Brief
UAE launches Jais 3, Arabic‑language AI suite for speech, writing and agents
Jais 3 combines six models ranging from 900 million to 375 billion parameters and a dedicated speech recogniser, aiming to serve the 400 million Arabic speakers worldwide.
By Felo News Desk · Published
The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence’s Institute of Foundation Models (IFM) and Inception42 announced the launch of Jais 3, a family of Arabic‑focused AI models, on 15 October 2026.
What happened
Jais 3 comprises six open‑source language models with sizes from 900 million to 375 billion parameters, plus Jais Speech, a speech‑recognition model covering Modern Standard Arabic and regional dialects. All components run on IFM’s K2 Horizon platform, released in September 2026. The suite is designed to transcribe spoken Arabic, generate written text and perform practical tasks such as drafting documents and presentations.
What the reports add
According to Gulf News, IFM and Inception42 evaluated the models on an audited set of 24 Arabic benchmarks and are releasing the results publicly alongside the models. The largest Jais 3 model leads open models on agentic tasks and matches the strongest on Arabic understanding, while Jais Speech achieved the lowest average word‑ and character‑error rates compared with commercial speech‑recognition services.
What was said
Haonan Li, senior research scientist at IFM, told Gulf News that “Arabic AI needs to understand the language in its everyday context, which varies by geography and across generations… we built Jais 3 for Arabic as it’s really used.” Richard Morton, vice‑president and executive director of IFM, said “Jais has shown what the UAE’s long‑term investment in open AI research can deliver for the Arabic‑speaking world. With Jais 3, we are extending that foundation into speech and agents at a time when the UAE is putting AI to work across government and society.”
How it came about
The launch follows a series of UAE AI initiatives, including the October 7 release of Emirati‑focused models by the Technology Innovation Institute and the October 14 rollout of a national AI control tower to monitor federal AI agents. Both efforts underscore the UAE’s National AI Strategy 2031, which seeks to embed AI across public services and build domestic research capability.
Key facts
- Jais 3 includes six language models ranging from 900 million to 375 billion parameters and a dedicated Arabic speech‑recognition model. (gulfnews.com)
- The models were evaluated on 24 Arabic benchmarks, with results released publicly. (gulfnews.com)
- Jais Speech recorded the lowest word‑ and character‑error rates among tested speech‑recognition services. (gulfnews.com)
Sources
- [1] gulfnews.com — originally reported as “UAE Unveils Jais 3: Advanced Arabic AI for Speech, Writing, and Agents”
