WEF 2026 news; Mideast CEOs lead world in AI adoption
Middle East AI News weekly digest...
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 Davos week and Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have used the opportunity to announce their latest AI news. This week’s stories include: HUMAN has secured a new $1.2 billion for its AI infrastructure build-out; G42 has launched its Digital Embassies offering; and Abu Dhabi joins WEF’s C4IR network! There is also a new PwC CEO survey which shows Middle East CEOs are ahead of their global counterparts in adoption.
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WEF 2026
Gulf states send major delegations to Davos
#GCC #Davos - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are dispatching senior ministerial delegations to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos. With artificial intelligence and digital transformation high on the agenda, the strong Gulf presence highlights the region’s growing influence in shaping global technology cooperation. (Middle East AI News)
HUMAIN secures $1.2bn AI infrastructure financing
#Saudi #Davos - Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund-backed HUMAIN has agreed a financing framework of up to $1.2 billion with the National Infrastructure Fund (Infra) to develop hyperscale AI data centres. Announced at Davos, the non-binding deal covers up to 250MW of capacity and explores an investment platform for institutional capital. (Middle East AI News)
Abu Dhabi joins WEF C4IR global network
#UAE #Davos - Technology Innovation Institute (TII) and the World Economic Forum have launched the Abu Dhabi Centre for Frontier Technologies at Davos. Part of WEF’s C4IR Global Network, the centre will focus on quantum computing, robotics, space systems and related applications, positioning Abu Dhabi as a global hub for frontier research and policy. (Middle East AI News)
G42 unveils Digital Embassies framework
#UAE #Davos - Abu Dhabi-based G42 has introduced its Digital Embassies framework at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Implemented through Core42 and supported by Microsoft, the model enables countries to retain legal control over data and AI systems hosted abroad, redefining sovereignty as portable rather than location-bound. (Middle East AI News)
Qatar wealth fund tightens AI investment focus
#Qatar #Davos - Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund QIA is entering a more disciplined phase of artificial intelligence investing. Speaking from Davos, leadership said future bets will prioritise AI firms with clear revenue models, real-world deployment and measurable productivity gains. (Bloomberg)
UAE to receive advanced AI chips within months
#UAE #Davos - G42 Group CEO Peng Xiao has confirmed that advanced AI chips from Nvidia, AMD and Cerebras will arrive within months. The shipments will support the UAE’s multi-gigawatt data centre expansion (Financial Post)
Startups
Abu Dhabi fintech Mal raises $230 million seed round
#UAE #funding - Abu Dhabi-based Mal, an AI-native Islamic digital bank, has secured a record $230 million seed round led by BlueFive Capital. The funding will support product development, multi-market licensing and go-to-market plans ahead of a phased 2026 launch targeting the $7 trillion global Islamic finance sector. (Middle East AI News)
Open raises $7m for AI customer support platform
#Jordan #USA #funding - Enterprise customer communication platform Open (OpenCX) has raised $7 million in a round led by Y Combinator and Saudi Arabia’s X by Unifonic. The Jordan- and US-based company says its platform automates over 70 percent of customer interactions, and plans to expand across the GCC with a new Saudi office. (Middle East AI News)
AI Models
TII releases ultra-small Falcon-H1-Tiny models
#UAE #LLMs - Last week Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute (TII) launched Falcon-H1-Tiny, a family of 15 open-source language models ranging from 90 million to 600 million parameters. The models prioritise efficiency and specialisation for chat, multilingual, coding and reasoning use cases. (Middle East AI News)
Digital Transformation
Middle East CEOs lead globally on AI adoption
#UAE #adoption - PwC’s 29th Global CEO Survey shows Middle East chief executives leading globally on AI adoption. 82 percent of regional CEOs say organisational culture enables AI, while 70 percent have a defined roadmap, with strongest uptake in sales, marketing and customer service delivering faster returns. See the report. (Middle East AI News)
Government
Egypt tops Africa in AI readiness index
#Egypt #publicsector - Egypt has ranked first in Africa in Oxford Insights’ Government AI Readiness Index 2025, climbing to 51st globally. The results reflect strong policy capacity and institutional resilience, placing Egypt among the most AI-ready governments across the Middle East and Africa. (Middle East AI News)
Sharjah adopts UK-backed AI excellence model
#UAE #governance - Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SPARK) has partnered with the UK-based Global Centre for AI Excellence (GCAIE) to deploy an internationally recognised AI excellence framework. The initiative aims to embed ethical, secure and economically measurable AI practices, accelerating commercialisation. (Middle East AI News)
UAE moves toward AI-driven trade ministry
#UAE #tradetech - The UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade has partnered with Presight to roll out an AI-powered trade platform. The system will enhance real-time intelligence, policy design and supply-chain competitiveness, positioning the UAE closer to becoming the world’s first ministry to embed AI at the core of trade governance. (WAM)
Policy
Egypt expands National AI Council mandate
#Egypt #policy - Egypt’s cabinet has broadened the remit of its National AI Council to include quantum computing and biotechnology. From Cairo, the move strengthens governance frameworks as advanced technologies increasingly converge, positioning Egypt to manage cross-disciplinary innovation while aligning national policy with rapidly evolving scientific and economic priorities. (Middle East AI News)
CoEs & Innovation Hubs
ITC Infotech opens Riyadh AI hub
#Saudi #digitaltransformation - Indian technology firm ITC Infotech has launched a Digital and AI Engineering Hub in Riyadh. The centre will strengthen local AI capabilities and support enterprise digital transformation, aligning with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 agenda to build advanced technology skills and high-value digital services. (Middle East AI News)
Data Centres
Ooredoo-backed Syntys expands Qatar data centres
#Qatar #datacentres - Ooredoo’s digital infrastructure arm Syntys has acquired Doha Venture Capital’s Q Data business, adding 12.5MW of hyperscale capacity across two Tier III-certified, carrier-neutral facilities in Qatar Free Zones. The deal lifts Syntys’ live IT capacity in Qatar to 26MW, supporting its MENA expansion toward 120MW by 2030. (Middle East AI News)
Education
UAE National Experts Program launches AI track
#UAE #training - The UAE National Experts Program has opened applications for a new AI leadership track targeting Emirati professionals. Launching its first cohort in May 2026, NEP-AI spans 25 priority sectors and six core tracks, supporting the UAE’s national strategy to build sovereign AI capability and leadership capacity. (Middle East AI News)
[ This newsletter was both AI edited & human edited ]