MBZUAI Launches Institute of Foundation Models and Establishes Silicon Valley AI Lab - Middle East Business News and Information
San Francisco, US, May, 2025 – Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) has expanded its global footprint with today's launch of its Institute of Foundation Models (IFM). The IFM is a multi-site initiative consisting of a newly established Silicon Valley Lab in Sunnyvale, CA, combined with previously announced lab facilities in Paris and Abu Dhabi.
Today's launch event, taking place at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, establishes the third node in its global research network. This strategic expansion connects the university with California's vibrant ecosystem of AI researchers, startups, and tech companies.
For the UAE and MBZUAI, this move represents another strategic step in the country's long-term economic diversification plan. By investing in cutting-edge technologies like advanced AI foundation models, the UAE continues to build knowledge-based sectors to support its long-term economic and social transformation efforts.
'Today's launch of the IFM represents a major step forward for the collaboration and global development of frontier-class AI foundation models,' said Professor Eric Xing, President and University Professor, MBZUAI. 'Our expansion into Silicon Valley provides a critical footprint to grow our presence in one of the most vibrant AI ecosystems in the world. We're creating pathways for knowledge exchange with leading institutions and accessing a talent pool that understands how to scale research into real-world applications.'
The launch event drew representatives from the world's leading AI companies and academic institutions, highlighting the growing interest in MBZUAI's global approach to foundation model research.
World Models: Building More Adaptable AI Through Simulation
At the heart of MBZUAI's demonstrations was PAN, a world model capable of infinite simulations of diverse realities ranging from basic physical interactions to complex agent scenarios.
Unlike previous systems focused primarily on generating text, audio, or images, PAN predicts comprehensive world states by integrating multimodal inputs like language, video, spatial data, and physical actions. This enables advanced reasoning, strategic planning, and nuanced decision-making for applications from autonomous driving to robotics.
PAN's innovative hierarchical architecture supports multi-level reasoning and real-time interaction within simulations, maintaining high accuracy over extended scenarios. Its companion, PAN-Agent, showcases its utility in multimodal reasoning tasks, such as mathematics and coding, within dynamic simulated environments.
K2 and JAIS: Advanced Foundation Models with Global Impact
The IFM lab is also advancing two flagship AI systems demonstrating our commitment to further advance frontier-class foundation models: K2 and JAIS.
A soon to be released update to K2-65B will focus on delivering breakthrough reasoning capabilities with sustainable performance. With advanced reasoning K2 will further enhance its capabilities in mathematical problem-solving, code generation, and logical analysis while requiring fewer computational resources than many comparable models.
JAIS stands as the world's most advanced Arabic large language model. This open-sourced system addresses the underrepresentation of non-English languages in AI, covering Modern Standard Arabic, regional dialects, Hindi, and other languages while maintaining cultural authenticity. At the IFM JAIS will continue to expand in capability with increased language support and add more context to preserve and promote the cultures it supports.
Building AI in the Open: Transparency as a Core Value
MBZUAI has established one of the industry's most transparent approaches to AI development, open-sourcing not just models but entire development processes—positioning IFM as a leader in building openly. The LLM360 initiative provides researchers with complete materials including training code, datasets, and model checkpoints. This openness is balanced with safeguards including international advisory boards and peer review processes that maintain research integrity.
The IFM's structure includes dedicated teams focused on model architecture, training methods, evaluation frameworks, and safety systems—combining the agility of a startup with the resources of an established research institution.
Through partnerships with industry leaders, academic institutions, and public organizations, IFM Is building a framework to translate research into practical applications to advance the field of AI globally.
Photo captions: Professor Eric Xing at the IFM launch in Silicon Valley. Audience at an expert panel discussing industry and academia collaboration. Moderated by MBZUAI Affiliated Professor Ves Stoyanova, the panel was part of the program to launch MBZUAI's IFM in Silicon Valley.
About Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI)
MBZUAI is a research-focused university in Abu Dhabi, and the first university dedicated entirely to the advancement of science through AI. The university empowers the next generation of AI leaders, driving innovation and impactful applications of AI through world-class education and interdisciplinary research. In 2025, MBZUAI launched its first-ever undergraduate program, a Bachelor of Science in AI, with two distinct streams: Business and Engineering.
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Meanwhile, kindergarten fees in many of the schools featured on roadside ads range between EGP 80,000 and EGP 160,000 a year. And that's before factoring in uniform fees, transport, and the subliminal cost of social conformity. The billboard is more than an ad. It is a border. It announces who belongs where. Architectural researcher Mohamad Abotera refers to this as a 'reproduction of space,' where the advertisers use visuals to redefine what Egypt looks like and who it is for. His study of real estate billboards in Cairo found that 79% featured elements of greenery, lakes, or imported nature. Many used European trees and landscapes foreign to Egyptian terrain. Some are even superimposed Los Angeles cityscapes. 'These are not metaphors. They are market segmentation strategies,' Elmasry tells CairoScene. It would be comical if it weren't so costly. To create these promised utopias in the desert, developers divert water from already stretched resources. 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