DEEP.SA raises $1.2M; $169B MENA IT spending forecasted
Middle East AI News weekly digest...
Good morning!
Welcome to this week’s Middle East AI News email digest, brought to you by big data analytics and AI company Presight!
Despite media reports on the lack of venture capital funding for Middle East AI startups, in Saudi Arabia we’ve seen an AI startup funding announced every week for the past four weeks! Riyadh-based DEEP.SA just announced a $1.2m Pre-Seed raise.
Meanwhile, Gartner releases its IT spending forecast for 2026 and a very different picture for 2025, compared to its previous forecasts. And OpenAI’s new gpt-oss models are available via GroqCloud powered by its Dammam data centre!
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Startups
Saudi AI startup DEEP.SA raises $1.2 million
#Saudi #funding - DEEP.SA has secured $1.2 million in pre-seed funding from TAM and RAED Ventures. The startup’s GraphI platform turns complex datasets into actionable insights for government decision-making, aiming to cut costs and boost efficiency. (Middle East AI News)
Jeddah opens first AI entrepreneurship lab
#Saudi #startups - The StartSmart Entrepreneurship Centre has launched Jeddah’s first AI lab with Community Jameel Saudi. The hub will offer workshops, mentoring, and AI toolkits to embed AI in local startups, driving innovation and economic diversification. (Arab News)
Mubadala Capital joins $150m Anaconda round
#UAE #investment - Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Capital has participated in a $150 million Series C for US open-source AI firm Anaconda. The funds will accelerate product expansion and strategic acquisitions. (Zawya)
EQIQ backs Iraq’s first AI logistics platform
#Iraq #logistics – UAE-based VC fund EQIQ has invested $1.5 million in Boxy, Iraq’s first AI-powered logistics aggregator. Boxy integrates 1,500 couriers into a single platform, recently doubling its merchant adoption. (Iraq Business News)
IT Spending
AI demands disrupt MENA IT spending
#MENA #datacentres - Gartner forecasts MENA IT spending will reach $169 billion in 2026, elevated by data centre growth surging due to AI demand. Spending on data centre systems is now expected to rise 69% in 2025 and 37% in 2026 to reach $13 billion. Software expenditure will rise 13.9% amid accelerating generative AI adoption. (Middle East AI News)
LLMs
TII unveils Arabic STEM AI benchmark
#UAE #STEM - Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute (TII) has released 3LM, an open-source benchmark for evaluating Arabic large language models in STEM reasoning and coding. The tool aims to close a major gap in assessing Arabic AI systems’ technical performance. (Middle East AI News)
GenAI
Red Sea Global deploys SAP AI copilot for HR
#Saudi #copilots - Red Sea Global has rolled out SAP’s Joule AI copilot across its HR operations, serving 10,500 employees. The deployment, part of a four-year partnership with SAP, will automate tasks from job description writing to performance reviews, boosting enterprise efficiency. (Middle East AI News)
Groq, HUMAIN launch OpenAI models on day zero
#Saudi #inference - Groq and Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN have deployed OpenAI’s new open-weight models gpt-oss-120B and gpt-oss-20B on GroqCloud with immediate regional access. The launch offers real-time performance, 128K context, and competitive pricing from $0.10 per million input tokens. (Middle East AI News)
DEWA AI assistant tops 2 million enquiries in 2024
#UAE #utilities - Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s AI assistant Rammas handled two million customer enquiries in 2024, up 10% year-on-year. Since integrating ChatGPT features in 2023, Rammas has processed over 11.4 million enquiries. (Middle East AI News)
Investment
MGX considers $25bn AI infrastructure fund
#UAE #investment - Abu Dhabi-based MGX is exploring a $25 billion fund to expand AI infrastructure globally, according to Bloomberg. Backed by Mubadala and G42, the firm has invested in OpenAI, xAI and major data centre projects. (Bloomberg)
Digital transformation
Saudi launches Phase 3 of AdopTech initiative
#Saudi #industry4_0 - The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has launched Phase Three of AdopTech, targeting 15 AI-driven projects in industrial and logistics sectors. The Vision 2030-linked programme connects tech firms with businesses to deliver real-world solutions. (Middle East AI News)
Saudi digital maturity index hits 86.7% in 2025
#Saudi #governmentservices – Saudi Arabia’s Digital Government Authority announced that the 2025 Digital Experience Maturity Index scored 86.71%, earning an “Advanced” rating. The Absher platform led with 93.95%. The index assessed 50 platforms and surveyed over 374,000 beneficiaries nationwide. (SPA)
Kuwait Justice Ministry nears full digital shift
#Kuwait #justice - Kuwait’s Ministry of Justice is finalising legislation to enable full digital transformation of its services. Backed by partnerships with Google and Microsoft, the reform aims to streamline case filing, court procedures, and ruling enforcement. (Kuwait Times)
Mobility
Riyadh launches autonomous food delivery pilot
#Saudi #fooddelivery - Saudi Arabia’s Transport General Authority (TGA) has begun an autonomous food delivery trial at ROSHN Business Front, Riyadh. Five Jahez robots will serve restaurants and offices, following another major autonomous vehicle pilot launched in the city days earlier. (Middle East AI News)
Healthcare
M42 AI model excels in TB screening
#UAE #tuberculosis - Abu Dhabi’s M42 has published results from a study of over one million chest X-rays, showing its AIRIS-TB AI model achieved 98.5% AUROC and zero false negatives. The system can automate up to 80% of TB screenings, reducing workload and errors. (Emirates News Agency)
Oman uses AI for heart disease diagnostics
#Oman #genetics - Researchers at Oman’s National Genetics Centre have applied AI to diagnose genetic causes of cardiomyopathy with over 80% accuracy. The breakthrough could improve early detection. (Times of Oman)
Regulation
Jordan issues AI rules for banking sector
#Jordan #banking - The Central Bank of Jordan has introduced a regulatory framework for AI adoption in banking, covering governance, risk, and data protection. The initiative aims to support innovation and position Jordan as a regional FinTech hub. (Middle East AI News)
Education
Egypt, Dell train 676 students in AI initiative
#Egypt #training – Egypt’s Ministry of CIT and Dell Technologies have completed the third round of an AI capacity-building programme, training 676 university students. To date, the initiative has reached 1,620 students. An AI hackathon and new EGP 10 million competition were also announced. (Daily News Egypt)
Arts
Egyptian Actor's Syndicate forms AI misuse committee
#Egypt #arts – The Egyptian Actor's Syndicate has established a committee to monitor and address AI-generated misuse of actors’ images and voices. The group aims to protect reputations and prevent commercial exploitation amid rising concerns over AI content manipulation. (Cairo Scene)
[ This newsletter was AI edited & human edited ]