at competing financial centres. DIFC Governor Essa Kazim framed the move as a pivotal step in Dubai's broader ambition to lead the global financial sector, citing alignment with the emirate's Economic Agenda D33.

CEO Arif Amiri was more direct, explaining in a press statement: "This is not about limited AI experiments, but about integrating it into our legal frameworks, regulatory environment, talent development systems, and the centre's infrastructure."

The centre projects $3.5bn in economic benefits and 25,000 new jobs from the transformation. DIFC will also become the first financial centre to offer Large Language Models as a Service to financial firms operating within its ecosystem, and intends to export AI governance software and trained personnel to Global South markets, a positioning that extends its ambitions well beyond the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region it already leads.

The groundwork was laid in 2023 through a five-year AI strategy, the adoption of data governance policies, and the incorporation of AI provisions into Regulation No. 10 under its data protection law.

Physical AI capabilities, including robotics, autonomous mobility solutions, and digital twins, will be integrated into the centre's financial laws by 2030, with thousands of smart sensors planned for the first phase alone.

The initiative sets up a direct competitive challenge to Singapore and London on startup density, venture capital activity, and unicorn creation.

DIFC's regulatory flexibility, advanced digital infrastructure, and global connectivity give it structural advantages that more established centres, constrained by legacy frameworks, will find difficult to replicate at a comparable speed.