Mistral AI's Arabic LLM; stc & SambaNova launch sovereign cloud
Middle East AI News weekly digest...
Good morning!
Welcome to this week’s Middle East AI News! We have lots to share today!
Top stories this week include Mistral AI’s first Arabic-centric large language model; stc and SambaNova’s launch of the world’s largest Sovereign Cloud; Abu Dhabi-based Presight’s $190 million smart city deal with Astana, in Kazakhstan; MongoDB’s plans to double its headcount in the region; and the UAE-built open-source AI model that has been downloaded more than 50 million times over the past month!
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/Carrington
LLMS
Mistral AI unveils Arabic-centric model
#France #LLMs– Mistral AI has introduced Mistral Saba, a 24-billion parameter model designed to improve AI fluency in Arabic and South Asian languages. According to the developer, the model outperforms others over five times its size on Arabic benchmarks. (Middle East AI News)
New Kazakh language AI model launched
#UAE #Kazakhstan #LLMs – Inception and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) have released Sherkala, an open-source Kazakh language AI model with 8 billion parameters. Trained on 45 billion words, it supports Kazakh, English, Russian, and Turkish. (Middle East AI News)
AI Cloud
Saudi Arabia launches world’s largest sovereign AI cloud
#Saudi #sovereigncloud – STC’s new AI subsidiary has introduced the world’s largest sovereign AI cloud platform. Built with SambaNova Systems, the platform will host Meta’s Llama 405B, delivering the fastest AI inference speeds. (Middle East AI News)
UAE’s Core42 launches free AI Developer Playground
#UAE #AI – Core42 has partnered with Qualcomm to launch a free AI Developer Playground. The platform, powered by Qualcomm’s Cloud AI accelerators, enables developers to build and optimise AI applications. (Middle East AI News)
Open-Source
UAE AI model surpasses 54 million downloads
#UAE #opensource – Falcons AI’s Fine-Tuned Vision Transformer model has exceeded 54 million downloads on Hugging Face in 28 days. Designed to classify NSFW content, it is now the fifth most downloaded AI model on the platform. (Middle East AI News)
Robotics
Saudi to export industrial robots by May
#Saudi #robotics – Alat, a Public Investment Fund (PIF)-owned technology group, will begin exporting Saudi-made industrial robots by May 2025. In partnership with SoftBank Group, the initiative aims to boost Saudi Arabia’s presence in advanced manufacturing. (Middle East AI News)
Smart Cities
Astana city signs $190 million AI smart city deal
#Kazakhstan #UAE #smartcities – Astana has signed a $190 million agreement with UAE-based Presight to implement a smart city project and digital twin. The initiative will optimise infrastructure and public services. (Middle East AI News)
UAE maps air corridors for air taxis and drones
#UAE #airmobility – The UAE is defining air corridors and regulations for air taxis and cargo drones, with a framework expected within 20 months. This could impact companies aiming to launch aerial services later this year. (The National)
Saudi SDAIA launches Smart Cities Bootcamp
#Saudi #smartcities – Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) has launched the Smart Cities Bootcamp at King Saud University to train national talent in AI-powered urban development. (SPA)
Corporate
MongoDB to double regional headcount in 2025
#UAE #growth – MongoDB plans to more than double its workforce across the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa as demand for AI and digital transformation rises in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The cloud database firm is expanding its teams following five years of strong regional growth. (Middle East AI News)
Qualcomm joins UAE’s NextGen FDI initiative
#UAE #FDI – Qualcomm has partnered with the UAE Ministry of Economy’s NextGen FDI initiative to establish a presence in Abu Dhabi. The firm also plans to support AI and other emerging tech startups through Qualcomm Ventures. (Middle East AI News)
Funding
Aramco backs Telefonica-supported AI startup
#Saudi #funding – Saudi Aramco’s Wa’ed Ventures has invested in Ori, a GPU-as-a-Service startup backed by Telefonica. Ori offers end-to-end AI infrastructure, combining advanced GPU computing with flexible software to optimise resources. (Bloomberg)
Algérie Télécom launches $11 million AI startup fund
#Algeria #funding – Algérie Télécom has launched a 1.5 billion dinar ($11m) fund for AI, cybersecurity, and robotics startups. Announced at the CTO Forum Algeria, the initiative aligns with national goals to establish 20,000 startups. (Middle East AI News)
Labs & CoEs
Expo City Dubai and Heriot-Watt to open AI research hub
#UAE #R&D – Expo City Dubai is partnering with Heriot-Watt University Dubai to launch the UAE Robotarium, a cutting-edge AI and robotics R&D centre. The initiative will focus on automation solutions and global AI talent. (Middle East AI News)
Iraq opens Digital Transformation and Automation Center
#Iraq #innovation – Iraq has launched the Digital Transformation and Automation Center as part of its national AI and digital business strategy. (MEA Tech Watch)
SFDA launches AI lab at LEAP25
#Saudi #regulation – The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has launched the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL) at LEAP25. The lab will develop AI-driven solutions to enhance food and drug regulatory and operational processes. (SPA)
Competitions
AI71 launches ‘Future of AI’ competition
#Global #competitions – AI71 has opened a Call for Proposals to drive AI innovation, offering $50,000 in compute power for winning ideas. Researchers, developers, and entrepreneurs can submit proposals for transformative AI solutions using the AI71 Platform and Falcon AI models. (Middle East AI News)
KSGAAL and ALECSO wrap up Arabic AI competition
#Saudi #Tunisia #Arabic – The King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language (KSGAAL) and Arab League Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) concluded an Arabic AI competition with nearly 3 million participants. The event was held in Tunisia during Arab Code Week. (SPA)
Semiconductor
Oman to establish AI chip unit in Salalah
#Oman #semiconductors – Oman has signed an MoU to develop an AI semiconductor manufacturing unit in Salalah Free Zone, supported by global investors. (Muscat Daily)
KFAS launches TechEdge to empower Kuwaiti youth
#Kuwait #TechEducation – The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) has launched TechEdge in partnership with the National University of Singapore, NBK, and Zain. The initiative aims to equip young Kuwaitis with expertise in AI, data science, and cybersecurity to boost their career prospects. (MSN)
Defence
EDGE launches AI-powered intelligence platform TACTICA
#UAE #Falcon – EDGE Group’s FADA has unveiled TACTICA, an AI-driven multi-source intelligence platform at IDEX 2025. Powered by UAE’s Falcon LLM, Tactica integrates satellite imagery, signals intelligence, and sensor data, enhancing situational awareness. (EDGE Group)
[ This newsletter was AI edited & human edited ]