Tarek Jundi Shares Insights on Creating AI-Ready Networks in the UAE
The UAE has ambitious AI goals, particularly in the education sector. What enabling infrastructure is required, and what role does Ankabut play?
Conversations around AI often jump straight to applications, but the real enabler is infrastructure. In education, this includes secure cloud and edge computing, high-capacity networks, trusted data platforms, and governance frameworks that uphold sovereignty, privacy, and academic integrity. AI cannot scale in isolation—it needs a robust foundation to function effectively.
Ankabut’s role has always been to build and operate this invisible backbone for the sector, unlocking human potential through EdTech and responsible AI. We connect institutions, aggregate demand, and provide shared platforms that reduce cost and complexity. Increasingly, we are also orchestrating AI-ready environments where data, connectivity, and computing resources converge safely. This allows institutions to focus on outcomes, rather than the underlying technical plumbing.
As a leading regional EdTech provider, how is Ankabut transforming the education value chain? What areas should the sector explore beyond the AI hype?
Beyond AI, the education sector needs to focus on scalable digital infrastructure, interoperability between institutions, and sustainable technology adoption. True transformation happens when infrastructure, pedagogy, and governance work in harmony—enabling innovation while protecting data, privacy, and trust. Ankabut is helping create that ecosystem, ensuring that the future of education in the UAE is not only AI-ready but resilient, efficient, and human-centered.
AI is a powerful enabler, but it is not a strategy on its own. Universities in the UAE and across the region need to rethink the entire education value chain—from how learning is delivered, to how operations are run, decisions are made, and students are supported end-to-end.
At Ankabut, we go beyond individual tools to create integrated systems, including data-driven governance, smart research environments, digital campuses, unified student experiences, and lifelong learning platforms. Elements such as interoperability, process redesign, digital trust, and analytics maturity are just as critical as AI models themselves. Institutions that modernize holistically will outperform those chasing isolated pilots or short-term headlines.
As AI reshapes software and education, how is the organization focusing on building trusted, secure, and scalable AI solutions, and why is this important?
The real challenge as AI becomes embedded in education isn’t the speed of adoption—it’s responsibility at scale. Universities operate in high-trust environments, so AI must be safe, transparent, and aligned with national priorities.
At Ankabut, we prioritize safe, scalable, and regulated AI environments from the outset. This involves zero-trust architectures, compliance with national policies, explainable models, and clear accountability. Without these foundations, AI adoption can introduce more risk than value.
Our approach is deliberately balanced. We invest in developing proprietary IP and platforms that advance the UAE’s education and research agenda, particularly around data, integration, and sector-specific use cases. At the same time, we leverage proven international technologies through trusted partnerships, enabling innovation without fragmentation and scale without compromising trust.
What is the long-term vision for Ankabut, and how does this align with the UAE’s education vision?
Our long-term vision is to become a regional leader in digital platforms, anchored in education but designed to extend across sectors and geographies. Education remains our foundation, as it shapes talent, research, and national capabilities. From this base, the same trusted platforms, data frameworks, and digital services can support adjacent sectors with similar requirements for scale, security, and intelligence.
This vision aligns closely with the UAE’s ambition to export knowledge, technology, and leadership across the region. Moving forward, Ankabut will reflect this broader mandate—becoming more integrated, outward-looking, and platform-driven—while remaining deeply committed to education as our core purpose.
