This was the week that DAMAC revealed its ambition to reach 10GW of data centre capacity by 2027, with $9 billion of its $20 billion US investment programme already committed, despite costs rising 30%. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN announced plans to launch a 3 trillion parameter AI model in December, alongside a full AI technology stack.
In other news, Abu Dhabi’s Institute of Foundation Models (IFM) released its open-source PAN 2 world model; Presight reported a 31% increase in third-quarter profit; and the UAE ranked 15th globally in AI readiness, leading the MENA region alongside Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Meanwhile, Syntys broke ground on a new 20MW data centre in Qatar, Saudi companies signed SAR 2.5 billion in AI financing agreements, and Abu Dhabi launched new initiatives to develop UAE research talent.
Here are this week’s biggest AI news stories!
Sunday, November 8th
🔥 Khalifa University opens new RF AI model to telecom operators
GSMA and AMD back two-week operator tests of radio frequency AI model
Monday, November 9th
🔊 Listen to Monday’s Daily News Minute
🔥 Infra, HUMAIN sign SAR 2.5 billion AI financing deals
Two facilities financed cover GPUs and power for up to 1 gigawatt in capacity
🔥 MENA firms plan 9.3% of revenue on digital transformation
GCC firms report stronger regulatory support than the wider region
Tuesday, November 10th
🔊 Listen to Tuesday’s Daily News Minute
🔥 ATRC launches 11-initiative programme for UAE researchers
UAE to track 20,000 young R&D talents; programme covers school to scholarships
🔥 DIFC opens consultation on three-tier AI rules
Draft AI Adequacy Protocol would recognise EU, ISO and Singapore certification
Wednesday, November 11th
🔊 Listen to Wednesday’s Daily News Minute
🔥 MBZUAI’s IFM opens PAN 2 world model to all
Model simulates video of what happens after an action; weights and code open-sourced
🔥 HUMAIN readies Limitless startup accelerator for launch
New venture arm will link Saudi founders to compute, customers and capital
Thursday, November 12th
🔊 Listen to Thursday’s Daily News Minute
🔥 UAE ranks 15th in global AI readiness ranking
UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar lead MENA in global AI readiness
🔥 Presight profit jumps 31% to AED 145 million
Third quarter revenue growth comparable with the same period in 2025
Friday, November 13th
🔊 Listen to Friday’s Daily News Minute
🔥 Syntys breaks ground on 20 megawatt Qatar data centre
Ooredoo-backed operator now runs four Qatar campuses
🔥 HUMAIN to launch 3 trillion parameter model in December
HUMAIN sets 15 December date for full AI stack launch, announces training centre
Saturday, November 14th
🔊 Listen to Saturday’s Daily News Minute
🔥 DAMAC targets 10GW of data centres by 2027
$9bn of DAMAC’s $20 billion US programme already invested, but costs are up 30%
[ This summary was AI written and human edited ]