UAE's Oil Giant Transforms Into Tech Pioneer, Reshaping Nation's Global Standing

Jake Loosararian has a simple way of explaining what makes the United Arab Emirates different. “They’re a technology company that happens to make oil and gas,” the founder of Gecko Robotics said, describing the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Adnoc. That single line captures a philosophy he believes has lifted the UAE into the ranks of the world’s five leading robotics powers.

Gecko Robotics, a US-based firm Loosararian founded in 2013, builds robotic systems paired with artificial intelligence software designed to help organizations manage and maintain critical infrastructure. Its client list spans Mitsubishi, Siemens Energy, Marathon Petroleum, Georgia Pacific, the US Navy, and the US Air Force. In the UAE, the company has built a significant footprint in the oil, gas and power industries, operating an international base established under the Ministry of Economy’s NextGen FDI programme.

What distinguishes the UAE, Loosararian argues, is not the adoption of robots alone but the mindset guiding their use. Adnoc has woven automation and AI into its core operations rather than treating them as a side initiative, aiming to boost efficiency and generate economic growth. That integration, he says, is the difference between theatre and genuine transformation.

The partnership between Adnoc and Gecko deepened considerably in 2025, when the two organizations signed three separate agreements to expand robotics and AI across Adnoc’s operations, alongside a commitment to training Emirati workers in these technologies. Through those collaborations, Gecko robots have carried out operational tasks while simultaneously collecting data that improves workflow efficiency.

Meanwhile, Loosararian has been watching the global conversation around robotics with some skepticism. Viral footage from the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing showed machines sprinting, executing backflips, and lifting weights. The images generate excitement. They do not, in his view, represent revolution. His company’s work is less photogenic: inspecting energy infrastructure, recording data, keeping systems running safely.

“If you’re really going to have a revolution in technology, particularly the robotics sector, you have to go from theatre to impact,” Loosararian said. “I don’t mind the appeal of robots that are doing backflips, but at the end of the day we’re going to be the ones saving lives.”

Speed is the other factor he keeps returning to. Loosararian noted that Adnoc, under the leadership of Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc, operates with a scaling mindset rather than prolonged validation cycles. “There aren’t a lot of proof-of-value meetings; there’s very much a ‘let’s scale it’ type of thinking,” he said. That pace, rare in most markets, is what he believes separates the UAE from countries that talk about deployment without achieving it.

Loosararian also reflected on a moment that tested his confidence in the partnership directly. In late February, following strikes by the US and Israel, Iran launched attacks on the country. The UAE government’s composure during that volatile period, and its commitment to the safety of people operating there, reinforced Gecko’s decision to stay and deepen its presence. “We as a company stepped into our relationship with the UAE during those times,” Loosararian said. “Show me who you are in tough times and I’ll show you character.”

The question now is whether that scaling mindset can sustain the pace Loosararian describes, and whether the unglamorous work of infrastructure inspection will ultimately prove as consequential as he believes.