The government’s focus on education and the drive of Qatar’s young, ambitious workforce is an opportunity for the country to position itself as a research and development (R&D) hub in the region.

Sachin Dev Duggal, CEO and co-founder of Builder.ai, lauded the world-class institutions and visiting professors at Education City, which reflects Qatar’s commitment to creating a knowledge-based economy.

In an interview with Gulf Times, Duggal emphasised that these factors create an ideal environment for Builder.ai, a London-based next-gen app development platform, to establish an R&D service that can contribute to the growth and development of the local talent pool.

Following Builder.ai’s announcement of a Qatar Investment Authority-backed Series D funding of over $250mn, Duggal shared with this paper that the firm’s ambitious expansion plans in the region by establishing an office in the country.

“We want to also think about Qatar as an R&D hub. What I really found very different here compared to many other countries that I have visited is the country’s strong focus on education,” explained Duggal, adding that Builder.ai aims to leverage the local talent pool and contribute to its growth, taking advantage of Qatar’s focus on nurturing a world-class educational ecosystem.

According to Duggal, Qatar can leverage the use of AI to tackle complex challenges, such as in healthcare and other sectors through advanced technologies like large language models analysing DNA data.

Citing Qatar’s small local population and large ambitions, Duggal pointed out that Qatar can utilise AI to bridge the gaps between supply and demand, as well as boost productivity across different sectors.

The country’s strong educational framework combined with an “outsized ambition” approach to AI gives Qatar an edge over other regional AI hubs, reiterated Duggal, adding that AI is viewed as pivotal for Qatar’s economic diversification and cultivating a new generation of globally impactful entrepreneurs.

“Ultimately, AI would allow Qatar to overcome population constraints and foster not only Qatari entrepreneurs but a new breed of global entrepreneurs operating at a different technological scale,” he noted.

Amid plans to establish an office here, Duggal emphasised that Builder.ai could play a crucial in fostering entrepreneurship and in facilitating comprehensive digital transformation across Qatar’s businesses and other sectors, such as banking and healthcare, among others, as well as with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“What’s most impressive in this country is that there’s a real drive to build a knowledge economy, or almost an AI economy, a non-energy economy,” Duggal pointed out.