Abu Dhabi launches survey to measure AI and digital economy contribution
The Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi is building a clearer evidence base for AI-enabled services, cloud activity, fintech and other digital business models.
News stream
Latest
Reporting and analysis from across the six GCC markets.
103 articles
AWS Summit Dubai puts agentic AI and cloud deployment on the regional agenda
The one-day event is showcasing cloud and AI use cases for Gulf enterprises, from agentic systems and serverless computing to production operations.
Brain Digits opens Abu Dhabi office to support government and enterprise AI adoption
The AI transformation company has opened a Masdar City office focused on workforce capability, process redesign and applied AI implementation across the UAE and wider Gulf.
Dubai technology summit asks whether Gulf enterprises are ready for AI at scale
The Economic Times Annual Tech Summit – Middle East is focusing on data, governance, cybersecurity and the organisational work required to move beyond AI pilots.
Mubadala and Together AI partner to explore UAE AI infrastructure opportunities
The Abu Dhabi sovereign investor and AI cloud company will establish a local presence and assess opportunities around compute, open models and regional AI deployment.
Qatar’s QFEX summit puts AI, finance and digital assets on one agenda
The Doha event is examining autonomous systems, financial services, regulation, employment and the infrastructure required for an AI-led economy.
Abu Dhabi launches first phase of Judicial AI Platform under human oversight
The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department has introduced an AI-assisted judicial workflow for case analysis, legal research and draft decisions, while keeping final authority with judicial officials.
Emirates Group showcases agentic AI framework and 60 technology projects
ForsaTEK 2026 highlighted the airline group’s AI Gateway, agentic software-engineering framework and next phase of its OpenAI collaboration.
EU–GCC summit agenda puts AI infrastructure and data centres in focus
The October Riyadh summit is expected to examine Gulf–European cooperation in cloud, high-performance computing, data centres and digital services, but no joint AI investment has yet been announced.
UAE leads global generative AI adoption ranking as use spreads across public life
New Microsoft data places the UAE well above the global average for generative AI use, with adoption extending across government, education and workplaces.
UAE and Lebanon launch initiative to train one million AI experts
The UAE and Lebanon have launched a programme focused on generative AI and prompt-engineering skills under the Government Experience Exchange Programme.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai rank among the world’s leading AI cities
Abu Dhabi ranked 11th globally and first in the Middle East, while Dubai ranked 14th in the inaugural AI Cities Index.
Qatar awards QAR 500 million contract for AI-ready MEEZA data centre
Estithmar’s Elegancia C&I will deliver a two-phase facility designed to expand Qatar’s capacity for hyperscale cloud providers and high-density AI workloads.
Microsoft commits more than $10 billion to Gulf AI and digital infrastructure framework
The framework initially covers the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, with investments in cloud, AI infrastructure, connectivity, cybersecurity and AI for Good.
Saudi Museums Commission explores AI for cultural storytelling and visitor experiences
A virtual meeting examined how artificial intelligence, spatial modelling and immersive technologies could help museums present historical narratives in new ways.
New Riyadh forum to examine AI, agentic systems and economic transformation
The inaugural AlEqtisadiah forum will bring business leaders and technology experts together on 5 October to examine how AI is changing economies and business models.
Qatar accelerates autonomous AI deployment across public and private sectors
At the Google Cloud Summit Doha, Qatari officials and technology leaders described a shift from AI experimentation toward governed autonomous systems and national workforce preparation.
Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon chips built for on-device agentic AI
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 extend Qualcomm's flagship mobile platform toward local AI agents and more capable device-side processing.
Saudi Arabia declares 2026 Year of Artificial Intelligence and unveils 480MW Hexagon supercomputing center
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and SDAIA launch the national Year of AI alongside the world's largest sovereign government computing hub in Riyadh.
First Abu Dhabi Bank and Presight pioneer sovereign multi-agent systems for GCC banking
The UAE's largest financial institution partners with G42's Presight and Microsoft to transition from conversational copilots into autonomous transactional workflows.
