Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

G42 and OpenAI launch regional partnership 

By Melissa Hancock
Chat GPT G42 ChatGPT Shutterstock/T Schneider
G42 partnered with OpenAI in October to develop AI in the UAE and regional markets
  • G42 and OpenAI will ’empower’ businesses
  • OpenAI founder says region can play central role in AI
  • Middle East AI market growth 61%

Abu Dhabi’s leading artificial intelligence company G42 is teaming up with OpenAI, the research and development company behind ChatGPT, to develop AI in the UAE and regional markets.

The partnership, announced on Wednesday, aims to leverage OpenAI’s generative AI models across sectors where G42 already has expertise, including financial services, energy, healthcare and public services. 

Using solutions built by G42, organisations in the UAE and the region will be able to simplify the process of integrating OpenAI’s models.

“We aim to empower businesses and communities with effective solutions that resonate with nuances of the region,” said Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI.

G42 group CEO Peng Xiao added: “Our partnership with OpenAI transcends technological synergy; it’s a convergence of value and vision.”

The announcement was made on the sidelines of the Gitex Global tech show being held in Dubai. 

Altman has previously praised the UAE for being ahead of the curve on the development of AI.

In a visit to Abu Dhabi in June, he spoke highly of the Emirates’ “desire, commitment and willingness” to explore the technology. “I’m hopeful that the region can play a central role in this global conversation,” he said.

Last week Sundeep Gantori, CIO equity strategist at Swiss bank UBS, told AGBI the Middle East is in the very early stage of AI adoption.

The revenue opportunities in the region equated to “a few hundred million dollars” in 2022, he said, versus $28 billion globally, citing UBS research.

The same research has projected that the global AI market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 61 percent between 2023 and 2027. Gantori said Mena’s generative AI market is set to exceed the global average, given its nascent stage. 

Latest articles

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 […]

Profit is down at Majid Al Futtaim, which runs malls including the City Centre Bahrain

Majid Al Futtaim reports 6% profit drop as sales slow

Shopping mall owner Majid Al Futtaim has reported a drop in profit for 2024, attributing the decline to lower retail revenue, a higher tax burden and currency devaluation in some of its international markets. Total revenue fell 2 percent to AED33.9 billion ($9.2 billion) and profit dropped 6 percent to AED2.5 billion in 2024, MAF […]

Turkish markets

Regulators take action to stabilise Turkish markets after arrests

Efforts by Turkish regulators to stabilise the country’s money markets, which were thrown into turmoil by the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul last week, appear to be having some effect, with losses on the country’s stock market narrowing. Markets were rocked and political unrest ensued after the arrest and detention of Ekrem İmamoğlu, a […]

Dune Part Two, a Warner Bros film, has grossed more than $700m worldwide. Warner Bros Discovery is targeting the Mena streaming market

Warner Bros Discovery buys 30% stake in OSN Streaming

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has bought a stake in a subsidiary of Dubai-based satellite television company Orbit Showtime Network (OSN) Group, in an attempt to tap into the rapidly expanding Middle Eastern streaming market. The US-based media and entertainment conglomerate will acquire a 30 percent stake in OSN Streaming for KD17.5 million ($57 million), Kuwait […]

In 2024, Masdar completed acquisitions in Greece, Spain and the US

UAE’s Masdar expands renewable energy footprint

Abu Dhabi renewable energy company Masdar invested nearly AED30 billion ($8.2 billion) in equity last year and secured more than AED16.5 billion in project financing across nine countries. The company, which is targeting a renewable energy portfolio capacity of 100 gigawatts by 2030, has developed and partnered in projects in more than 40 countries, the […]

The Umm Al Qura IPO is the biggest this year in Saudi Arabia and one of three that has raised a combined $1bn

Umm Al Qura shares soar as more Saudi IPOs approved

Shares in Saudi Arabia’s Umm Al Qura for Development and Construction surged 30 percent on Monday, the maximum allowed on a first day of trading. The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) also approved another three companies for initial public offerings. Within minutes of the opening of the Saudi Exchange, after Umm Al Qura raised SAR1.96 billion […]

Yasir Al Rumayyan, the governor of PIF at the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational. Some PIF budgets have been cut by as much as 60%

PIF spending cuts slow giga-projects and trigger layoffs

Saudi Arabia’s $925 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF) has ordered deep spending cuts across more than 100 of its companies, slowing projects and triggering layoffs, people familiar with the matter have told AGBI. The sovereign wealth fund at the heart of the government’s economic transformation strategy is mandating a minimum 20 percent reduction in 2025 […]

Kuwait China housing labourers

China asked by Kuwait to build housing for foreign labourers

Kuwait has asked China to appoint a construction company to build six projects to house 220,000 foreign labourers, after accidents that claimed the lives of overseas workers because of improper conditions. The plan has been on the cards for several years but gained momentum last year after a fire in a labour housing complex in […]

Orascom and Técnicas Reunidas have already received the notice to proceed with the engineering, procurement and construction contract

Orascom wins $2.6bn contract for Saudi power plant

A consortium comprising Egypt-listed Orascom Construction and Spain’s Técnicas Reunidas has signed a contract to build a 3 gigawatt gas-fired power plant in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. The consortium signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract worth around $2.6 billion for expanding the Qurayyah independent power project, Orascom said in a statement on Monday. In […]

A Russian oil tanker transits the Bosphorus. Russia’s share of India’s naphtha imports has grown by 15 percentage points to more than 50 percent

UAE loses out as India opts for cheaper Russian naphtha

The UAE, led by Abu Dhabi, has lost its position as India’s biggest supplier of the refined crude oil product naphtha as discounted Russian cargoes flood the market. Naphtha has many uses including as a precursor to gasoline and other liquid fuels, and as solvents or diluents for paints and the rubber industry. India is […]

OQ Exploration and Production was Oman's most profitable company, reporting net earnings of OMR327 million

Profits of Muscat-listed companies surge over 50% in 2024

Net profits of publicly-listed companies on the Muscat Stock Exchange rose 53 percent to OMR1.3 billion ($3.4 billion) in 2024, compared to OMR877 million in 2023, according to a news report. Of the 90 listed companies, 69 reported profits in 2024, up from 68 in the previous year, Oman Daily Observer reported. Despite the number […]

Gulf Bank executives at the recent ordinary general meeting

Gulf Bank to pay dividend despite profit fall

Shareholders of Gulf Bank, which trades on the Kuwaiti stock exchange, have approved the payment of an annual dividend and bonus shares for 2024 despite a drop in profit for the year. Shareholders on April 10 will be entitled to 10 percent cash dividends and 5 percent bonus shares, the lender said in a statement. […]