Good morning!
Welcome to this week’s Middle East AI News email digest!
Lots of news to share today! In this edition, OpenAI brings in-country inference residency to the UAE; Saudi Arabia adds 50 new AI learning units to its national curriculum; Morocco establishes four Jazari institutes to advance its AI strategy; Egypt launches a unified digital platform for manufacturers; and an Egyptian entrepreneur’s ScribeMe accessibility app reaches users across 140 countries.
Scroll down for more news!
And if you haven’t yet read the Feature of the Week from Muhammad Khalid, Founder and CEO of UAE-based AIREV — ‘Own where your agents run’ — read it here.
Thanks for reading!
/Carrington
Agentic AI
Saudi and UAE execution trails tech spending
#UAE #enterprise - ServiceNow’s 2026 index scores Saudi organisations at 50 out of 100 and UAE organisations at 48, despite surging technology investment. Legacy systems, weak data readiness and governance gaps persist, while autonomous workflows reach only 10% in Saudi Arabia and 7% in the UAE. (Middle East AI News)
Inference
OpenAI adds UAE inference residency
#UAE #enterprise - OpenAI now lets eligible ChatGPT Enterprise and Edu organisations keep supported inference, prompts, files and conversations on UAE-based GPUs when data residency is enabled, strengthening assurance for regulated sectors. (Middle East AI News)
Startups
Six UAE startups enter Mastercard programme
#UAE #fintech - Mastercard and the UAE Government’s Artificial Intelligence Office have selected Loyyal, NewForm Technologies, NodeShift, Polynome, Valura.AI and zypl.ai for a four-month Lighthouse UAE mentorship programme ending in a Demo Day. (Middle East AI News)
Cyfr Capital invests in five Oman startups
#Oman #startups - Cyfr Capital has completed investments in five startups alongside Oman Future Fund. Portfolio company Decoil uses artificial intelligence and data technologies to convert complex unstructured information into actionable insights, helping organisations improve decision-making, accelerate innovation and support business growth across the market. (Jawlah)
Education
Saudi Arabia adds 50 curriculum units
#Saudi #education - Saudi Arabia will add 50 new artificial intelligence learning units to the national curriculum for 2026-2027. Education Minister Yousef Al-Benyan also announced updates to 22 subjects, teacher training and SDAIA and HUMAIN tools designed to reduce administrative workloads. (Middle East AI News)
Egypt runs nationwide technology hackathon
#Egypt #education - Egypt is running a five-day artificial intelligence hackathon through 20 August at CREATIVA Digital Egypt Innovation Hubs, including locations from Alexandria and Cairo to Aswan. Students and graduates receive in-person and online training while developing projects intended to strengthen employment-ready technology skills. (Egypt Innovate)
Telecom
e& UAE embeds agentic tools in connectivity
#UAE #telecoms - e& UAE is embedding agentic capabilities into Business Pro and enterprise internet services, alongside UAE-hosted GPU capacity through Sovereign AI Compute. The regional-first offering could reduce the cost and complexity of adoption for smaller companies needing connectivity, compute and security in one package. (Middle East AI News)
SQU engineers study mobility for 5G and 6G
#Oman #telecoms - Engineers at Sultan Qaboos University have co-authored a peer-reviewed survey in Future Internet examining intelligent mobility management for 5G and 6G networks. The study covers predictive handovers, load balancing and network efficiency, highlighting approaches for improving performance as next-generation connectivity becomes more complex. (AI in Oman)
Culture
Saudi fund offers 500,000-riyal culture grants
#Saudi #culture - Saudi Arabia’s Cultural Development Fund is offering grants of up to 500,000 riyals to small cultural businesses developing or adopting artificial intelligence. Applications remain open until 29 September, supporting technology adoption and innovation across the kingdom’s cultural sector. (Middle East AI News)
MBZUAI tests Arabic cultural understanding
#UAE #research - Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) has developed ArabCulture-Dialogue, the first benchmark testing cultural understanding across Modern Standard Arabic and 13 national dialects. Leading models identify culturally appropriate answers accurately, but accurate dialect generation falls to about half. (Middle East AI News)
Institutes
Morocco creates four Jazari institutes
#Morocco #digital - Morocco has formally established four Jazari institutes covering research, education, industry and smart cities. The network will support sovereign computing, high-performance infrastructure, skills development, Industry 4.0 and data-driven urban services under the Maroc IA 2030 roadmap for stronger national digital capabilities. (Morocco World News)
Saudi Arabia publishes ICAIRE statute
#Saudi #research - Saudi Arabia has published the statute governing ICAIRE, an international research and ethics centre in Riyadh operating under UNESCO. The organisation’s mandate spans research, training, policy development, consulting and international cooperation, strengthening the kingdom’s role in global technology governance and responsible innovation. (Argaam)
GenAI
Egypt launches sovereign BelMasry platform
#Egypt #digital - Egypt’s Communications Ministry has launched BelMasry, a free sovereign platform supporting Egyptian dialects and Modern Standard Arabic. Developed by the Applied Innovation Center, it combines speech-to-text, translation and text-to-speech capabilities and translates across 50 foreign languages, supporting digital inclusion and data sovereignty. (Ahram Online)
Manufacturing
Statetron plans 10-hectare Qatar factory
#Qatar #manufacturing - Swedish industrial technology company Statetron plans a 10-hectare (100k sqm) facility in Qatar combining robotics, energy storage and autonomous logistics. Its Andromean Class architecture will integrate production, materials movement and energy management around modular 5-megawatt Power Blocks, with digital twins and automated quality control. (GDN Online)
Egypt launches digital platform for manufacturers
#Egypt #manufacturing - Egypt’s Ministry of Industry has launched a unified digital platform covering manufacturers’ full investment cycle. Services include complaint tracking, marketplaces for inputs and finished goods, financing links and an artificial intelligence “Calculate Your Opportunity” tool that produces preliminary feasibility studies within minutes. (State Information Service)
ICT
Jordan ICT sector reaches $3.6 billion
#Jordan #ICT - Jordan’s ICT sector now generates $3.6 billion and employs more than 46,000 people, according to figures presented at int@j’s 25th anniversary. Membership has reached 316 companies, while local start-ups have attracted about $250 million through more than 14 investment funds. (Jordan Times)
Accessibility
Egyptian founder’s ScribeMe reaches 140 countries
#Egypt #accessibility - Egyptian entrepreneur Mark Morad’s ScribeMe app helps blind users interpret their surroundings through phones and Meta smart glasses. Used by thousands across 140 countries, it supports 20 languages, including Arabic, and offers real-time visual descriptions, document scanning and camera-based assistance. (Reuters)
[ This newsletter was both AI edited & human edited ]