QCRI publishes Fanar 2.0 technical report, validating resource-efficient Arabic multimodal models
Hamad Bin Khalifa University releases complete evaluation benchmarks demonstrating high-performance Arabic LLM scaling on sovereign H100 clusters.
Saudi Aramco scales Metabrain generative AI platform across upstream oil and gas operations
The national energy titan integrates 7 Terabytes of subsurface data into a proprietary foundation model driving reservoir simulation and predictive maintenance.
SDAIA's SAMAI initiative surpasses one million citizens trained in artificial intelligence skills
The national human capital program hits a historic milestone, bridging the gap between sovereign infrastructure builds and national workforce technical readiness.
PIF-backed HUMAIN and Turing debut global enterprise AI agent marketplace at FII Priority
The venture accelerates commercial autonomous agent deployments for supply chain, healthcare, and sovereign compliance across the Arabian Gulf.
KAUST AI Initiative engineers high-precision bilingual LLMs for advanced scientific research
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology leverages Shaheen III supercomputer to develop foundation models for genomics, catalysis, and solar engineering.
NEOM's Oxagon integrates cognitive AI and autonomous freight across Red Sea port network
The floating industrial city deploys automated cranes, driverless electric terminal trucks, and predictive container scheduling to create a friction-free trade corridor.
Saudi Central Bank expands regulatory sandbox for autonomous AI financial services and risk underwriting
SAMA establishes new compliance guidelines allowing fintechs to test algorithmic credit scoring and automated Islamic financing contracts.
SDAIA deploys ALLAM 34B Arabic foundation model across 30 Saudi government ministries
The sovereign model powers automated legislative drafting, citizen query routing, and internal administrative search across state agencies.
Saudi venture investments in artificial intelligence eclipse $9.1 billion across Vision 2030 sectors
Sovereign matching funds, corporate venture arms, and global accelerators catalyze a record funding cycle for domestic deep-tech innovators.
Abu Dhabi sovereign investor MGX closes inaugural fund, targeting $100 billion in global AI infrastructure
Chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the fund cements cornerstone partnerships in leading semiconductor fabrication, frontier labs, and hyperscale data centers.
UAE establishes Federal Authority for Artificial Intelligence and Data to unify national digital governance
The new regulatory body standardizes public sector algorithmic procurement, data sovereignty classifications, and national safety evaluations.
G42 and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi launch joint clinical AI taskforce for autonomous hospital workflows
The partnership deploys computer vision in surgical suites, predictive oncology triage, and federated learning models across specialized hospital campuses.
NYU Abu Dhabi researchers demonstrate AI autonomously discovering fundamental quantum physics laws
A landmark study in the Journal of High Energy Physics validates symbolic AI algorithms capable of rediscovering quantum principles from raw collision data.
Sharjah Research and Technology Park opens dedicated high-performance AI hub for startups
The new computing facility provides regional machine learning ventures with subsidized GPU compute, technical sandboxes, and enterprise pilot matching.
MBZUAI inaugurates specialized undergraduate degree and expanded Falcon foundation model lab
The world's first graduate AI university expands its academic mandate into undergraduate engineering and dedicated foundation model evaluation.
Dubai Universal AI Blueprint designates operational AI officers across all municipal public bodies
Under directives from Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, the emirate mandates measurable service automation, predictive maintenance, and paperless administrative workflows.
ADNEC Group and Presight deploy computer vision and predictive AI across exhibition infrastructure
Abu Dhabi's flagship event venue integrates crowd density tracking, automated energy management, and biometric access controls ahead of major global summits.
Qatar MCIT and Scale AI deploy automated data annotation engine for public sector models
The strategic initiative builds high-fidelity Arabic training corpuses for state healthcare, municipal permits, and legislative drafting.
Qatar Investment Authority establishes Qai with multi-billion mandate for sovereign compute
The national artificial intelligence firm partners with global infrastructure managers to finance liquid-cooled data clusters and localized cloud workloads.
