The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) has recently restructured its Board of Trustees, incorporating prominent figures such as AMD’s CEO, Lisa Su, along with other leading personalities from Abu Dhabi’s key AI and investment sectors. Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, CEO and Managing Director of Mubadala Investment Company—which oversees AI powerhouse G42 and semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries—has been appointed as the board’s new chair. This expanded board now comprises nine members, as reported by MiddleEastNews.

This updated Board of Trustees features a blend of experts from the realms of business, cutting-edge technology, and academia. It also includes members with significant connections to the executive and investment leadership of Abu Dhabi, indicating a move towards more robust integration with the emirate’s economic and tech-driven projects.

The reshuffle signifies the exit of several founding members since the university’s inception in 2019 and ushers in new faces such as Lisa Su and Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak. The board also welcomes:

• Peng Xiao, CEO of G42, a prominent AI company based in the UAE
• Daniela Rus, Director of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)
• Eric Xing, a distinguished American computer scientist with expertise in machine learning and computational biology, and one of MBZUAI’s co-founders
• Martin Edelman, a lawyer with a focus on real estate and corporate mergers and acquisitions
• Jassem Mohamed Bu Ataba Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Finance
• Saif Saeed Ghobash, Secretary General of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council
• Rima Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, Executive Director of the Strategic Affairs Unit of the Executive Affairs Authority (EAA) and chairman of Tamkeen

One of the most notable new members is Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, renowned for her pivotal role in transforming AMD from a struggling CPU maker to a dominant force in the processor market for both client and datacenter systems. Her appointment not only boosts MBZUAI’s international profile but also strengthens its ties to the semiconductor and AI hardware sectors.

For Su, joining the board alongside the leader of G42 and Abu Dhabi officials could open up new markets for AMD’s AI hardware, particularly its Instinct MI GPUs, which are still striving to compete against Nvidia’s Hopper and Blackwell GPUs.

The restructuring of MBZUAI’s board is designed to ensure the university continues to play a vital role in Abu Dhabi’s strategic vision for AI-driven economic development, while also maintaining a connection to global technological advancements.

The emirate has recently allocated $3.54 billion towards incorporating AI into its governmental operations, emphasizing its commitment to digital transformation. Additionally, MGX—Abu Dhabi’s $100 billion AI investment fund—shares four board members with MBZUAI (Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Peng Xiao, Martin Edelman, and Jassem Mohamed Bu Ataba Al Zaabi), further cementing the university’s ties to the regional AI landscape.