UAE doubles down on GenAI; Aramco Ventures gets $4b new funding
Middle East AI News weekly digest...
Good morning!
Welcome to this week’s Middle East AI News!
The UAE doubles down on Generative AI, reconfirming the country’s commitment to accelerate the adoption of GenAI at the World Economic Forum; Saudi Aramco increases its Aramco Ventures fund; Oman launches new fund to drive FDI; and Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) disclosed that flying taxis will link key developments and tourist sites in the country.
In defence news, the US Navy has formed a new task group to fast-track deployment of unmanned systems into its 4th Fleet naval operations, which cover the seas surrounding the Middle East.
Scroll down for these stories and more!
Sadly, no Middle East AI News LIVE - THURSDAY DEEP DIVE this week, but I have some great guests lined up for the next few weeks, so stay tuned!
As always, thanks for reading!
/Carrington
Gen AI
UAE doubles down on Gen AI
#UAE #GenAI - The UAE's Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, this week confirmed that the UAE is committed to accelerating the adoption of generative artificial intelligence. (Emirates News Agency)
Venture Capital
Aramco Ventures gets $4 billion in new funding
#Saudi #venturecapital - State-run oil producer Saudi Aramco will allocate an additional $4 billion to its venture capital unit, more than doubling its capital from 3 billion to 7 billion dollars. Aramco Ventures is increasingly investing in cutting edge technology companies. (Bloomberg)
$5.2 billion Oman Future Fund launched
#Oman #investment - The Oman Investment Authority (OIA) has launched the Oman Future Fund, with a capital of RO 2 billion ($5.2b) for five years (2024-2028). 90 percent of the fund will be focused on bringing foreign direct investment into Oman, while 10% will be used as venture capital to invest in SMEs and startups, to include technology ventures. (Oman Observer)
Smart Cities
KAFD and SCAI partner to create smart city services
#Saudi #smartcities - King Abdullah Financial District Development and Management Co. (KAFD) and SCAI (the Saudi Co. for Artificial Intelligence) will deploy smart traffic and mobility solutions within the Riyadh district, towards creating a ‘10-minute’ urban hub. (Arab News)
Abu Dhabi uses smart vehicle to monitor infrastructure
#UAE #smartcities - Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) now has 40 AI-equipped smart inspection vehicles to monitor damage to infrastructure in public spaces. The project is currently in its trial phase, but the DMT plans to add 50 additional vehicles by the end of 2024. (Aletihad)
Presight AI and Hitachi to collaborate on smart cities
#UAE smartcities - Abu Dhabi-based big data analytics company Presight AI, has signed an MoU with the data solutions and services unit of Hitachi to explore collaboration in smart city and cognitive city technologies. (Zawya)
Healthcare
AI to help with pre-diabetes treatment in UAE
#UAE #diabetes - Results from a 100-day Ministry of Health and Prevention project, shows health authorities and the private sector diagnosed more than 1,000 people with either diabetes or pre-diabetes.AI will now be use to predict outcomes and prioritise preventive treatment. (The National)
Oman launches AI-powered mental health programme
#Oman #mentalhealth - Oman’s Ministry of Health (MoH) has launched the first National Mental Health First Aid Training Programme to develop ‘a conscious community’ to help create a conducive environment to support mental help. The programme has trained 20 medical staff in primary preventive mental health using new AI techniques. (Muscat Daily)
Mobility
Saudi to use flying taxis for key developments
#Saudi #mobility - Flying taxis will be used at major tourist sites and developments in Saudi Arabia, and are expected to enter the market in 2026, Saudia Airlines announced on Monday. Air taxi services are planned for the futuristic city of Neom and the historic tourist site AlUla. (The National)
Education
Huawei opens AI ICT Academy Lab at Hamad Bin Khalifa University
#Qatar #labs - Huawei Technologies and Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and Huawei HBKU AI ICT Academy Lab have opened AI ICT Academy. The state-of-the-art facility will help nurturing AI and ICT talent, providing training programmes and certification courses for students. (HBKU)
Mining
Ma’aden develops digital twin for gold mine
#Saudi #mining - Saudi Arabian mining company Ma'aden and digital reality solutions company Hexagon have launched the Middle East's first digital mine. The digital twin was deployed for the Mansoura Massarah open-pit gold mine, to enhance efficiency, productivity and safety across operations. (Gulf News)
Saudi building Geoscience Data Analytics Centre
#Saudi #mining- Saudi Arabia is building an AI-powered Geoscience Data Analytics Centre, the first of its kind in the world. The new centre will become operational this year, and will use AI to identify mineral deposits for mining. (Arab News)
Data Centres
Kazakhstan signs data centre agreement with UAE
#Kazakhstan #UAE #datacentres - The UAEs new Ministry of Investment has signed an MoU with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of as well as sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, towards investment in its AI and data centre projects. (Zawya)
Digital Transformation
Qatar to digitise 90% of citizen services
#Qatar #digitalservices - Qatar will digitise 90% of citizen services by 2030, according to the outcomes of its third National Development Strategy, or NDS3. Digital services will use AI to help with citizens work, AI Learning and business. (Zawya)
Qatar adds new classifications for AI jobs
#Qatar #jobs - The Civil Services and Government Development Bureau has created two new roles for government hiring: AI researcher and AI system engineer. The roles have been added to the National Manpower Portal (Kawader) and training programmes will be developed to help prepare Qatari’s for the new roles. (Gulf Times)
4IR
Qatar will create a Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution
#Qatar #Davos2024 - The Qatar government and the World Economic Forum will establish a Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) in Doha in 2024. The centre will focus on emerging technologies, together with 4IR development and economic competitiveness. (WEF)
Defence
US Navy prioritises unmanned assets in 2024
#Bahrain #drones - The U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based AI and unmanned systems task force, has formed a new task group to ramp up drone adoption by U.S. naval forces in the Middle East. Task Group 5 9 1 will focus on the operational deployment of unmanned systems. (Middle East AI News)