Today marks the establishment of the “Falcon Foundation,” according to the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), a renowned worldwide centre for scientific research and the applied research pillar of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC). Developing open-source generative AI models and creating long-lasting ecosystems around open-source initiatives that spur technological advancement are the goals of the nonprofit Falcon Foundation. TII is investing $300 million to support these projects as a founding member.
A crucial turning point in bringing stakeholders together to create transparent governance models and promote knowledge sharing as artificial intelligence (AI) keeps on its unrelenting growth trajectory was reached with the Falcon Foundation’s launch at the esteemed World Governments Summit (WGS) 2024.
Starting with TII’s robust in-house Falcon AI models, the Foundation will bring together industry, academia, industry players, developers, and individuals to realize the potential of collaborative decision-making among the contributors. Together with prominent academics from universities across the globe, prominent industry figures in the field of artificial intelligence, and Falcon Foundation Ambassadors, it will expedite the democratization of AI.
The purpose of the Foundation is to facilitate the customization of Falcon models to target particular sectors or industries. The Foundation will offer a strong ecosystem to guarantee the models’ adaptability across a wide range of applications and contexts by enabling open computing resources for the ongoing research and development of Falcon AI.
Remarking on the announcement, H.E. Faisal Al Bannai, Secretary General of ATRC, said: “In a world where AI continues to advance at an unprecedented pace, initiatives like the Falcon Foundation play a crucial role in steering the trajectory of AI development towards greater transparency and accessibility.”
Dr. Ray O. Johnson, CEO of TII, stated: “We’re committed to fostering transparency and collaboration in AI. Extending the UAE’s collaborative spirit into AI development, we set new standards for openness, and we encourage all other entities that support open source from around the world to join us.”
The beneficiaries of the Foundation will include all organizations that support and collaborate on open-source responsible AI. By facilitating autonomous technology decisions, the Falcon Foundation minimizes reliance on outside suppliers and guarantees business continuity. As a publicly accessible organization dedicated to open source, the Foundation will incorporate international best practices into its artificial intelligence regulatory and legal framework.
By supporting open-sourcing and innovation in AI, the Falcon Foundation is demonstrating a forward-thinking approach that helps the UAE and Abu Dhabi advance rapidly into a technology-driven future and assists the international community in leveraging cross-industry collaborations to produce groundbreaking advances in AI.
