Qatar unveils sovereign LLM; Uber starts first 'driverless' service
Middle East AI News weekly digest...
Good morning!
Welcome to this week’s Middle East AI News!
Another big newsletter! Perhaps the biggest news of the week is the launch of Qatar’s first national large language model, Fanar! The Arabic language LLM was announced at the beginning of the first World Summit AI in Qatar. Meanwhile, in the UAE, the ATRC launched its latest technology venture: Nabat. The new venture will leverage cutting edge AI and robotics to combat mangrove deforestation. And the UAE Central Bank has approved the country’s first stablecoin!
Scroll down to read all the news!
One last thing to mention today - I’m pleased to announce that Middle East AI News is now an official Media Partner of Ai Everything GLOBAL!
Ai Everything is Dubai’s homegrown international AI event and previously a part of GITEX GLOBAL. Next year, Ai Everything GLOBAL will take place 4-6 February (4-Feb on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi and 5 & 6-Feb at Expo City in Dubai).
Thanks for reading!
/Carrington
LLMs
Qatar launches national LLM
#Qatar #ArabicAI - Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) has unveiled Fanar, Qatar’s first sovereign AI model. Launched at World Summit AI - Qatar in the presence of Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the Arabic language LLM was developed to enhance linguistic precision and GenAI in Arabic, in the context of local heritage and culture. Fanar Star 7B and Fanar Prime 8.78B were launched with six Generative AI apps, including a multimodal chatbot. (Middle East AI News)
New Arabic LLM leaderboard goes live on Hugging Face
#UAE #ArabicAI - Inception, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), and Hugging Face introduced AraGen, a leaderboard for Arabic LLMs. It uses the 3C3H evaluation measure and a specialised dataset for natural language generation. (Middle East AI News)
Abu Dhabi’s Applied AI launches Opus for regulated industries
#AbuDhabi #LLMs- G42-backed AppliedAI introduced Opus, a Gen AI platform powered by its proprietary Large Work Model (LWM) and Work Knowledge Graph. Opus delivers auditable AI workflows for industries like finance, healthcare, and insurance. (Middle East AI News)
AVs
Uber launches first international driverless taxis in Abu Dhabi
#UAE #AVs - Uber, in partnership with China’s WeRide, launched driverless taxis on Saadiyat Island and Yas Island, with safety operators onboard. Fully autonomous rides are planned in 2025. (SceneNow)
AI Strategy
Algeria unveils next phase of National AI Strategy
#Algeria #AIStrategy - Algeria’s updated National AI Strategy was launched at the National AI Strategy Conference. Stakeholders discussed implementation plans through 2030 alongside the African Startup Conference. (AI Council Algeria)
Egypt announces second phase of National AI Strategy
#Egypt #AIStrategy - Egypt will launch the next phase of its AI strategy in 2025, focusing on sector-wide AI integration, societal challenges, talent training, and improved compute infrastructure. (Egypt Today)
Economy
AI to generate $11 billion for Qatar's economy by 2030
#Qatar #economy - Invest Qatar and Accenture predict AI will contribute $11 billion to Qatar’s GDP and create 26,000 jobs by 2030. Qatar is investing $2.5 billion in data, AI and transformation initiatives, aiming for a top 10 spot on the Digital Competitiveness Index. (Middle East AI News)
R&D
ATRC launches AI & robotics venture to tackle deforestation
#UAE #mangrove - Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) - via its commercialisation arm VentureOne - has unveiled a climate tech startup leveraging AI and robotics to restore mangroves and other ecosystems. (Middle East AI News)
Qatar and UK establish joint AI Research Commission
#Qatar #UK #AIResearch - Qatar and the UK announced a joint AI Research Commission to enhance R&D collaboration, funded by the UK government’s Gulf Strategy Fund. As a first step, Queen Mary University of London and Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU) will conduct a study. (Middle East AI News)
Cryptocurrency
UAE's first regulated stablecoin approved
#UAE #cryptocurrency - UAE's first regulated stablecoin given final approval and will soon be made available through agents. The digital asset received the final licence from the Central Bank of the UAE, according to an AE Coin announcement made at Abu Dhabi Finance Week. (The National)
AI Policy
Qatar's AI and Rule of Law workshop convenes Arab delegates
#Qatar #justice - Qatar’s Ministry of Justice held a regional workshop on AI and the Rule of Law, in partnership with UNESCO. Attendees included legal experts from across the Arab world. (Qatar News Agency)
Innovation
Khalifa Fund launches MZN Hub for AI ventures
#UAE #startups - The UAE's Khalifa Fund unveiled MZN Hub to foster AI ventures, transform light manufacturing, and support local startups. (WAM)
Qatar opens Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution
#Qatar #C4IR - Qatar launched its Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution during Doha Forum 2024. This global World Economic Forum initiative aims to foster multistakeholder cooperation on emerging technologies. (The Peninsula Qatar)
Smart Cities
Advanced AI cameras crack down on traffic violations in Kuwait
#Kuwait #traffic - Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior has deployed AI-powered cameras to improve road safety. These systems detect violations like mobile phone use while driving and not wearing seat belts, aiming to reduce accidents caused by reckless driving and promote compliance with traffic laws. (Arab Times)
Corporate Moves
Databricks expands presence in Saudi Arabia with Riyadh hub
#SaudiArabia #Databricks - Databricks has established a regional office in Riyadh. The AI company plans to focus on strategic partnerships and upskilling programs while supporting local innovators like Abdul Latif Jameel and Panda Retail through its Data Intelligence Platform. (Databricks)
[ This newsletter was AI edited & human edited ]