Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) has received a $1 million grant from Google.org to spearhead a transformative research initiative. Led by Dr. Thamar Solorio, the university’s Vice Provost of Faculty Excellence and Advancement, the project aims to dismantle the “data divide” that hinders AI models from effectively serving speakers of underrepresented languages across the MENA region.
Bridging the Digital Language Divide
The vast majority of language data used to train today’s sophisticated AI models is heavily skewed towards English and other data-rich Western languages. This imbalance causes Large Language Models (LLMs) to lose significant cultural nuance and technical precision when applied to the complex linguistic structures and diverse dialects of the Middle East and North Africa.
Professor Solorio’s research seeks to invert the current paradigm by establishing a native research framework grounded specifically in the sociocultural and linguistic realities of the MENA region, rather than simply adapting technologies built for the West.
A Strategic Regional Collaboration
The funding is part of Google.org’s AI Opportunity Initiative for MENA, which is committed to expanding access to innovative AI technology in Arabic and other regional languages.
“This funding allows us to take our research from an early exploratory phase to a level that can not only redefine the field, but lead to impact in people’s lives,” said Professor Thamar Solorio. “This support is vital because it allows us to move beyond adaptation of high-resource models to linguistically grounded AI for MENA languages, which highlights a much-needed paradigm shift in the field.”
Yossi Matias, Vice President at Google and Head of Google Research, added, “We are happy to collaborate with MBZUAI, which is deeply rooted in advancing AI research and fostering regional academic talent. Funding this research aligns with our goal to accelerate scientific discovery through cooperation that delivers real-world impact.”
Developing Resource-Lean AI
A central pillar of the initiative is the development of “resource-lean” AI. As global models become increasingly massive and expensive to build and maintain, this project focuses on efficiency. The team will create new training frameworks that require less manually annotated data and lower computational power. This approach is designed to democratize AI innovation,enabling local institutions, startups, and researchers across MENA to develop sophisticated tools without needing prohibitive capital or infrastructure.
Fostering Regional AI Talent
Beyond the technical frameworks, the funding will serve as a catalyst for talent development, reinforcing MBZUAI’s role as a leading institution for AI scientists and engineers. The grant will support a new generation of postdoctoral and early-career researchers, providing them with the resources and leadership necessary to build expertise in a field that has been historically underrepresented in global AI research. The initiative’s impact is expected to support real-world applications in education, cultural preservation, and digital communication throughout the region.
About MBZUAI
Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) is a graduate research university based in Abu Dhabi. As the world’s first university dedicated solely to AI, MBZUAI aims to empower students, businesses, and governments to advance artificial intelligence as a global force for positive progress.
Source: Zawya