Qatar Airways deploys generative AI and predictive analytics to optimize global flight operations
The national carrier integrates real-time crew scheduling, predictive maintenance, and conversational multilingual passenger concierges.
Web Summit Qatar catalyzes over $1 billion in sovereign venture allocations for regional AI founders
The Doha technology gathering confirms major anchor allocations from QIA, Qatar Development Bank, and international tech funds.
Hamad Medical Corporation deploys sovereign AI radiology diagnostics across national clinic network
Qatar's primary public healthcare provider operationalizes computer vision algorithms to accelerate stroke detection, mammography, and thoracic screening.
Mwani Qatar activates vision-guided container automation across Doha and Hamad Port terminals
The national port management authority integrates cognitive container tracking, automated yard cranes, and predictive berth scheduling.
Bahrain FinTech Bay establishes specialized AI incubation hub for algorithmic financial services
The regional incubator partners with global banks to accelerate automated compliance, fraud intelligence, and Sharia-compliant digital finance.
National Bank of Bahrain deploys machine learning for real-time commercial credit underwriting
The Kingdom's premier commercial lender reduces loan approval turnaround times from weeks to minutes using auditable predictive risk models.
Bahrain explores innovative subsea and sustainable data center architecture for Gulf AI compute
The Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications evaluates underwater cooling pods to overcome terrestrial land and thermal constraints.
Tamkeen expands enterprise transformation scheme to co-fund AI adoption across Bahraini SMEs
The Labour Fund covers up to 50 percent of software licensing, cloud compute, and technical integration costs for domestic businesses.
University of Bahrain establishes Center for Artificial Intelligence and Applied Data Analytics
The national research hub focuses on climate modeling, desalination optimization, and Arabic dialect speech processing.
Bahrain Ministry of Health rolls out automated chest X-ray screening across primary care centers
Computer vision algorithms pre-screen thoracic radiographs for tuberculosis, pneumonia, and pulmonary nodules, reducing diagnostic backlog.
Bahrain International Airport operationalizes biometric AI passenger corridors across new terminal
The Kingdom's aviation gateway integrates facial recognition and predictive baggage handling to enable contactless, seamless passenger transit.
Bahrain Economic Development Board secures record FDI inflows for machine learning ventures
Competitive operating costs, 100 percent foreign ownership, and regulatory clarity position the island nation as an attractive software development hub.
Microsoft accelerates dedicated Kuwait Azure AI Region with mandatory in-country data residency
The sovereign cloud infrastructure allows state ministries and energy conglomerates to execute large model inference within national borders.
CAIT Kuwait establishes National Sovereign Cloud and AI Governance Framework for public agencies
The regulatory circular mandates algorithmic transparency, risk-based procurement tiers, and independent cybersecurity audits for government AI systems.
Kuwait University Artificial Intelligence Laboratory pioneers regional Arabic dialect tokenization
Researchers at the College of Computing Sciences develop specialized subword tokenizers capturing Gulf colloquial idioms and maritime terminology.
Kuwait Investment Authority expands global deep-tech allocations to bolster domestic capability
The sovereign wealth fund directs international venture commitments toward semiconductors, quantum computing, and sovereign machine learning platforms.
National Bank of Kuwait deploys deep learning predictive fraud prevention engine
The country's flagship financial institution blocks emerging synthetic identity theft and unauthorized digital transfers in under fifty milliseconds.
Kuwait Ministry of Health integrates autonomous digital pathology across national oncology centers
Automated histological image analysis accelerates tumor grading, biomarker quantification, and biopsy turnaround times at the Kuwait Cancer Control Center.
Kuwait Ports Authority deploys predictive analytics to clear maritime container terminal congestion
Shuwaikh and Shuaiba ports integrate machine learning dispatching, automated customs clearance, and predictive truck appointment scheduling.
Warba Bank launches automated Sharia-compliant digital wealth management copilot
The digital Islamic bank integrates conversational portfolio rebalancing and algorithmic Sukuk screening for retail and private banking clients.
