Opinion Oil & Gas Data is the new oil – and the oil industry agrees Saudi Arabia and the UAE are both pouring billions into AI initiatives under their broader economic visions March 31, 2025
Opinion Agriculture AI could advance farming, but don’t forget the humans Generative and analytical AI promise efficiency, yet costs remain a hurdle March 31, 2025
Tech 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 […] March 27, 2025
Artificial Intelligence 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 […] March 24, 2025
Energy 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 – […] March 20, 2025
Artificial Intelligence 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 […] March 20, 2025
Artificial Intelligence 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 […] March 20, 2025
Economy 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 […] March 19, 2025
Artificial Intelligence 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 […] March 11, 2025
Artificial Intelligence 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 […] February 28, 2025
Opinion Artificial Intelligence AI, geopolitics and the Mena opportunity DeepSeek’s emergence has spotlighted the GCC’s role in hosting green AI infrastructure February 27, 2025
Artificial Intelligence G42’s Presight agrees Albania ‘smart city’ deal Data analytics company Presight, a unit of Abu Dhabi technology group G42, has agreed to work with Albania’s ministry of interior to implement an artificial intelligence-powered “smart city” project in the Balkan state. The project will introduce a traffic management platform in 20 cities and towns across Albania with the aim of reducing congestion and […] February 25, 2025
Tech SoftBank CEO admits failing to deliver returns to PIF Japan’s SoftBank Group has not “fully delivered” the expected returns to Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, CEO Masayoshi Son has said. “I haven’t still given him enough return. I still owe him,” Bloomberg reported, quoting Son at a panel discussion at a conference staged by Saudi Arabia’s FII […] February 24, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Qatar opts for AI to boost public services Qatar’s government has signed a five-year deal with artificial intelligence (AI) data company Scale AI to deploy AI-powered tools and training. It is an attempt to improve government services in the Gulf state, a senior Scale AI executive told Reuters on Sunday. “(This deal) can be a blueprint for other governments around the world, and […] February 24, 2025
Opinion Artificial Intelligence There’s a new cold war and the GCC is in its crossfires The US-China AI race is reshaping global tech dominance February 21, 2025
Opinion Artificial Intelligence The case for Gulf ‘free data zones’ How can corporations compete globally if American AI is more expensive than China? February 20, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Saudi companies reap savings benefits with AI Companies in Saudi Arabia are already seeing the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) in boosting efficiency and productivity. Sawaco Water Group, a desalinisation company in Jeddah, for instance, has reduced power consumption by 7 percent and chemical consumption by 15 percent at its largest plant since implementing new AI-driven monitoring systems, its CEO said this […] February 20, 2025
Tech Deals worth $15bn on day one of Saudi Leap tech event Investment deals worth almost $15 billion have been announced on the first day of the Leap 25 tech event in Riyadh. The Saudi communications ministry said that deals signed on day one of the four-day event, which ends on Wednesday, totalled $14.9 billion. The deals included plans for a manufacturing plant in the Saudi capital […] February 10, 2025
Analysis Artificial Intelligence DeepSeek’s arrival opens door for Middle East AI developers A global artificial intelligence battle looks to be building between China and the US that could well benefit Middle East AI startups through lower development costs. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is planning a visit to the UAE, reportedly to raise funds with the investment group MGX, established in 2024 by the government of Abu Dhabi […] February 10, 2025
Artificial Intelligence UAE and France to invest up to $50bn in AI data centre France and the United Arab Emirates agreed on Thursday to a framework accord for a 1 gigawatt data centre dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) that represents investments of between $30 billion-$50 billion, the French presidency said. President Emmanuel Macron hosted his Emirati counterpart Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan on Thursday evening ahead of a summit […] February 7, 2025
Artificial Intelligence OpenAI CEO seeks fresh funding in the UAE Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, is to visit Abu Dhabi to seek fresh funding from the UAE-based technology investment company MGX. The visit is likely this week, Reuters reported, citing two unnamed sources. Altman is looking for $40 billion fundraising to upgrade OpenAI’s ChatGPT model and back artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure developer Stargate amid […] February 6, 2025
Opinion Artificial Intelligence DeepSeek shock suggests what goes up must come down GCC sovereign investors view AI as a core segment of their economic diversification strategies January 31, 2025
