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News, insight and analysis of the developing AI industry in the Middle East, covering artificial intelligence companies and projects in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the entire region.
Artificial Intelligence news
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he will soon have an announcement on whether the US will ease microchip export restrictions to some Gulf countries. “We might be doing that, yeah,” Trump said. “And it will be announced soon.” Trump is preparing for his first major diplomatic trip next week that includes a three-country Middle […]
The US is considering easing restrictions on the export of high-end semiconductors to the UAE, Bloomberg reported. President Donald Trump could announce the start of work on a bilateral chip deal during his upcoming trip to the Gulf, the news service said, without identifying sources. Nothing has yet been decided but the talks are picking up […]
Polite and intimate, or businesslike and rude – which approach is best? I asked the expert
Artificial intelligence is expected to be top of the agenda during US president Donald Trump’s visit to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in mid-May, with officials from all sides eager to announce fresh partnerships. Discussions are likely to focus on securing more GCC investments into US technology and expanding Gulf states’ access […]
The Gulf and wider Middle East and North Africa region make a woefully small contribution to global artificial intelligence research and academics, but strategic investments could help mitigate some of the risk of dependency on others, industry experts say. The Mena region contributed just 5 percent of all AI-related academic publications and less than 10 […]
Investment in artificial intelligence is at “a crossroads” as the build-out of underlying infrastructure, such as data centres, demands trillions of dollars more in capital, according to Abu Dhabi’s technology fund MGX. Ali Osman, MGX’s chief investment officer for AI, said on Friday that he remains optimistic about “tremendous” growth in this space even amid […]
Abu Dhabi-backed streaming platform Starzplay said it made record revenue last year, passing $100 million for the first time, supported by “artificial intelligence content discovery.” In 2022, the Abu Dhabi-based ADQ and a unit of federal telecommunications company e& (formerly Etisalat) bought a majority stake in Starzplay for $420 million. Since then revenue at the […]
State-controlled Khazna, the UAE’s largest data centre operator, has started building two new facilities to support the federation’s digital and artificial intelligence (AI) growth as the Gulf state grapples with a capacity shortage. Originally owned by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, Khazna was in 2022 transferred to the emirate’s G42 and e&, the national […]
Saudi secondary school pupils will soon have classes on artificial intelligence (AI) added to their curriculum. More than 50,000 17 and 18-year-olds will be offered the Introduction to Artificial Intelligence course, a joint initiative between the ministry of education and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority. It is part of an effort by the […]
Saudi Aramco’s venture arm has led a $1 million seed funding round for TruBuild, a construction technology startup based in Riyadh that uses artificial intelligence to cut project delays and cost overruns. “With growing scrutiny on giga-project timelines and budgets, there’s a clear urgency to prevent costly delays and rework,” Bisrat Degefa, CEO of TruBuild, […]
Deeper collaboration across states could significantly amplify the Gulf's impact
Abu Dhabi is stepping up efforts to expand its artificial intelligence and digital services business as part of a billion-dollar push to diversify its economy. Presight, a data analytics company backed by Abu Dhabi-owned AI group G42, is planning to nearly double its overseas revenue as a share of the total. The company, which is […]
As billions of dollars are thrown at developing Arabic versions of AI for businesses, the technology is improving, but it is an uphill struggle, experts have told AGBI. Spending on artificial intelligence in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa is expected to reach $5 billion this year and rise 35 percent a year to almost […]
From customer service to the C-suite, AI “employees” are climbing the corporate ladder in the Gulf as the technology behind them improves. Regional wealth funds such as ADQ are now using AI “boardroom advisers” to help make decisions according to Middle East AI News, while startups are raising capital and launching so-called “AI employees”. These […]
Gulf co-investors in Elon Musk’s X could benefit from the social media platform’s purchase by xAI, analysts have told AGBI. The deal is expected to help artificial intelligence company xAI train Grok, its AI assistant, to compete in the increasingly competitive generative AI market. Musk’s xAI acquired privately-held X last week in a deal that […]
Saudi Aramco has entered into an agreement with Japanese startup Terra Drone to inspect its oil and gas facilities using drones, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI). The memorandum of understanding will advance drone technologies to enhance safety and operational efficiency in the energy sector, Terra Drone said in a statement. In 2023, Terra Drone received […]
Cerebras Systems has cleared a US government review into its ties to the UAE’s G42, a spokesperson for the US artificial intelligence company told AGBI on Monday. The positive conclusion of the probe by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is expected to pave the way for the California-based company’s long-awaited […]
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are both pouring billions into AI initiatives under their broader economic visions
Generative and analytical AI promise efficiency, yet costs remain a hurdle
UAE technology investment company MGX and US private equity company Silver Lake have bought a minority stake in Dubai-based Khazna Data Centers. Following the deal, UAE telecommunications company e& – formerly known as Etisalat – has exited from its investment in Khazna but remains a major business partner, Khazna said in a statement. Transaction and financial […]
The Abu Dhabi government has invited companies to bid for the development of an artificial intelligence system that would help doctors and researchers better interpret genetic data. The project calls for a large language model (LLM), the same type of AI technology that powers tools such as ChatGPT, to be trained on the Abu Dhabi […]
Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ has formed a partnership with Energy Capital Partners, a US private equity company, to build power generation and energy infrastructure, primarily in the US. The goal of the prospective $25 billion, 50-50 tie-up is to support growing energy demand by data centres, large cloud providers, and other so-called hyperscalers – […]