CITRA Kuwait launches regulatory sandbox for autonomous telecommunications and edge AI
The communications regulator enables telecom operators and startups to pilot private 5G edge computing and autonomous drone operations.
Port of Salalah deploys computer vision and autonomous quay cranes for Indian Ocean freight
The transshipment gateway links predictive berth allocation with automated container moves to accelerate vessel turnaround times.
Omantel launches national sovereign AI cloud in Muscat for public and banking institutions
The telecommunications leader deploys dedicated high-density computing clusters powered by renewable solar power to host sovereign models.
Asyad Group deploys predictive routing algorithms across integrated logistics and maritime shipping
Oman's national logistics group integrates freight rail, maritime shipping, and dry-port operations into an automated multi-modal corridor.
Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Unit establishes Sovereign AI Taskforce to accelerate ministerial automation
The national committee mandates measurable digitisation milestones across commerce, labor, and municipal public service delivery.
Sultan Qaboos University establishes Research Chair in Marine Robotics and Fisheries AI
Academic scientists develop autonomous underwater vehicles and computer vision to monitor fish stock sustainability in the Arabian Sea.
Oman Ministry of Economy allocates OMR 25 million for deep-tech AI and robotics venture grants
The sovereign financing program provides non-dilutive capital and commercial pilot guarantees for domestic machine learning founders.
Oman Telecommunications Regulatory Authority authorizes edge computing pilot for industrial zones
TRA establishes dedicated regulatory testing sandboxes across Sohar, Duqm, and Salalah to enable autonomous factory robotics.
Nama Holding deploys predictive AI to balance renewable solar integration across national electrical grid
The national electricity group utilizes machine learning weather forecasting to stabilize voltage fluctuations from utility-scale solar farms.
Stargate UAE puts Abu Dhabi on the global AI compute map
The planned one-gigawatt cluster links sovereign compute, international partnerships and a 200-megawatt first phase expected to come online in 2026.
Saudi Arabia's HUMAIN and AMD plan a 500MW open AI compute network
The five-year collaboration carries an investment ambition of up to $10 billion, with delivery and utilisation now the measures that matter.
Qatar brings Azure OpenAI service into its local cloud region
A government partnership with Microsoft combines local data processing and new GPU capacity with a push to build AI-enabled public services.
Fanar 2.0 reframes Arabic AI as a full sovereign stack
Qatar's second-generation platform combines language, speech, image and safety systems while publishing evidence about the constraints of Arabic model building.
Bahrain's national AI policy connects ethics with existing law
The framework joins legal compliance, adoption, public awareness and cooperation with a GCC ethics manual for government AI use.
Bahrain targets 50,000 citizens with three-track AI training
Tamkeen's programme separates executive adoption, broad workforce fluency and specialist tool-building in a national skills push running to 2030.
Oman's Maeen language model anchors a three-part national AI launch
The national model arrived alongside an AI Studio and open-data portal, linking Arabic technology with public-sector problem solving and reusable data.
Oman's AI zone links startup policy with green compute plans
A designated zone in Al Seeb, a Green AI Alliance and the Digital Triangle frame infrastructure as an ecosystem for investment and company growth.
Kuwait Oil Company opens AI centre around operational use cases
The centre's first disclosed work includes agentic scheduling for drilling rigs, bringing AI experimentation closer to production planning.
Qatar eVTOL trial moves autonomous flight into the regulatory phase
An unmanned demonstration between Old Doha Port and Katara showed technical possibility; phased approval and integration remain ahead.
Kuwait and UNDP assess national AI readiness and governance priorities
The assessment examines Kuwait’s AI ecosystem, government adoption, regulation, ethics, capabilities and gaps to inform future priorities.
QIA invests in Positron AI’s $875 million inference infrastructure round
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund has co-invested in Positron AI’s Series C financing to support scalable next-generation inference infrastructure.
UAE opens seventh cohort of national AI programme with agentic AI focus
The programme will train government and private-sector participants in generative AI, agentic systems, data strategy and AI governance.
