Saudi digital twins delivered; GEMS AI hub opened
Middle East AI News weekly digest...
Good morning!
Welcome to this week’s Middle East AI News!
In today’s newsletter: Naver has created smart city digital twins for Mecca, Medina and Jeddah, digitisinng 6,800 square kilometers of terrain! GEMS Education opens a global AI innovation hub in Dubai to develop and test education solutions. Also lots of drone news as Chinese operator Meituan plans to expand specialised delivery services in Dubai, and Omani drone operators announce new plans.
Scroll down for these stories and more!
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Smart Cities
Naver creates digital twins for three Saudi cities
#Saudi #smartcities – Naver Corp. has delivered digital twins for Makkah (Mecca), Madinah (Medina) and Jeddah, mapping 920,000 buildings across 6,800 sq km in the first phase of a $100 million project. A new NHC-Naver JV, Naver Innovation, will develop a national super app for planning and services. (Middle East AI News)
AI Infrastructure
Khazna earns NVIDIA certification for Blackwell-ready AI data centres
#UAE #datacentres – G42’s Khazna Data Centers has secured NVIDIA certification for its next-gen Blackwell architecture-ready facilities. Building clusters of up to 250MW, Khazna is expanding into France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Türkiye and Kenya, supporting the UAE’s global AI infrastructure ambitions. (Middle East AI News)
Work remains to be done on US-UAE AI data campus deal
#UAE #infrastructure – Finalisation of the multi-billion dollar US-UAE AI data campus deal is still pending as U.S. authorities assess chip export conditions and enforcement terms. However, sources say such delays are normal given the scale and scope of the agreement. (Reuters)
Education
GEMS launches global education AI hub
#UAE #education – GEMS Education has unveiled a Global Education AI Hub to co-develop AI learning tools using data from 200,000 students and 15,000 teachers. Covering its 90+ schools, the Dubai-based hub will accelerate real-world testing of personalised learning, wellbeing tools and AI tutoring. (Middle East AI News)
LLMs
Falcon-H1 now available via NVIDIA inference microservice
#UAE #LLMs – Technology Innovation Institute’s Falcon-H1 LLM has joined NVIDIA’s NIM platform, offering enterprise-ready AI with 256K-token context, hybrid architecture, and multilingual support. The move follows 55M downloads of the Falcon series and enables faster, scalable deployment across cloud and on-premise systems. (Middle East AI News)
AI Strategy
Morocco appoints new digital agency chief
#Morocco #digitaltransformation – Amine El Mezouaghi has been named as the new Director General of Morocco’s Digital Development Agency. The move reinforces the country’s commitment to digital sovereignty and boosting competitiveness in the national digital economy. (Morocco World News)
Funding
Raises for AI startups less than 10% of $289M MENA funding
#MENA #funding – Startups in MENA raised $289 million in May, with Egypt attracting $125 ,million, according to Wamda. However, AI startups secured only $25 million across two deals, despite strong government interest in the sector, highlighting a gap between policy and venture funding. (Arab News)
Cybersecurity
96% of UAE firms use AI for cybersecurity, but skills shortage persists
#UAE #cybersecurity – A Cisco survey shows 96% of UAE firms use AI for threat detection, yet only 30% have mature defences. Talent shortages, Shadow AI, and complex tech stacks expose firms to risk. 93% faced AI-related incidents in 2024, with 75% expecting disruption by 2026. (Middle East AI News)
Innovation
BigBear.ai, Easy Lease, Vigilix partner to advance AI in UAE logistics
#UAE #logistics – IHC’s Easy Lease has partnered with US-based BigBear.ai and UAE-based Vigilix to localise and deploy AI solutions for mobility, logistics, and smart infrastructure. Backed by IHC, the collaboration aims to digitise last-mile delivery and enable AI-powered platforms across the region. (Middle East AI News)
Dubai’s IntelliDent AI partners with India’s Woxsen University
#UAE #healthtech – IntelliDent AI and Woxsen University have signed a five-year MoU to advance AI in healthcare. The partnership includes joint research, live projects, and entrepreneurship training, aiming to fast-track development of digital health solutions. (Zawya)
Air Mobility
China’s Meituan to expand Dubai drone delivery network
#UAE #dronedelivery– Meituan will add up to three new drone delivery routes in Dubai Marina by late 2025, prioritising emergency and medical services. The move supports UAE plans to create regulated drone corridors within 20 months. (AGBI)
AeroVecto, LYNEports launch hybrid eVTOL trials in Oman
#Oman #airtaxs– AeroVecto and LYNEports have launched Shuttle, a hybrid-electric eVTOL aircraft designed for intra-city travel. Trials will begin in Muscat, Sohar and Salalah, integrating AI-powered vertiport planning in support of Oman’s Vision 2040. (Zawya)
Oman’s Esbaar to launch heavy-duty drone cargo service in 2025
#Oman #dronedelivery– Omani AI firm Esbaar plans to launch the country’s first drone-based cargo delivery service before year-end. Using UAVs that can carry up to 700kg, the firm will target oil & gas, healthcare, and remote logistics. (Oman Observer)
Agriculture
Moroccan students build AI to fight wildfires, improve farming
#Morocco #agritech – Students from Hassan II University in Casablanca have created an AI system that uses weather and satellite data to predict wildfires and enhance crop planning, contributing to sustainable agriculture and climate resilience. (Hespress)
Hajj
Saudi Arabia launches AI smart system to protect Hajj pilgrims
#Saudi #Hajj – A new AI-powered platform deployed in Mina combines satellite imagery, GIS and remote sensing to monitor crowd movement, heat and congestion during Hajj. The system provides real-time alerts to improve field response and ensure pilgrim safety. (SPA)
Saudi Arabia rolls out world’s largest AI road inspection fleet
#Saudi #roads – Saudi Arabia’s Roads General Authority (RGA) has deployed 18 AI-powered inspection vehicles to monitor roads ahead of Hajj. Using five scanning technologies, the fleet checks for damage and safety risks in real time, supporting infrastructure resilience for 1.6 million pilgrims. (Middle East AI News)
Archeology
AI models suggest Dead Sea Scrolls may be 150 years older
#Jordan #archeology – AI analysis by Dutch researchers combining handwriting and radiocarbon data suggests parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls may be 150 years older than thought. The news could shift historical interpretations of the texts. (Arkeo News)
[ This newsletter was AI edited & human edited ]