NVIDIA & TII: Robotics Lab in Abu Dhabi

Lisa Ernst · 22.09.2025 · Technology · 5 min

The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in Abu Dhabi and NVIDIA announced on September 22, 2025 the opening of a joint AI & Robotics Lab. This first NVIDIA AI Technology Center (NVAITC) in the Middle East aims to accelerate the development of humanoid robots, manipulators, and quadruped platforms. The focus is on employing the NVIDIA Jetson Thor platform for "Physical AI".

Quelle: Custom Illustration

Introduction

The new NVAITC lab in Abu Dhabi aims to consolidate research on humanoid robots, robotic arms (manipulators) and four-legged platforms. This research is intended to be directly linked with NVIDIA AI stacks (Reuters) (TII). As the first NVAITC in the region, it forms part of the strategy to position Abu Dhabi as a global tech hub (TII). The Jetson Thor platform, available since August 2025, provides up to 2,070 FP4-TFLOPS for real-time inferences in robots (NVIDIA Investor Relations) (NVIDIA).

Background

The TII is the applied research pillar of the Abu Dhabi Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) and operates, among other things, an Autonomous Robotics Research Center (TII) (ATRC) (TII). NVAITC refers to NVIDIA global research centers that connect local partners with NVIDIA platforms such as DGX, Omniverse and Isaac. The new lab is, according to TII, the first of its kind in the Middle East (TII). Humanoid robots are human-like machines with two arms and legs for flexible tasks. Quadrupeds (quadrupeds) offer stability on uneven terrain. Manipulators are robot arms for precise grasping and assembly tasks. These three categories are listed by TII as focus areas (Reuters). Jetson Thor is NVIDIA's new edge-compute platform for robotics, with up to 128 GB of memory and 40–130 W power consumption, designed for multiple AI models in real time (NVIDIA) (NVIDIA Blog).

Quelle: nvidia.com

The NVIDIA Jetson Thor board, a key component for developing advanced autonomous systems and humanoid robots.

Current Status

On September 22, 2025, TII and NVIDIA announced the joint AI & Robotics Lab in Abu Dhabi. Reuters confirmed the founding and categorized it as the first NVAITC in the Middle East (TII) (Reuters). TII CEO Najwa Aaraj explained that the lab will use the NVIDIA Thor chip, among other things for humanoid robots, quadrupeds and robotic arms. Additionally, edge GPUs are to be available for robotics research (Reuters). NVIDIA had officially announced Jetson Thor as generally available four weeks earlier, including a Developer Kit and production modules (NVIDIA Investor Relations). According to the product page, Jetson Thor offers up to 2,070 FP4-TFLOPS, 128 GB memory and 7.5x AI compute performance versus Jetson Orin (NVIDIA). TII also points to its role as an ATRC facility and to the expansion of embodied AI stacks in the new lab (TII) (TII).

Analysis

The choice of Abu Dhabi and the timing of the founding are strategically motivated. First, the region concentrates its AI activities. TII published Falcon 2 as an open model and positions itself as a R&D actor (Reuters). Second, NVIDIA provides Thor as a hardware and software foundation that can execute generative, multimodal models directly in the robot, reducing latency and increasing autonomy (NVIDIA Blog) (NVIDIA). Third, geopolitics plays a role: Reuters describes a multi-billion-dollar plan for an AI data campus in the UAE that is not yet finalized due to US security concerns with China. Collaborations like the NVAITC lab could advance progress in parallel without violating export controls (Reuters) (Reuters).

A short NVIDIA clip illustrates why Thor is designed for "Physical AI".

Quelle: threads.net

Jensen Huang presents a humanoid robot that demonstrates the capabilities of the NVIDIA Jetson Thor platform.

Facts & Open Questions

Confirmed: The AI & Robotics Lab is a joint project of TII and NVIDIA and the first NVAITC in the Middle East (TII) (Reuters). The focus is on humanoid robots, quadrupeds and robotic arms, with the Thor platform used (Reuters). Thor has been generally available since August 2025; specifications and performance data are publicly available (NVIDIA Investor Relations) (NVIDIA).

Unclear: Budget, exact site area and access modalities for external teams or startups have not yet been communicated (TII) (Reuters). A concrete roadmap for first demonstrators and benchmarks from the lab does not yet exist (TII).

False / Misleading: The assumption that Thor is only for cars is incorrect. Jetson Thor is a robotics/Physical AI platform, while DRIVE Thor is NVIDIA's automotive SoC line (NVIDIA) (NVIDIA Blog).

Quelle: paspu.com

A humanoid robot in a laboratory environment symbolizing the research and development at the new robotics lab in Abu Dhabi.

Reactions & Counterpoints: TII CEO Najwa Aaraj emphasizes that Thor will enable new capabilities in advanced robotics systems, especially for humanoids, quadrupeds and manipulators (Reuters). NVIDIA positions Jetson Thor as a "supercomputer for Physical AI" at the edge; early users come from robotics and industry (NVIDIA Investor Relations). Skepticism exists around the geopolitical dimension, as US security concerns may slow parallel projects like the planned AI data campus (Reuters).

Impact: For robotics developers, the lab could provide faster access to modern compute, software stacks (Isaac, Omniverse) and potentially joint programs. It is advisable to monitor TII announcements and partner pages (TII) (TII). For prototyping, Thor specifications, dev kits, and documentation are available from NVIDIA (NVIDIA) (NVIDIA Docs). It is advisable to cross-check press releases with independent reports and to obtain hardware data from primary sources (TII) (Reuters) (NVIDIA).

Open Questions: The concrete budgets of the lab and the distribution of funds between basic research and industry-focused development are not yet disclosed (TII). Also the rules on IP rights, data usage and access for external partners, especially startups, are still open (TII). A roadmap for first open-source components, benchmarks or datasets for humanoids, manipulators and quadrupeds has not been published (Reuters).

Conclusion & Outlook

The joint NVIDIA and TII lab is well founded, technologically plausible and strategically sound. Thor provides the necessary edge compute power, TII the local research base and Abu Dhabi the political will to be a regional tech hub (TII) (NVIDIA) (Reuters). For developers, opportunities arise for collaboration and access to modern stacks. It is important to evaluate announcements critically, verify primary sources and consider the terms that will determine success (TII) (NVIDIA Docs).