Good morning!
Welcome to this week’s Middle East AI News email digest, brought to you by big data analytics and AI company Presight!
It’s the end of July and still lots of news! The sky is not the limit for Abu Dhabi-based Madari Space, which aims to launch data centres into orbit! In other startup news, Riyadh-based Arabic AI voice venture Sawt raises $1 million - that’s $32.5 million in Saudi AI startup funding announced this month! We also have more news from the relentless G42 group, with a huge AI compute deal under negotiation with Germany’s Northern Data and a deal between Presight and Abu Dhabi Police.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s national AI education initiative SAMAI has now trained 420,000 members of the public this year! Scroll down for these stories and more!
As usual, thank you for reading Middle East AI News! Do check out our Strategic Sponsor Presight here!
/Carrington
Startups
Madari Space to launch orbiting data centre
#UAE#space – UAE-based Madari Space plans to deploy the first commercial data centre in low Earth orbit by Q3 2026. The satellite facility will offer secure, solar-powered cloud processing and is backed by the UAE Space Agency, Mohammmed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and other global partners. (Middle East AI News)
Saudi AI voice startup Sawt raises $1m pre-Seed round
#Saudi #funding – Riyadh-based Sawt has raised $1 million in pre-Seed funding led by T2 and STV’s AI Fund. The startup builds Arabic-native voice AI for automating sales and customer support, targeting the GCC’s $1.2 billion call centre automation market (Middle East AI News)
Saudi launches energy-tech accelerator for 60 startups
#Saudi #energy – Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy has launched the Taqatech Accelerator to support 60 clean energy startups over three years. Based in Riyadh, the initiative aims to boost innovation and localisation by linking entrepreneurs with investors and energy sector stakeholders. (SPA)
Data Centres
G42 nears European GPU deal with Northern Data - Bloomberg
#UAE #infrastructure – G42 is close to finalising a deal with Germany’s Northern Data to access 11,500 NVIDIA GPUs: almost half of the provider’s capacity. The agreement would support Core42’s European expansion and regulated-sector AI cloud and infrastructure services. (Middle East AI News)
Algeria’s AI school opens national HPC centre for R&D
#Algeria #HPC – Algeria’s National School of Artificial Intelligence (ENSIA) has launched a new high-performance computing centre in Algiers. Equipped with advanced NVIDIA GPUs, the facility supports AI research and development in public services, agriculture, and finance. (Middle East AI News)
Autonomous Vehicles
UAE’s Space42, Korea’s A2Z launch $10m self-driving JV
#UAE #AVs – Korea’s A2Z and UAE’s Space42 have formed a $10 million joint venture, A2D, to deploy autonomous public transport. The new entity plans to sell 1,220 driverless vehicles by 2031, targeting 20% of the UAE market as part of national autonomy goals. (MK Business News)
UAE approves first autonomous baggage trial at DWC
#UAE #aviation – The GCAA (General Civil Aviation Authority) has approved the UAE’s first trial of autonomous baggage vehicles at Dubai World Central, in partnership with dnata and Dubai Airports. The live airside trial marks a major step toward future ground handling automation. (Gulf Business)
Education & Talent
Saudi AI training programme hits 424,000 learners
#Saudi #education – The SAMAI AI training initiative has reached 424,000 participants, with 94,000 added in just three weeks. Led by Saudi Data & Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and supported by education and labour ministries, the programme aims to train one million Saudis. (Middle East AI News)
Saudi, UAE enter world’s top 20 for AI talent
#Gulf #talent – Saudi Arabia and the UAE now rank among the global top 20 for AI talent density, holding 0.4% and 0.7% of global AI talent respectively. The rise is driven by major policy, education, and investment efforts to build competitive AI ecosystems. (Middle East AI News)
Iraq to open first AI colleges in 2025–2026
#Iraq #highereducation – Iraq will launch its first two colleges for Artificial Intelligence at the University of Baghdad in the 2025–2026 academic year. The move aims to bridge the national AI skills gap and support investment amid a lack of regulation and expertise in the sector. (The New Arab)
e& opens 2025 AI graduate programme for Emiratis
#UAE #corporate – UAE tech group e& has launched applications for its 2025 AI Graduate Programme, offering 100 new roles for Emirati graduates. The initiative focuses on AI, cybersecurity, and innovation, supporting local talent development in future tech fields. (Middle East AI News)
1,300 Egyptians graduate from national AI programme
#Egypt #education – Egypt’s AI Ambassadors programme has certified 1,300 new graduates in its third cohort, raising the total number to 2,610. Led by the National Telecommunication Institute, the training covered AI fundamentals, ethics, and real-world tech applications. (Cairo Scene)
Mleiha Club wraps up AI training at Egypt’s Zewail City
#Egypt #UAE #education – Sharjah’s Mleiha Cultural and Sports Club concluded a two-day AI programme at Egypt’s Zewail City, offering UAE youth hands-on training with tools like ChatGPT and MIT App Inventor. The initiative forms part of Sharjah’s vision to empower future-ready talent through global collaboration. (Sharjah 24)
GenAI
NBK rolls out Microsoft Copilot across all departments
#Kuwait #banking – National Bank of Kuwait has completed its full deployment of Microsoft Copilot, automating routine tasks and enabling data-driven decision-making. The move positions NBK as one of the first major Gulf banks to adopt generative AI at scale. (Middle East AI News)
AI Strategy
Bahrain launches national AI policy, adopts GCC ethics guide
#Bahrain #policy – Bahrain has launched a new National AI Policy and adopted the GCC’s AI ethics manual. The policy aims to expand AI across public services, build skills, and reinforce ethical governance frameworks. (Middle East AI News)
Civil Defence
Presight partners with Abu Dhabi Police on AI platform
#UAE #policing – UAE AI firm Presight has partnered with Abu Dhabi Police to deploy its AI-Policing Suite. The generative AI-powered platform enables predictive policing, forensic insights, and faster emergency response as part of the emirate’s digital transformation drive. (Middle East AI News)
Energy
Aramco, Cloudera team up on AI for digital oil & gas
#Saudi #training – Aramco and Cloudera have signed an MoU to develop AI-powered digital oil and gas solutions. The partnership includes joint R&D and workforce upskilling to advance Saudi Arabia’s energy tech and innovation. (Cloudera)
R&D
Tunisian researcher wins award for AI health platform
#Tunisia #healthtech – Emna Harigua has received the 2025 Best Female Scientific Achievement Prize for creating an AI-powered platform to develop treatments targeting pathogenic agents. Awarded by Tunisia’s Ministry of Women, the prize includes a 15,000 dinar grant and highlights innovation in health research.
(Tunisie Numerique)
Morocco’s Tanger Med taps students for AI solutions
#Morocco #education – University Mohammed VI Polytechnique (UM6P) and Tanger Med have launched the “AI Tanger Med” initiative. Students at the 1337 MED campus will work on industrial AI solutions, bridging academic research and logistics operations (Morocco World News)
Tax
Jordan tax authority uses AI to review 2024 returns
#Jordan #govtech – Jordan’s Income and Sales Tax Department has used AI to select accepted income tax return samples for 2024. The system supports risk-based auditing and reduces manual checks, aiming to improve tax fairness and transparency through global best practices. (Jordan News)
[ This newsletter was AI edited & human edited ]