Artificial Intelligence US ‘to let UAE import millions of Nvidia’s AI chips’ The US has a preliminary agreement with the United Arab Emirates to allow it to import 500,000 of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips per year starting in 2025, sources said. The move will boost the Emirates’ construction of data centres that are vital to developing artificial intelligence models. The sources said the agreement was at least […] May 15, 2025
Analysis Artificial Intelligence Saudi Arabia risks AI glut as Trump approves Nvidia sale Saudi Arabia’s plan to build one of the world’s largest artificial intelligence infrastructures may lead to oversupply in the short term, creating spare capacity for export to other emerging markets, AI experts have said. Although domestic demand is growing, Riyadh’s rollout of compute – computing power for AI – is outpacing current uses. Capacity is […] May 15, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Saudi Arabia announces AI unit as Trump lands in Riyadh Saudi Arabia has announced a state-backed artificial intelligence company as President Donald Trump lands in Riyadh. Technology is expected to be high on the agenda during Trump’s tour, which also takes in Qatar and the UAE, as Gulf economies seek improved access to US chips to meet their AI ambitions. The Saudi AI company, called […] May 13, 2025
Analysis Artificial Intelligence Dubai’s hottest new job title: chief AI officer Three years ago, finding a single person in the Middle East and the Gulf with the job title “chief AI officer” was rare, if not unheard of. Today, however, with the help of the world’s biggest technology companies and their complicated artificial intelligence tools, chief AI officers – or CAIOs as they are also known […] May 12, 2025
Finance IHC enters reinsurance business with BlackRock Abu Dhabi-listed IHC plans to establish a $1 billion local artificial intelligence (AI)-driven reinsurance platform with New York-based asset manager BlackRock. The venture will target more than $10 billion in liabilities through a buy-and-build strategy, with Lunate, the alternative investment manager based in Abu Dhabi, also joining as a partner, IHC said in a statement. […] May 12, 2025
Trade US might ease chip export curbs on some Gulf nations 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 […] May 8, 2025
Artificial Intelligence US considers easing of chip export restrictions on UAE 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 […] May 2, 2025
Opinion Artificial Intelligence No matter where you are, it pays to be nice to AI Polite and intimate, or businesslike and rude – which approach is best? I asked the expert May 2, 2025
Analysis Tech AI will be front and centre during Trump’s Gulf trip 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 […] May 2, 2025
Analysis Artificial Intelligence Focus on investment in AI as Mena lags in research 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 […] April 30, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Abu Dhabi AI chief bullish over future investment 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 […] April 25, 2025
People & Lifestyle 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 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 […] April 24, 2025
Artificial Intelligence 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 […] April 22, 2025
Analysis Artificial Intelligence 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 […] April 18, 2025
Artificial Intelligence 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, […] April 16, 2025
Opinion Artificial Intelligence The Gulf’s time to seize AI leadership is now Deeper collaboration across states could significantly amplify the Gulf's impact April 16, 2025
Artificial Intelligence 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 […] April 14, 2025
Artificial Intelligence 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 […] April 7, 2025
Analysis Artificial Intelligence 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 […] April 4, 2025
Artificial Intelligence 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 […] April 3, 2025
Oil & Gas 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 […] April 3, 2025
Artificial Intelligence 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 […] April 1, 2025