HUMAIN invests in MOZN to develop regulated enterprise AI solutions
The partnership targets financial crime prevention, knowledge intelligence, and governance, risk and compliance for financial and public-sector organisations.
Oman’s Engineer It with AI programme develops applied national solutions
The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology is using boot camps, workshops and mentoring to build practical AI capabilities.
HUMAIN and Cohere plan dedicated 50MW AI compute deployment in Saudi Arabia
The partnership will combine Saudi infrastructure with Cohere’s enterprise model expertise and explore sovereign Arabic-language AI systems.
QIA participates in SambaNova’s $1 billion AI computing financing
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund joined SambaNova’s Series F round as demand grows for enterprise AI computing and inference systems.
MEEZA delivers 4MW Qatar data-centre expansion nine months early
The completed expansion adds operational capacity for a global hyperscaler and strengthens Qatar’s position in AI-ready digital infrastructure.
Bahrain and the United States sign Artificial Intelligence Opportunities Partnership
The joint statement establishes a bilateral framework for cooperation around AI opportunities, capabilities, and national technology priorities.
HUMAIN and stc extend agreement for Saudi AI data-centre venture
The six-month extension gives the parties more time to complete regulatory, operational and commercial requirements for the proposed joint venture.
QIA backs HyperLight in $80 million financing for AI infrastructure
The Qatar Investment Authority participated in HyperLight’s Series C financing, adding another photonics investment to Qatar’s AI infrastructure strategy.
UAE establishes national Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority
The new federal body brings together AI, public-data and digital-government capabilities under one mandate reporting directly to the Cabinet.
MEEZA and Msheireb launch AI digital companion in Doha
The AI concierge will be piloted across 15 smart kiosks at Msheireb Downtown Doha, supporting wayfinding, bookings, payments and visitor services.
UAE sets two-year target for agentic AI across half of government operations
A new federal framework aims to convert 50 percent of UAE government sectors, services and operations to agentic AI models within two years.
UAE National Experts Programme selects 135 AI-track finalists
The implementation-focused programme shortlisted professionals from all seven emirates to build applied AI capability across priority sectors.
QIA invests in Ayar Labs to advance next-generation AI infrastructure
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund participated in Ayar Labs’ $500 million Series E round for optical interconnect technology designed for AI scale-up.
Saudi Arabia joins Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence
SDAIA’s membership brings Saudi Arabia into a multilateral forum focused on responsible AI, international cooperation and shared policy practice.
Bahrain graduates first cohort of national AI Talent Programme
The programme connected Bahraini university students with AWS, government mentors and applied AI prototype development.
Aramco and Microsoft agree to accelerate industrial AI rollout
The Saudi energy company and Microsoft will explore AI-driven industrial solutions built on Azure and integrated into core operations.
HUMAIN and Saudi infrastructure fund agree framework for up to $1.2bn AI expansion
The non-binding framework could support up to 250MW of AI data-centre capacity and a future investment platform for Saudi infrastructure.
HUMAIN and Saudi Infra outline up to $1.2 billion AI infrastructure framework
The non-binding framework covers up to 250 megawatts of hyperscale AI data-center capacity in Saudi Arabia and an investment platform for further expansion.
QIA and Goldman Sachs set $25bn investment target across AI and digital infrastructure
The strategic partnership gives Qatar access to global funds and co-investment opportunities in sectors including artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure.
UAE launches AI-powered foreign-trade platform with Presight
The UAE announced an AI-enabled trade platform with Presight as part of its wider programme to embed intelligent services into economic operations.
Qatar and the United States sign Pax Silica declaration on advanced technology
The January agreement places Qatar inside a US-led cooperation track focused on advanced technology, supply-chain security and resilient digital infrastructure.
UAE places energy at the centre of its AI infrastructure strategy
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2026 highlighted the power, cooling and energy requirements behind the Gulf’s accelerating AI and data-centre build-out.