Scale AI has expanded its presence in Qatar with a new long-term office at The Pearl in Doha. The San Francisco-based artificial intelligence company has signed an agreement with United Development Company (UDC) to establish the office, which covers nearly 2,000 square metres.
The move follows the growth of Scale AI’s Qatar team to nearly 100 employees since 2025. Nearly half of the team work in engineering roles, highlighting the company’s focus on technical delivery and local expertise.
The expansion also builds on a five-year partnership with Qatar’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT). Through this partnership, Scale AI supports the use of AI across healthcare, justice, education and tourism, as well as wider government services.
Scale AI Qatar Office Supports Local Expansion
The new office provides Scale AI with a long-term base in Doha as Qatar advances its digital transformation plans. UDC, the developer of The Pearl, signed the agreement with Scale AI this week. The companies also marked the office’s official launch with partners and clients.
The Pearl is a waterfront development that combines commercial offices with residential, hospitality, retail and leisure facilities. The location gives Scale AI a permanent presence in one of Doha’s established business and residential districts.
Moreover, the growing local team could help the company deliver AI projects and support customers more closely. With engineers making up nearly half of its Qatar workforce, Scale AI has built a team with a strong technical focus.
Qatar AI Partnership Trains Nearly 6,000 Government Employees
Scale AI’s expansion builds on a five-year agreement with MCIT, announced at Web Summit Qatar in 2025. The partnership focuses on developing AI capabilities across public services and building the skills needed to use these systems effectively.
One of its key initiatives is the ALIF programme. MCIT launched the programme with Scale AI, with delivery through the Qatar Digital Academy. It provides practical AI training for technical and non-technical government employees.
Nearly 6,000 government employees have completed training through the programme so far.
The partnership also covers AI evaluation, human oversight and the skills required to operate and improve AI systems over time. Examples of its work include applications related to legislative drafting and national recruitment.
These efforts align with Qatar’s Digital Agenda 2030, which aims to strengthen digital infrastructure, improve government services, develop innovation and build workforce capabilities. Together, these priorities support the country’s ambition to develop a knowledge-based economy.
Scale AI Develops AI Evaluation and Oversight Capabilities
Beyond deploying AI systems, Scale AI works on evaluating their performance and supporting human oversight. These activities help organisations assess how systems perform and identify areas for improvement.
The company also develops benchmarks and evaluation tools through Scale Labs. One example is Humanity’s Last Exam, developed with the Center for AI Safety.
Scale AI has also worked with government AI evaluation bodies in the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea and Singapore. These activities extend its focus beyond individual AI applications to the assessment of AI systems.
For government customers, evaluation and oversight are important parts of deploying AI in public services. They help institutions assess system performance while maintaining human involvement in decisions.
Scale AI Opens UAE Entity as Gulf Expansion Continues
Scale AI’s Doha expansion follows the launch of its UAE entity earlier this week at the Dubai AI Festival. Registered at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the Dubai operation already employs more than 30 people.
The UAE move also follows an October memorandum of understanding with Presight, a G42 group company. The agreement focuses on agentic AI for government and enterprise customers.
With offices in Qatar and the UAE, Scale AI is expanding its regional presence through local teams and longer-term operations. Its growing Doha workforce and Dubai base provide additional capacity to serve customers across the Gulf.
For Qatar, the expansion adds a local AI team to an existing government partnership focused on skills development and public-sector applications. The next measure of progress will be how these capabilities translate into deployed systems, stronger public services and sustained local expertise.
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