Presight Q1 revenue up 22%; UAE leads GenAI adoption
Middle East AI News weekly digest...
Good morning!
Welcome to this week’s Middle East AI News email digest!
Another packed edition today! This week, the UAE cements its position as the global leader in generative AI adoption; Presight discloses strong growth for Q1; plans to implement agentic AI across 50% of the UAE government get underway; South Korea and the UAE deepen cooperation on AI infrastructure and semiconductors; and Morocco signs three new deals to accelerate public sector digital transformation.
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Presight
Presight revenue rises 22%
#UAE #results - Abu Dhabi-based Presight reported first-quarter revenue growth of 22.2 percent year-on-year to AED 689 million ($188m), as international revenue surged nearly 63 percent. The company’s expanding backlog and government contracts reflect rising global demand for sovereign AI infrastructure and analytics services. (Middle East AI News)
Presight signs urban OS deal in Kazakhstan
#UAE #SmartCities - Presight has signed an agreement to develop an AI-powered urban operating system for the City of Almaty in Kazakhstan. The project covers transport, public safety and municipal infrastructure, alongside a new AI data centre supporting sovereign AI and real-time city operations. (Middle East AI News)
New Reports
UAE leads global generative AI adoption
#UAE #adoption - The UAE now has the world’s highest generative AI adoption rate, with 70.1 percent of the working-age population using GenAI tools, according to Microsoft’s AI Economy Institute. (Middle East AI News)
AI performance reshapes UAE CEO accountability
#UAE #governance - Research from Dataiku found that 79 percent of UAE CEOs believe their roles could be at risk if organisations fail to deliver measurable AI results by the end of 2026. The findings highlight rising investor and board-level pressure for executives to lead AI strategy and governance. (Middle East AI News)
MENA shoppers warm to AI buying agents
#UAE #AIshopping - Checkout.com says half of MENA consumers are open to AI-powered shopping agents making purchases on their behalf. However, the payments platform found privacy concerns and payment security remain the biggest barriers to broader AI commerce adoption across the region. (Middle East AI News)
Government
UAE PM reviews plans for agentic AI rollout
#UAE #agenticAI- The UAE government has begun implementing its agentic AI transformation programme less than three weeks after Cabinet approval. UAE Prime Minister, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum reviewed plans to deploy agentic AI across 50 percent of government sectors, services and operations within two years. (Middle East AI News)
Mansour bin Zayed reviews UAE agentic AI rollout
#UAE #agenticAI - UAE Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan chaired a meeting of the Ministerial Council for AI and Development in Abu Dhabi, reviewing federal readiness to adopt agentic AI models. The council examined implementation plans, AI policy proposals and workforce upskilling initiatives across UAE government entities. (WAM)
Morocco signs digital reform and AI partnerships
#Morocco #digitalgovernment - Morocco has signed three digital partnership agreements to modernise public services, strengthen transparency and expand AI adoption across government operations. The initiatives cover AI, open data, anti-corruption systems and digital citizen services, as internet penetration in the country surpassed 112 percent by the end of 2025. (Ecofin Agency)
UAE publishes practical generative AI guide
#UAE #education - The UAE Artificial Intelligence Office has released a practical generative AI guide featuring 19 real-world use cases for government entities, businesses, developers and students. The initiative aims to accelerate responsible GenAI adoption. (Middle East AI News)
UAE launches AI national archives initiative
#UAE #history - The UAE National Library and Archives has launched new AI and digital transformation projects to preserve national history. The initiative will use robotics, smart archiving and AI-powered indexing systems to improve access to historical records and strengthen long-term digital preservation. (Gulf News)
AI Voice
Intella adds Swahili AI voice capabilities
#Saudi #Kenya #AIvoice- Riyadh- and Cairo-based AI voice company Intella has launched Swahili language support for its Ziila AI assistant at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi. The company demonstrated seamless switching between Swahili, Arabic, French and English during live customer interactions. (Africa AI News)
Education
MBZUAI graduates largest AI class to date
#UAE #education - Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) has graduated 140 AI specialists from 23 countries in its largest class yet. The graduates completed advanced degrees in machine learning, robotics and computer vision, supporting the UAE’s AI strategy. (MBZUAI)
Morocco deploys AI anti-cheating system
#Morocco #cybersecurity - Morocco is deploying a homegrown Edge AI system across more than 2,000 national examination centres to combat exam fraud. Startup SensThings launched production of its T3 Shield device, which detects hidden electronic communication tools. (Morocco World News)
New Ventures
CentaureAI launches smart monitoring platform
#UAE #IoT - Technology Innovation Institute (TII) spin-out CentaureAI last week unveiled a real-time operational intelligence platform that converts CCTV cameras, sensors and IoT systems into AI-powered monitoring networks. The platform targets smart cities, transport hubs and infrastructure operators. (Middle East AI News)
Egrobots launches autonomous harvesting robot
#Egypt #agritech - Egrobots has launched the Arab world’s first autonomous agricultural harvesting robot developed entirely by Egyptian engineers. The AI-powered system uses computer vision and autonomous navigation to identify ripe crops and operate with minimal human intervention. (Middle East AI News)
AppyThings expands enterprise AI operations in Saudi
#Saudi #AIcloud - Netherlands-based Google Cloud partner AppyThings has launched AppyThings Arabia in Riyadh after two years operating in Saudi Arabia. The company provides API integration, cloud architecture and data infrastructure supporting AI-native platforms across sectors. (Middle East AI News)
Arabic AI
Myndlab launches Arabic AI app builder
#UAE #Arabic - Dubai-based Permus Software House has launched Myndlab, described as the region’s first native Arabic AI application builder. The platform creates deployable enterprise-ready applications from a single Arabic or English prompt. (Middle East AI News)
Yasi One launches AI platform from Abu Dhabi
#UAE #Arabic - Abu Dhabi-based Yasi One has officially launched its next-generation Arabic-enabled AI platform, developed through a partnership between Italy’s Synapsia and UAE-based Aion Global. (Zawya)
Healthcare
M42 launches AI kidney health assistant
#UAE #healthtech - Abu Dhabi-based M42 and renal care company Diaverum have launched kidney.com, a free AI-powered kidney health education platform available across five countries. The multilingual platform delivers personalised, evidence-based guidance to support chronic kidney disease management. (Middle East AI News)
Telecom
Ooredoo and Microsoft launch AI telco programme
#Qatar #telecom - Ooredoo Qatar has launched a Strategic Digital & AI Transformation Programme with Microsoft to accelerate its shift into an AI-powered telecom operator. (Middle East AI News)
Bilaterals
Korea and UAE deepen AI infrastructure alliance
#UAE #semiconductors - South Korea and the UAE have strengthened cooperation on AI and semiconductor infrastructure through a new strategic alliance forum in Seoul. Discussions focused on linking Korea’s semiconductor and energy-efficient AI expertise with Emirati investment, including support for the UAE’s planned Stargate AI Data Center Campus project. (Korea Times)
Industry
du and AGPC deploy industrial AI platform
#UAE #manufacturing - UAE telco du and steel manufacturer AGPC have deployed an Industrial AI Vision Platform at Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD). The system provides AI-powered quality inspection, operational traceability and real-time production intelligence for steel pipe manufacturing. (Middle East AI News)
[ This newsletter was both AI edited & human edited ]