Humain-Qualcomm data centre deal; Aramco's Humain investment
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!
A very busy week so far with multiple events around the region, including FII9 in Riyadh! HUMAIN has made several big announcements including a plan to build a data centre with Qualcomm for hybrid AI inferencing and a $3 billion data centre deal with AirTrunk - but nothing further on the company’s AI PC yet!
Scroll down for these stories and more!
On today’s Middle East AI News LIVE show at 12 noon KSA / 1pm UAE time, I’ll be talking to AIREV founder and CEO Muhammad Khaled about getting agentic AI platform OnDemand certified by Supermicro and sovereign AI environments. You can watch via LinkedIn or YouTube.
Thank you for reading! And if you’d like to find out more about our Strategic Sponsor Presight, find out more here!
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Infrastructure
HUMAIN, Qualcomm to build hybrid AI infrastructure
#Saudi #inference – HUMAIN and Qualcomm will create a 200MW hybrid AI system integrating HUMAIN’s Arabic LLMs with Qualcomm’s edge platforms. The project will power next-gen enterprise and government services, targeting deployment in 2026. (Middle East AI News)
Humain, AirTrunk in $3bn Saudi data centre deal
#Saudi #DataInfrastructure – Saudi AI firm HUMAIN has partnered with AirTrunk to invest $3 billion in a large-scale data centre campus in the Kingdom. Backed by Blackstone and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the project will deliver AI-ready infrastructure. (Arab News)
G42 and Cisco to deploy AMD-powered AI cluster
#UAE #infrastructure – Abu Dhabi’s G42 and US firm Cisco will build a major AI cluster using AMD Instinct MI350X GPUs within the planned 5GW UAE–US AI Campus. Cisco will serve as technology integrator, expanding the AI Acceleration Partnership and regional GPU capacity. (Middle East AI News)
Sovereign AI
AIREV gains Supermicro certification for OnDemand AI
#UAE #agenticAI – AIREV Holding has earned Supermicro certification for its OnDemand agentic AI platform, enabling global sales of Supermicro AI workstations preloaded with AIREV’s sovereign, air-gapped environment for secure deployments in finance, research and government. (Middle East AI News)
Investment
Aramco to merge AI assets with HUMAIN
#Saudi #AI – Saudi Aramco will consolidate its AI assets under national firm HUMAIN, acquiring a minority stake from the Public Investment Fund (PIF). The merger combines Aramco AI capabilities, talent and assets to accelerate HUMAIN’s growth. Details have yet to be agreed. (Middle East AI News)
Artefact expands to Qatar to drive data and AI growth
#Qatar #corporate – Global data and AI consultancy Artefact has launched a dedicated Doha entity to advance Qatar’s digital transformation goals. The new office, led by a local team of data and AI specialists, will deliver analytics, cloud, and governance solutions to both public and private sector clients. (Zawya)
R&D
Presight opens Central Asia R&D lab in Kazakhstan
#Kazakhstan #UAE #R&D – Abu Dhabi-based Presight has opened an R&D lab at Alem.ai in Astana to focus on AI, analytics and digital governance. The expansion supports Kazakhstan’s tech sovereignty agenda and strengthens Presight’s regional innovation footprint. (Middle East AI News)
TII reports record 70 patents and new AI milestones
#UAE #R&D – Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute (TII) has 70 patents in progress across nine research centres, its most active year yet. Highlights include Falcon-H1 and Falcon Arabic LLMs, a liquid rocket engine, and the Manarat quantum processor, developed alongside NVIDIA. (WAM)
Startups
Hub71 launches life sciences ecosystem in Abu Dhabi
#UAE #lifesciences – Hub71 has unveiled Hub71+ Life Sciences, connecting biotech, medtech and digital health startups with regulators and investors to accelerate clinical validation and market access. The move bolsters Abu Dhabi’s global standing in health innovation. (Abu Dhabi Media Office)
Velents.ai raises $1.5m for Arabic AI employee agent
#Saudi #funding – Saudi-Egyptian start-up Velents.ai has secured $1.5 million to expand its Arabic AI employee platform, Agent.sa. The tool handles voice and text in Arabic to assist clients across government, education and private sectors. (Middle East AI News)
MBZUAI launches ‘Build It Demo Day’ for AI innovators
#UAE #startups – Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence’s Incubation and Entrepreneurship Centre has launched “Build It Demo Day,” an event showcasing working AI solutions. Participants gain exposure to investors and over $200,000 in tech credits from OpenAI, NVIDIA, AWS, and others. (WAM)
Urban mobility
Riyadh robotaxis hits 1,000 passengers
#Saudi #robotaxis – Riyadh’s autonomous vehicle pilot has now carried more than 1,000 passengers since launch. Operated by the Transport General Authority (TGA) with Uber and WeRide, the service spans Roshn Front and Princess Nourah University as real-world data collection continues ahead of wider rollout under Saudi Vision 2030. (Zawya)
Qatar, Yutong discuss e-bus manufacturing partnership
#Qatar #Transport – Qatar’s transport minister met China’s Yutong Bus Co. in Zhengzhou to strengthen collaboration on electric and autonomous mobility. Talks covered establishing an e-bus manufacturing plant in Qatar’s free zones, joint investments with Mowasalat, and advancing public transport. (Qatar Day)
Abu Dhabi to link self-driving cars to 5.5G
#UAE #AutonomousVehicles – Space42 and e& are set to trial self-driving cars connected to 5.5G networks in Abu Dhabi. The initiative will enable vehicles to communicate in real time, enhancing safety and laying the groundwork for next-generation intelligent transport systems across the UAE. (The National)
Policy
Abu Dhabi AI Council reconstituted with new members
#UAE #Governance – HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has restructured Abu Dhabi’s Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council (AIATC), adding two members to form an 11-seat board. (Middle East AI News)
Oman launches national data strategy 2025–2030
#Oman #data – The National Centre for Statistics and Information has unveiled Oman’s Strategy for Statistics and Information 2025–2030, unifying national data systems and enhancing coordination across ministries to advance evidence-based governance under Oman Vision 2040. (Muscat Daily)
Smart cites
Qatar unveils AI-powered building permit platform
#Qatar #SmartGovernment – The Ministry of Municipality has launched an AI-powered system that cuts building permit approvals from 30 days to two hours. The platform automatically analyses engineering plans and regulatory data. (The Peninsula)
Orange Egypt and EHCAAN unveil ‘Maryam’ AI assistant
#Egypt #aviation – The Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation, in partnership with Orange Egypt, has launched “Maryam,” the country’s first AI-powered airport assistant at Cairo International Airport. Available in Arabic and English, the system provides real-time flight, service and travel information through smart interactive devices. (Ahram Online)
Analog, Boston Dynamics partner on UAE robotics
#UAE #robotics – G42 group company Analog and US robotics pioneer Boston Dynamics will co-develop a new robotics platform for the UAE. Analog’s neural agent Ana will be integrated into Spot robots, starting with deployments for the Department of Municipalities and Transport. (Middle East AI News)
Education
UAE AI Office, OpenAI publish leadership guide
#UAE #education – The UAE’s Artificial Intelligence Office, in collaboration with OpenAI, has launched an AI Leadership Guide offering a framework for institutional leaders to advance responsible AI adoption aligned with national ethics and strategy goals. (Middle East AI News)
[ This newsletter was both AI edited & human edited ]