How G42’s Inception42 and Microsoft Are Transforming Government Operations with AI Assistants
DUBAI — G42’s company Inception42 has partnered with Microsoft to help governments and businesses in the UAE deploy smart digital assistants in their day-to-day operations, as the country pushes ahead with its ambition to become a global leader in advanced computing.
The partnership aims to help organisations move beyond small-scale trials and start using task-oriented tools across entire departments, while ensuring sensitive data remains inside the UAE.
The announcement builds on the long-term strategic partnership between G42 and Microsoft, which includes Microsoft’s $1.5 billion investment in G42 announced in 2024. The collaboration also supports the UAE’s national strategy, which aims for these digital assistants to be used in 50 percent of federal government operations within the next two years.
Different from Chatbots
Unlike traditional chatbots that answer questions, these digital assistants are designed to complete tasks on behalf of users — such as preparing reports, analysing data, processing requests, or helping employees manage routine work.
Under the new partnership, Inception42’s platform, called Catalyst, will work alongside Microsoft’s digital assistant built into applications such as Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams. The integration means organisations can build digital assistants once and use them across both systems, reducing the need for separate software and making it easier to roll out across an organisation.
Data Sovereignty
One of the key features of the partnership is that organisations can keep their information within the UAE, helping government entities and regulated industries meet security and privacy requirements. The platform can be deployed on an organisation’s own servers, through sovereign cloud infrastructure, or via public cloud services.
Ashish Koshy, CEO of Inception42, said the partnership gives organisations greater flexibility. “Catalyst gives governments and enterprises a comprehensive platform to build, govern and manage their assistants. An assistant built on Catalyst works in Microsoft Copilot, and an assistant built in Copilot works in Catalyst, without having to rebuild it or invest in additional infrastructure.”
Amr Kamel, General Manager, Microsoft UAE, said organisations are looking for tools that are not only powerful but also secure and easy to use. “By enabling these assistants to work with data that remains in-country and integrating them into the tools people already use every day, we are helping governments and businesses innovate while maintaining security, compliance and control.”
The announcement reflects the UAE’s wider efforts to expand the use of advanced computing across the economy. The country has invested heavily in digital infrastructure, research, and services in recent years as it seeks to become a global hub for next-generation technology. For businesses, the partnership is expected to make it easier to introduce these tools into everyday work, while giving government organisations greater confidence that sensitive information remains protected under local regulations.
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