Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Artificial Intelligence

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 overview

Artificial Intelligence news

3A5CD31 Multiracial family of three seated together on couch enjoying TV time in cozy living room adorned with plants and artwork

Starzplay reports record growth driven by AI

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 ADIO and a unit of federal telecommunications company e& (formerly Etisalat) bought a majority stake in Starzplay for $420 million. Since then revenue at the […]

Programming, data center and a man with a laptop for maintenance, cyber security and internet check

Khazna builds data centres to plug UAE capacity shortage

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 […]

An attendee at the Education Global Exhibition in Riyadh, which highlights new technologies. More than 8 million young Saudis will enter the workforce by 2040

AI classes to prepare Saudi pupils for the new world

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 […]

TruBuild says its AI can cut construction procurement review time by 70% and reduce human error

Aramco backs Riyadh-based construction AI startup

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, […]

Presight provides AI tools for city management and more. Its expansion targets include Southeast and Central Asia

Presight plans international expansion of its AI business

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 […]

Arabic AI two women at a computer screen

Arabic AI developers struggle with unique challenges

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 […]

Pc screen view, islamic woman dressed in national hijab talking with male colleague, chatting using virtual modern video conference application, communicating from home, enjoy distant conversation

AI ‘employees’ make their mark in the Gulf

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 […]

U.S. President Donald Trump's adviser Elon Musk reacts during a rally in support of a conservative state Supreme Court candidate of an April 1 election in Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S. March 30, 2025. REUTERS/

Gulf investors ‘rewarded’ as Musk’s xAI absorbs X

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 […]

Terra Drone established a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia in 2023 after raising $14 million from Wa'ed Ventures, the venture capital arm of Aramco

Aramco to use Japanese drone startup to inspect facilities

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 founders Sean Lie, Gary Lauterbach, Michael James, Jean-Philippe Fricker and Andrew Feldman. Abu Dhabi's G42 is about to invest $335m in the company

UAE-backed Cerebras passes US security check before IPO

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 […]

The new investors will help accelerate Khazna’s global expansion plans, said CEO Hassan Alnaqbi

MGX buys stake in Dubai’s Khazna Data Centers

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 […]

AI genetic data

Abu Dhabi tenders AI project to analyse genetic data

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 […]

Senior ADQ and EPC executives signing the agreement to jointly build power generation and energy infrastructure

ADQ and ECP of the US bet on data centre projects

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 – […]

The AI Infrastructure Partnership has plans to raise up to $50 billion

More US companies join UAE-backed AI project

Nvidia and Elon Musk’s xAI have joined a consortium backed by Microsoft, UAE investment fund MGX and BlackRock to expand artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the US, the companies said on Wednesday, as a global race to dominate the nascent technology intensifies. The group, formed last year with a goal to initially invest more than $30 billion in AI-related projects, is one of the biggest efforts to bankroll data centres and energy facilities […]

Cognite makes software to improve the operation of industrial installations, such as oil and gas platforms

Aramco-backed Cognite taps India in AI growth move

Saudi Aramco-backed industrial software company Cognite has opened an AI services centre in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru and said it is exploring potential contracts with top conglomerates in the country. The Norwegian company said it had signed up with a large industrial cement company and a major automotive company but declined to provide […]

People, Person, Adult

UAE and US leaders discuss economy and tech tie-ups

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi’s deputy ruler and UAE national security advisor, met US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, holding talks on economic and technological cooperation. “Discussions included ways for our countries to increase our partnership for advancing our economic and technological futures,” Trump said in a Truth Social […]

The first operational, scalable version of Adnoc's agentic AI program EnergyAI is expected to be completed in the middle of this year

Adnoc signs $340m AI contract with Abu Dhabi’s AIQ

Adnoc, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, has awarded a $340 million contract to AIQ, a joint venture with Presight, a data analytics company based in Abu Ahabi, to introduce autonomous artificial intelligence, or agentic AI, across its upstream operations. The three-year agreement involves deploying EnergyAI, software that uses agentic AI to analyse large amounts […]

Microsoft president Brad Smith: restricting AI sales to Gulf states 'will give China a strategic advantage'

Microsoft urges rule change on US exports of AI chips to Gulf

Microsoft has asked President Trump’s administration to ease export restrictions on artificial intelligence chips for a group of US allies, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The AI Diffusion Rule, introduced in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration, controls access to US-made advanced AI tech, particularly high-performance computing chips and AI models. In […]