The UAE's TII launches the Falcon Foundation to support the open-source generative AI ecosystem

Earlier this week, the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) announced the launch of the Falcon Foundation, a non-profit formed to support the development of open-source generative AI models and open-source projects that contribute to technology development. As a founding member, the TII is committing a $300 million fund to finance these projects. The Falcon Foundation launch happened during the prestigious 2024 World Governments Summit (WGS), representing one of the most notorious efforts to seek stakeholder collaboration with other key actors in the field to work towards transparent frameworks for AI development and growth.

One of the Falcon Foundation's first missions will be to assist in customizing the TII's Falcon models to benefit specific industries and sectors. The Foundation will provide the open computing resources needed to ensure that Falcon AI's continued research and development are secured. Once these steps are set into motion, they will comprise an open ecosystem that will enable the adaptability of the models to a wide variety of use cases and contexts. According to the Foundation's launch announcement, any entity that works with or develops open-source responsible AI will be eligible to benefit from the Foundation's resources. One of the main interests is that, as dependence on closed-source technology vendors diminishes, business continuity will improve. Since the Falcon Foundation is also open to receiving support from any stakeholder committed to advancing the open-source ecosystem, the Foundation has pledged that its regulatory and legal framework for AI will be based on global best practices.