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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!
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/Carrington
AI Models
MBZUAI’s IFM releases PAN 2 world model
#UAE #research - Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) has released PAN 2, an open-source world model predicting physical outcomes through video simulations. Developed by its Institute of Foundation Models, PAN 2 ranks third globally on Physics-IQ Verified and first among open-weight models. (Middle East AI News)
Khalifa University opens telecom AI model for testing
#UAE #telecom - Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa University has opened its RFGPT radio frequency AI model to telecom operators for two-week trials. Launched at MWC26 Doha with GSMA and AMD, the model could improve network planning, spectrum management and interference analysis. (Middle East AI News)
Egypt’s TokenAI releases 50,000 AI training records
#Egypt #opensource - Alexandria-based AI developer TokenAI has released The Forge Reasoning, an open-source dataset containing 50,000 records covering mathematics, science, programming, cybersecurity and AI. Available on Hugging Face, the dataset could reduce training costs for smaller AI laboratories. (Middle East AI News)
ADX
Presight profit jumps 31% to AED 145 million
#UAE #results - ADX-listed Presight reported a 31% increase in third-quarter profit to AED 144.5 million ($39.35m), with revenue rising 14.7% to AED 749.2 million ($204m). The G42 sub recorded 23.6% revenue growth over nine months to AED 2.15 billion, supported by government contracts and energy deployments. (Middle East AI News)
Startups
HUMAIN prepares new AI startup scaling initiative
#Saudi #startups - Saudi national AI company HUMAIN is preparing to launch Limitless, an initiative offering startups computing infrastructure, potential customers and investment capital. Based in Riyadh, the programme will be led by newly appointed head Amal Dokhan, formerly of 500 Global, and aims to accelerate the commercialisation of Saudi AI businesses. (Middle East AI News)
Journify raises $12M following fivefold growth
#UAE #AdTech - Dubai-based adtech company Journify has secured $12 million in Series A funding following fivefold revenue growth. Led by Al Mada Ventures and Silicon Badia, the investment will support expansion into the US and Europe. (TechCrunch)
Data Centres
Saudi fund signs $667M AI financing deals with HUMAIN
#Saudi #funding - Saudi Arabia’s National Infrastructure Fund (Infra) has signed AI financing agreements worth up to $667 million with HUMAIN. The deals will finance GPUs representing 25 megawatts of IT load and power infrastructure supporting up to one gigawatt of data centre capacity, marking the fund’s first AI Data Center Financing Program transactions. (Middle East AI News)
Education & Careers
Abu Dhabi launches 11 research talent initiatives
#UAE #research - Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council has launched an R&D Talent Enablement Programme connecting 11 initiatives spanning education, scholarships, training and internships. The programme includes a national Talent Observatory designed to track more than 20,000 promising researchers by 2030 and provide tailored career support. (Middle East AI News)
Saudi Arabia ranks third in global AI talent growth
#Saudi #research - A new study by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) ranks Saudi Arabia third globally for AI talent growth and leading AI model development. (Saudi Press Agency)
Iraq opens new institute for AI research
#Iraq #education - Iraq’s Minister of Higher Education has inaugurated the Higher Institute for Artificial Intelligence at Baghdad’s University of Technology. The new institute will advance AI research and practical applications. (Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research)
85% of UAE workers use AI, but 67% fear job losses
#UAE #workforce - A new Oliver Wyman Forum survey finds that 85% of UAE employees use AI at work, although 67% fear job displacement. Only 26% of executives report a clearly communicated organisational AI vision, versus 35% globally. (Middle East AI News)
Digital Transformation
Tunisia proposes $357M digital budget for 2027
#Tunisia #digitaltransformation - Tunisia has proposed a $356.8 million digital transformation budget for 2027, representing a 9.3% funding increase. The government’s priorities include artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital identity systems and expanded online public services. (Ecofin Agency)
Innovation
GSMA launches regional AI initiative at MWC Doha
#Qatar #MWCDoha - GSMA has launched its AI for Impact MENA Initiative at MWC26 Doha to accelerate AI-powered services across the region. The programme brings together operators including Beyon, du, Ooredoo, Turkcell, Vodafone and Zain, alongside governments and industry partners, focusing on practical deployment, skills development and responsible AI governance. (MWC Doha)
Fisheries
Oman develops AI fish farming system to cut costs
#Oman #fisheries - Oman’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources has partnered with Sultan Qaboos University on an 18-month AI aquaculture project. Using underwater imaging, the system will estimate fish biomass and automate feeding. With feed representing up to 70% of operating costs, the project aims to improve profitability. (Oman News Agency)
Reports
MENA firms plan 9.3% revenue spend on digitalisation
#MENA #digitaltransformation - GSMA Intelligence surveyed 885 enterprises across 10 countries, finding average planned digital transformation investment of 9.3% of revenues through 2032. AI and 5G will account for nearly one-third of spending. (Middle East AI News)
Regulation
DIFC proposes three-tier AI data risk framework
#UAE #regulation - Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has opened public consultation (non-legislative) on an AI Adequacy Protocol introducing three risk categories for AI systems processing personal data. The proposed framework includes progressively stricter certification requirements and recognises certain European, ISO and Singapore standards, potentially reducing compliance duplication for international businesses. (Middle East AI News)
Media
Saudi Arabia sets eight principles for AI in media
#Saudi #media - Saudi Arabia has introduced eight national principles governing AI use in media, including disclosure of AI-generated content, transparency, factual accuracy, privacy and accountability. (Arab News)
[ This newsletter was both AI edited & human edited ]