Emaar founder says 98% focus on AI

Mohamed Alabbar said on May 24 that artificial intelligence now occupies “98%” of his attention, offering a blunt measure of how one of Dubai’s best-known business founders is talking about the technology. The comment circulated in a post shared on X by DubaiNewsNow, which attributed the remarks to Alabbar and said he was running 12 AI agents simultaneously. The post matters partly because Alabbar is not a startup founder speaking in abstractions. Emaar identifies him as its founder and chairman, and the developer said in February that it delivered record 2025 revenue of AED 49.6 billion and a revenue backlog of AED 155 billion. ### What exactly did Alabbar say? (en.lanatime.com) DubaiNewsNow’s May 24 post said Alabbar described a breakdown of his attention in which 98% was focused on AI, with 1% on the Iran war and 1% on his business. Search results that reproduced the remarks quoted him as saying: “I have 12 AI agents working for me” and “I have 12 AI agents running at the same time.” (sa.emaar.com) The same reports said the agents were being used across routine business work rather than as a single chatbot assistant. Sharjah News said Alabbar described AI systems that could handle interviews, analyze candidates and support business decisions. (en.lanatime.com) ### Was he speaking only about Emaar? Recent coverage tied Alabbar’s AI remarks to more than one company. People Matters Global and other reports said he made separate comments about Noon, the e-commerce company he co-founded, while discussing how automation was changing operations. (sharjahnews.ae) Emaar’s own materials do not describe a 12-agent deployment or a companywide AI program in the terms used in the social post. What Emaar does confirm is Alabbar’s leadership role and the scale of the businesses attached to him, including property development, malls, hospitality and other operations. (me.peoplemattersglobal.com) ### What do “12 AI agents” likely refer to? The available public material does not list the names, vendors or technical architecture of the 12 agents. The descriptions surfaced in coverage point instead to multiple task-specific systems running concurrently for hiring, analysis and business support. That is an inference from the reported examples, not a specification published by Emaar. (sa.emaar.com) The wording also fits a broader 2026 pattern in corporate AI adoption, where executives describe “agents” as software tools that perform discrete tasks with limited autonomy. In Alabbar’s case, the public claim was about simultaneous use, not about a formal product launch. (en.lanatime.com) ### Why are people paying attention to this post? Alabbar’s comments drew attention because they combined a striking percentage with a concrete operating detail. “98%” framed AI as his dominant current concern, while “12 AI agents” turned that concern into something he said was already embedded in daily work. (en.lanatime.com) The remarks also arrived as Emaar continues to report strong financial performance. Emaar said in February that 2025 was its highest-ever year for sales, revenue and profit, and its investor relations page continues to present the company as a major regional developer with a large land bank. (en.lanatime.com) ### What can be verified next? Emaar’s investor relations site and press release archive are the clearest places to watch for any formal disclosure about AI systems inside the company. As of the latest publicly accessible company pages reviewed, Emaar had published its 2025 annual results and 2026 operating updates, but not a detailed statement on the 12 agents Alabbar said he was running. (emaar.com 1) (emaar.com 2)