G42, Santander partner for AI; Positron AI opens first global office in DIFC
Middle East AI News weekly digest...
Good morning!
Welcome to this week’s Middle East AI News email digest!
Another mega news week for AI in the region! In this edition, Positron AI opens its first global office at DIFC; G42 and Banco Santander sign a global AI collaboration deal to serve 176 million banking customers; Emirates NBD and First Abu Dhabi Bank top the inaugural Middle East and Africa AI banking index; Core42 triples its Buffalo AI compute capacity; Saudi firms lead the world in AI ROI confidence according to KPMG's 2026 report; and UAE organisations beat global peers in enterprise agentic AI integration.
And congratulations to Middle East AI News sponsor Positron AI, the fast-growing US-based developer of hardware and software for AI inference, on the opening of the company’s first global office in DIFC! Start a conversation with Positron and find out about how to achieve the highest performance and the lowest cost per token for AI inference here.
Thanks for reading and wishing you an early Eid Mubarak!
/Carrington
Positron AI opens first global hub in DIFC
#UAE #semiconductors - Positron AI has opened its first international office at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The company develops AI inference hardware designed to reduce costs, power consumption and memory constraints, targeting enterprise, financial services and sovereign technology deployments across the region. (Middle East AI News) - Contact Positron AI
Banking
G42 and Santander sign global AI deal
#UAE #banking - G42 and Banco Santander will co-develop banking intelligence, agentic financial services and large-scale infrastructure initiatives. Inception’s Catalyst platform and Presight technologies will support new services for Santander’s 176 million customers across international markets. (Middle East AI News)
UAE banks lead regional AI rankings
#UAE #banking - Emirates NBD ranked first and First Abu Dhabi Bank third in the inaugural Evident AI Index for Banks in the Middle East and Africa. The assessment of 25 institutions highlighted leadership, innovation, transparency and talent development in banking technology. (Middle East AI News)
Data Centres
Core42 expands US AI compute capacity
#UAE #datacentres - Core42 has expanded its Lake Mariner AI compute cluster in Buffalo from 18 megawatts to 60 megawatts, adding 42 megawatts of new capacity. The G42 company said the site strengthens its growing infrastructure footprint across the US, Europe and Middle East. (Middle East AI News)
Oman to invest in Rwanda AI-ready data centre
#Rwanda #Oman #datacentres - Broadband Systems Corporation and Oman Data Park (now Otech) have signed an agreement to jointly invest in an AI-ready Tier III data centre in Kigali. The project will strengthen cloud, data processing and digital infrastructure capabilities while supporting Rwanda’s wider technology transformation ambitions. (TechAfrica News)
AI Adoption
Saudi firms lead globally on AI ROI confidence
#Saudi #enterprise - KPMG’s Saudi Arabia Tech Report 2026 found 76% of organisations expect AI to deliver measurable enterprise-wide returns within 12 months, the highest level globally. The study also highlighted strong digital investment, centralised governance and widespread adoption of agentic AI across Saudi enterprises. (Middle East AI News)
UAE leads world in AI agent integration
#UAE #enterprise - KPMG’s UAE Tech Report 2026 found 97% of organisations are embedding AI agents into workflows, products and services, compared with 87% globally. The report also highlighted strong resilience, cybersecurity maturity and growing investment in digital technologies across the UAE. (Middle East AI News)
Smart Cities
Dubai RTA digital revenue rises to AED 5.3bn
#UAE #mobility - Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) generated AED 5.3 billion in digital revenue during 2025, up more than 20% year on year. Digital adoption reached 96%, with 628 million transactions completed as the authority expands AI, virtual assistants and smart mobility services. (Middle East AI News)
Telecom
Zain KSA launches AI Centre of Excellence
#Saudi #CoEs - Zain KSA has launched a new AI Centre of Excellence to support its shift towards an AI-first operating model. The initiative will embed advanced technologies across operations, expand enterprise services and support Saudi Arabia’s national Year of AI. (Zain KSA)
Economy
Egypt targets $6 billion in outsourcing exports
#Egypt #outsourcing - Egypt is targeting $6 billion in outsourcing exports this year as it expands its digital economy strategy. The government is advancing technology zones, mobile phone manufacturing, data centre investment and AI-ready infrastructure to strengthen its global services position. (Daily News Egypt)
Egypt seeks deeper Korea technology ties
#Egypt #investment - Egypt is expanding cooperation with South Korea on digital transformation, industrial development and emerging technologies. Discussions between Egyptian officials and the Export-Import Bank of Korea focused on investment, development financing and expertise to support Egypt’s Vision 2030 objectives. (Ahram Online)
Funding
QIA backs Anthropic again in $65 billion funding round
#Qatar #global - Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has increased its stake in Anthropic by participating in the AI company’s $65 billion Series H funding round. The financing supports additional compute capacity, safety research and global expansion, while Anthropic has also filed draft paperwork for a potential IPO. (Zawya)
Efham.ai raises funding to expand Arabic AI learning
#Egypt #edtech - Egypt-based NixAI has secured investment from Foras.AI for its Efham.ai platform, which aims to build the first Arabic-language community focused on AI education. Efham.ai plans to launch more than 100 training lessons by the end of Q3 2026 across key Arab markets. (Wamda)
Hajj
Saudi expands Hajj monitoring with satellites
#Saudi #environment - Environmental monitoring across Jeddah and Mecca (Makkah) during the Hajj pilgrimage has been strengthened through AI and satellite imagery. More than 200 satellite images supported inspection activities, helping authorities improve pollution forecasting, expand oversight and reinforce sustainability measures along key pilgrimage routes. (Arab News)
Media
UAE highlights agentic AI in media strategy
#UAE #guidelines - The UAE Government Media Office has launched a new Government Media Content Guideline while identifying agentic AI as a future capability for public-sector communications. The initiative aims to improve content quality, strengthen crisis response and enhance citizen engagement. (Emirates News Agency)
[ This newsletter was both AI edited & human edited ]