Autonomous vehicle technology firm Oxa has entered a partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) to launch the Shifft joint venture aiming to establish a global hub for autonomous logistics.
DFF has the stated objective of providing a platform to “reimagine, inspire and design” Dubai’s future in collaboration with public and private sector partners as part of a basic aim to make Dubai one of the world’s foremost future cities.
In July 2026, DFF released the fifth edition of its annual flagship foresight report, Future opportunities: The global 50, analysing progress across 50 future opportunities identified in previous editions, and providing governments, organisations and individuals with a strategic framework to better understand their role in turning future possibilities into reality.
Among these was “reinventing mobility”, where it proposed that the future of mobility could be reshaped by breakthrough technologies in wheels and vehicle systems. DFF highlighted innovations ranging from magnetic levitation and drone-inspired technologies to advanced alternatives to rubber tyres that could reduce energy consumption and emissions.
The ultimate focus of the joint venture of DFF and Oxa will be on putting autonomous vehicles to work in ports and airports. With a commitment to rapid commercialisation, Shifft is targeting to introduce its first scalable commercial deployment in Dubai before the end of 2027.
In practice, Shifft will incorporate self-driving technology into a fully integrated autonomous logistics and worksite intelligence product, enabling end-to-end operational deployment. It is attributed with being able to unlock productivity, efficiency and safety gains for customers – increasing operational resilience and output.
The autonomous systems deployed by Shifft will utilise Oxa’s configurable self-driving software platform, Oxa Driver, paired with Oxa’s cloud-based fleet management software, Oxa Hub. Oxa’s autonomy hardware systems – designed to integrate with existing vehicle fleets – will also be used.
The partners calculate that Shifft will directly contribute to Dubai’s goal to double foreign trade volume by 2033. It will also form an integral part of Dubai’s research, development and innovation (RDI) programme, launched in November 2024 by DFF, which aims to boost the knowledge-based economy, create high-tech jobs and establish Dubai as a regional R&D hub.
“To achieve Dubai’s ambition of doubling foreign trade by 2033, we must continue to develop and deploy solutions that strengthen the speed, efficiency and resilience of our logistics sector,” said Khalifa Al Qama, chief of Dubai’s RDI ecosystem, overseen by Dubai Future Foundation.
“Shifft reflects the purpose of the Dubai RDI Programme – bringing together global expertise and local capabilities to develop commercially viable solutions with real-world impact. Through this joint venture, we are advancing autonomous mobility, creating new economic opportunities and strengthening Dubai’s position as a global hub for the future of logistics.”
Oxa founder and CEO Paul Newman added: “Forming this new business with DFF will accelerate the commercialisation of Oxa’s industrial mobile autonomy technology, turning ordinary work vehicles into a digital workforce. Operating in major industrial environments, we will leverage autonomy to unlock new levels of efficiency, reliability and safety for operators of industrial fleets.”
