Tech Bayanat increases funding for climate disaster R&D Geospatial services provider Bayanat has increased its investment into climate disaster research and development following a strong profit rise in the first quarter of 2024. Abu Dhabi-based Bayanat said gross profit for the first quarter reached AED32 million ($8.7 million), representing a gross margin of 28 percent. Revenues were 12 percent up year on year […] May 15, 2024
Tech QIA invests in French semiconductor fund Ardian Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, has announced plans to make an anchor investment in Ardian Semiconductor, a new entity established by the French private equity firm Ardian. The move underscores the Gulf state’s bet on the crucial role of semiconductors in powering digital and green transformations in key areas such as […] May 14, 2024
Manufacturing Saudi Arabia willing to drop China for US tech alliance Saudi Arabia will sever technology ties with China if the United States compels it to, the chief executive officer of Alat, an investment company backed by $100 billion in capital from the Public Investment Fund, has revealed. According to Bloomberg US officials have told their Saudi Arabian counterparts that they will have to decide between […] May 9, 2024
Artificial intelligence Aramco leads the pack in oil and gas AI investments Saudi Aramco invested around $3.5 billion in research and development last year and leads in adopting artificial intelligence, as it rivals its regional peers in the adoption of new technology. The world’s largest energy company was active in more than 250 areas, such as AI, drones, robotics, electric vehicles and hydrogen technology, a GlobalData report […] May 6, 2024
Artificial intelligence Presight takes majority stake in Adnoc-G42 AI venture The data analytics company Presight is acquiring a majority stake in AIQ, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and G42. Under the agreement, Presight, an Abu Dhabi-listed company, will own 51 percent of AIQ, with Adnoc keeping the remaining 49 percent, a statement released on Wednesday said. Previously, G42 held 40 […] May 2, 2024
Artificial intelligence Dubai to appoint AI officers across all government entities Dubai has ordered that all government entities must appoint a chief artificial intelligence officer, as part of a new drive to embrace the new technology. The Dubai Universal Blueprint for Artificial Intelligence was launched on Monday and as part of the initiative the new government AI officers will be tasked with leading specialised AI projects […] April 30, 2024
Tech Shareholders to vote on merger to create UAE space giant Shareholders of two Abu Dhabi technology companies will vote on Thursday on a proposed merger to create a $4 billion space organisation. Bayanat AI and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, better known as Yahsat, will hold their general assembly meetings simultaneously. The proposed merger will create Space42, an AI-powered space technology champion for the Middle […] April 24, 2024
Sustainability Masdar City has up to $1bn of projects at design phase Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s sustainability-focused urban community, is working on projects in critical sectors of the UAE, backed by investments of between AED3 and AED4 billion ($817 million and $1 billion). The projects include energy, artificial intelligence (AI), space, life sciences and agriculture, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported, quoting CEO Ahmed Baghoum. He […] April 17, 2024
Artificial intelligence Microsoft invests in UAE’s AI leader G42 The US tech giant Microsoft will invest $1.5 billion in the Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence (AI) company G42 to help accelerate its global expansion strategy. As part of the deal G42 will run its AI applications and services on Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform. Brad Smith, vice-chair and president of Microsoft, will join the G42 […] April 16, 2024
Opinion Sustainability The Gulf is all-in on AI, but it’s thirsty work for a desert region AI data centres in themselves can use vast amounts of scarce water for cooling April 15, 2024
Opinion Media & Advertising AI will free up local creatives for more award-winning campaigns Robots can help, but it's still humans who win the trophies April 12, 2024
Artificial intelligence Dubai startup helps AI-voice cloning take centre stage A YouTube video released in January of Novak Djokovic shows the tennis star speaking fluent Spanish at a post-match press conference. While the Serbian champion is renowned for speaking several languages, in this case his voice was created by an artificial intelligence tool developed by a Dubai-based startup, Camb.ai. The original Djokovic footage was taken […] March 29, 2024
Analysis Cybersecurity Saudi Arabia steps up battle against AI cyberattacks Twelve years after hackers brought oil production at Saudi Aramco to a halt for more than a week, Saudi Arabia is still susceptible to cyberattacks, a study had found. A survey of 8,000 private sector companies in 30 countries by Cisco AI Readiness Index revealed that the number and impact of attacks was rising and […] March 22, 2024
Artificial intelligence Saudi Arabia to create $40bn AI fund Saudi Arabia plans to create a $40 billion fund to invest in artificial intelligence, The New York Times reported on March 19, citing three sources briefed on the plans. Officials of the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund – the Public Investment Fund – have discussed a potential partnership with US venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and […] March 20, 2024
Analysis Tech Saudi Arabia ‘leads GCC’ in adoption of robotics The rising number of robotics companies in Saudi Arabia has helped the kingdom become a regional leader in the adoption and development of the technology, experts have told AGBI. The number of robotics companies registered in the country surged to 2,344 in the second quarter of 2023, up from 1,537 a year earlier, according to […] March 14, 2024
Exclusive Real Estate Dar Global spin-off to use AI in real estate marketing Dar Global, the London-listed arm of the Saudi Arabian real estate developer Dar Al Arkan, is establishing a venture dedicated to finding technological solutions to real estate companies’ biggest challenges. Ziad El Chaar, CEO of Dar Global, told AGBI that the company’s new Propgenuis spin-off would introduce tools aimed at automating social media management for […] March 13, 2024
Opinion Infrastructure Saving the old with the new: how tech can revive historic cities Technology can help protect heritage locations from multiple modern threats March 12, 2024
Artificial intelligence Adnoc claims AI generated $500m in extra value The Abu Dhabi state oil company Adnoc said it generated $500 million (AED1.84 billion) in extra value by using artificial intelligence solutions in 2023. The energy major has deployed more than 30 AI tools across its value chain, from field operations to corporate decision-making, in an effort to increase efficiency and productivity. “We have integrated […] March 6, 2024
Tech Saudi Arabia backs tech startup sector with $888m Saudi Arabia has announced investments worth $888 million to support the local tech startup and venture capital sector. The funds will support industries such as digital payments, e-gaming and artificial intelligence (AI). The announcement was made on the second day of the Leap international technology conference taking place this week in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has […] March 6, 2024
Artificial intelligence Aramco launches world’s first industrial AI model Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, has launched a generative artificial intelligence model. The Aramco Metabrain AI, a first for the industrial sector, has 250 billion parameters, or learnable variables, which it adjusts during training to make predictions or generate outputs. It was trained on 7 trillion data points gathered over the company’s 90-year […] March 6, 2024
Artificial intelligence Saudi wealth fund pitches kingdom as global AI centre The governer of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, expects the kingdom to emerge as a centre for artificial intelligence activities outside the US. “We are fairly well positioned to be an AI hub outside of the US,” Reuters reported, citing the Public Investment Fund governor’s speech at a Miami investment event. The head […] February 23, 2024
Tech US-Saudi venture will use AI to analyse space data A US-Saudi joint venture has been launched in the kingdom to use satellite imagery to monitor infrastructure development, traffic congestion and carbon sequestration, the natural process of CO2 storage in the atmosphere. Front End Limited Company, based in Alkobar, the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, and SpaceKnow, a New York technology company dedicated to transforming […] February 20, 2024