Good morning!
Welcome to this week’s Middle East AI News email digest!
Too much news for one newsletter again this week, so no room for a summary!
Scroll down for more news.
And if you haven’t yet got your pass for AIDC Expo and Cairo ICT (7-10 November) you can register for the event here.
Thanks for reading!
/Carrington
M&A
Aramco completes $2.6B investment in HUMAIN
#Saudi #M&A - Saudi Aramco has completed its acquisition of a 49% stake in national AI company HUMAIN, contributing $2.6 billion in cash alongside technology assets. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) retains 51% ownership. (Middle East AI News)
HUMAIN takes control of Saudi cloud firm CNTXT
#Saudi #M&A - Saudi AI company HUMAIN has acquired control of Aramco-backedd CNTXT, following the energy giant’s investment in HUMAIN. Established by Aramco and Cognite in 2022, CNTXT serves more than 400 corporate and government customers. (Middle East AI News)
Banking
Bahrain backs AI-native wholesale banking venture
#Bahrain #banking - Sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat has partnered with ARP Group to establish an AI-native, blockchain-enabled wholesale bank. Granted in-principle approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain, the venture will serve financial institutions, payment providers and cross-border businesses. (Middle East AI News)
AI Residency
Abu Dhabi signs four AI agreements with OpenAI
#UAE #deals - Abu Dhabi has signed four agreements with OpenAI covering government, energy and investment. ADNOC will become the first energy company to deploy OpenAI’s frontier models, while Mubadala will apply AI to investment analysis. The partnerships also support machine-readable government systems and enterprise adoption through Inception42. (Middle East AI News)
AI Models
MBZUAI startup releases fast open-source AI model
#UAE #agenticAI - Abu Dhabi-based Apertix, a startup incubated at MBZUAI, has open-sourced its Cerno 9B decision model. The nine-billion-parameter model ranks second among open models under 25 billion parameters on the Jev Decision Index leaderboard. (Middle East AI News)
Data
Jordan launches national digital data initiative
#Jordan #digitalgovernment - Jordan has launched a national data collection initiative to strengthen digital infrastructure. The aim is to improve data quality, accelerate AI adoption and support more effective digital public services. (Petra)
Education
Microsoft and UAE launch no-code app initiative
#UAE #coding - The UAE’s Artificial Intelligence Office and Microsoft have launched UAE Vibe Codes, attracting 5,000 registrations in its first hour. The initiative enables participants to develop apps using everyday language. (Middle East AI News)
UAE offers AED 9 million in government AI competition
#UAE #government - The UAE government has launched an annual competition offering AED 9 million ($2.45m) in prizes for innovative agentic AI solutions. Announced by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the challenge invites federal employees to transform public services and government. (Middle East AI News)
Funding
Oman’s Phaze Ventures targets $75M for AI funds
#Oman #venturecapital - Muscat-based Phaze Ventures has launched two investment funds targeting more than $75 million, with over $40 million already committed. Backed by major Omani investors, the funds will finance global AI and deeptech startups. (Middle East AI News)
Terra Invest backs Abu Dhabi AI firm AIREV
#UAE #funding - Terra Invest has joined a strategic funding round in Abu Dhabi-based AIREV to support its expansion and sovereign AI solutions. AIREV’s OnDemand platform serves over four million users and processed 6.8 trillion tokens in Q2 2026. (Middle East AI News)
ALPHA10X moves headquarters to Qatar after $5M funding
#Qatar #funding - French predictive AI company ALPHA10X is relocating its global headquarters to Doha following a $5 million funding round led by GrowthX Capital. The startup plans to recruit at least 50 senior staff in Qatar. (Middle East AI News)
Jordan secures $4.2 million World Bank grant for AI
#Jordan #funding - Jordan has signed a $4.2 million World Bank grant agreement to develop AI applications for government services and expand its Sanad digital platform to businesses. (Jordan News)
Transport
Dubai RTA targets $82 million annual AI value
#UAE #transport - Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority has unveiled an AI strategy targeting $82 million in annual added value. Within two and a half years, it plans to automate half its operations and services using AI agents, reduce traffic congestion by 5% and develop 40 AI products. (Middle East AI News)
Telecom
Batelco and Ericsson expand Bahrain’s 5G network
#Bahrain #telecoms - Bahrain’s Batelco and Ericsson are expanding their technology partnership to modernise the country’s 5G infrastructure with AI-powered network optimisation. (Ericsson)
Reports
AI adoption at DIFC firms doubles to 71%
#UAE #financialservices - Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) reports that AI adoption among surveyed DIFC firms reached 71% in 2026, up from 33% in 2024. Generative AI usage climbed to 67%, while 53% are testing or deploying AI agents. However, only 14% have deployed agents operationally. (Middle East AI News)
Abu Dhabi warns of growing human responsibility
#UAE #workforce - Abu Dhabi’s Department of Government Enablement has published a report warning that AI automation could increase human responsibility. The study defines four workplace scenarios. (Middle East AI News)
DFSA identifies four cyber risks from agentic AI
#UAE #cybersecurity - Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and Cambridge Digital Innovation and Regulation Initiative have published research examining cybersecurity risks from agentic AI in financial institutions. (Middle East AI News)
Cairo ICT / AIDC²
Cairo ICT puts AI infrastructure in the spotlight
#Egypt #AIDC - Egypt’s 30th Cairo ICT exhibition takes place from 7 to 10 November, alongside the third AIDC² Expo focusing on AI, data centres and cloud computing. Backed by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the event includes a sovereign AI infrastructure roundtable bringing together Arab and African decision-makers. (Middle East AI News)