Like a friend who shares the news over tea — no jargon, no fluff, just what matters across the Gulf.
ISSUE 11, 3 August 2026
Ai MAJLiS
- UAE
- SAUDI ARABIA
- QATAR
- KUWAIT
- BAHRAIN
- OMAN
Ahlan wa sahlan — welcome to Issue #011 of Ai MAJLiS. This week the Gulf’s AI story went global in a way we haven’t seen before. Mubadala’s GlobalFoundries just landed a $300 million US government award to build the chip technology that will power the next generation of AI data centres — using light instead of electricity to move data at unprecedented speed and efficiency. The UAE is preparing to export its AI model to Africa with a $1 billion initiative that positions it as a development partner, not just a technology buyer. Saudi Arabia’s GAIN Summit — the world’s premier sovereign AI event — is seven weeks away and its fourth edition is set to be the most consequential yet. And across the Gulf, a quiet but significant shift is underway: the region’s AI ambitions are being validated not just by local governments, but by US federal agencies, global institutions, and international award bodies. Pour the khawa — let’s get into it.
01
UAE / MUBADALA - Semiconductors · US Partnership
Mubadala's GlobalFoundries Wins $300 Million US Government Award to Build Next-Gen AI Chip Technology
The most significant Gulf AI semiconductor story in years landed on July 29 — and it came from New York state, not Abu Dhabi. GlobalFoundries, the chipmaker majority-owned by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company (approximately 73% stake), signed a letter of intent with the US Department of Commerce’s CHIPS Research and Development Office for a $300 million award to accelerate silicon photonics technology.
Silicon photonics is the technology that uses light instead of electrical signals to move data between chips. This matters enormously for AI data centres: as AI workloads grow in size and complexity — training larger models, running more inference, serving more users — the bottleneck is increasingly not compute itself but the bandwidth and energy efficiency of connections between chips. GlobalFoundries’ silicon photonics technology targets a five-times increase in energy efficiency over current-generation implementations and data transfer speeds of up to 400 gigabits per second.
$300M
US CHIPS R&D award to GlobalFoundries
5x
Target energy efficiency improvement vs current gen
400 Gbps
Target data transfer speed between AI chips
The US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick framed the investment explicitly as a national competitiveness play: “These strategic investments will enhance our country’s domestic capabilities, create high-paying jobs and keep America at the forefront of the semiconductor industry.” AMD’s CTO Mark Papermaster endorsed the announcement directly, noting that advances in silicon photonics and advanced packaging are “critical to enabling the next generation of AI architectures.”
The deal also includes the US Department of Commerce receiving approximately 1% equity in GlobalFoundries — a structured alignment of public and private interests in the technology’s success. Mubadala sold $950 million of shares in May 2024 and raised nearly $2 billion through a share sale in May 2026, keeping its majority stake while deepening the company’s US capital markets presence.
"GlobalFoundries has spent more than a decade building the technology, footprint and ecosystem to lead this transition, and we have the proven manufacturing foundation to scale it — in the United States."
— Tim Breen, CEO, GlobalFoundries, July 29, 2026
Why it matters: For the UAE, this is a landmark moment. Mubadala’s investment in GlobalFoundries — a long-term, patient capital bet made years before the current AI boom — is now yielding a US government award that validates both the technology and the investment thesis. The UAE is not just buying AI infrastructure from the US; it is co-funding the hardware layer that will define the next generation of AI data centres globally. This is sovereign wealth doing what it was designed to do.
02
UAE - AI Diplomacy · Development
The UAE Is Exporting Its AI Model to Africa — With $1 Billion and a Vision to Be More Than a Hub
The UAE’s AI ambitions have always had two dimensions: building capability at home, and projecting influence abroad. This week’s spotlight falls on the second. The UAE’s AI for Development initiative — a $1 billion programme announced at the G20 Summit in Johannesburg and now actively in deployment through the Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX) and the UAE Foreign Aid Agency — is positioning the UAE as Africa’s primary AI development partner.
The initiative is not aid in the traditional sense. It is structured to deploy UAE AI tools, expertise, and infrastructure partnerships into African countries across priority development sectors: education, agriculture, healthcare, digital identity, and climate adaptation. The UAE’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Development, H.E. Sultan Mohammed Al Shamsi, described the intent clearly: this is about positioning AI as a core pillar of development cooperation rather than a future-facing concept.
The timing is strategically deliberate. Africa is the world’s fastest-growing population, with the largest youth demographic, the most underpenetrated digital services market, and growing demand for sovereign, trustworthy AI partnerships that are not simply extensions of either US or Chinese technology geopolitics.
$1B
UAE AI for Development initiative for Africa
54
African countries in scope of the initiative
Dh153B
Total UAE aid to Africa since 1971
The initiative is implemented by ADEX — part of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development — giving it a commercial and financial structure that goes beyond traditional grant-based aid. UAE enterprises are being empowered to implement AI-driven development projects that strengthen economic and technological cooperation between the UAE and African countries — creating commercial pathways alongside developmental ones.
Countries already engaging include Kenya, which sees alignment with its National AI Strategy 2025-2030 priorities in agriculture and health, and Nigeria, where digital identity and fintech infrastructure are immediate targets. The initiative also reflects the UAE’s broader positioning at the G20 as a voice for developing economies — the country is not a formal G20 member but participates as an invited guest.
- Strategic Significance
The UAE’s Africa AI initiative is the clearest signal yet that the country sees itself not just as an AI hub but as an AI exporter — a country that helps other nations build their own AI ecosystems using UAE-developed tools, partnerships, and capital. For UAE-based AI companies and consultancies, this initiative creates a structured pathway to African markets with UAE government backing and ADEX financing support.
Why it matters: The UAE is establishing itself as an AI development partner for the Global South at exactly the moment when developing countries are looking for alternatives to the established US-China technology duopoly. For Gulf-based AI businesses, the Africa initiative opens a commercial frontier that will grow significantly over the next decade — and the UAE government is providing the diplomatic and financial architecture to make entry feasible.
03
SAUDI ARABIA - GAIN Summit · Sovereign AI
Seven Weeks to GAIN: Saudi Arabia's Global AI Summit Returns September 15–17 — and the Stakes Have Never Been Higher
The countdown is on. GAIN 2026 — the fourth edition of Saudi Arabia’s Global AI Summit — is seven weeks away: September 15–17, 2026 at the King Abdulaziz International Convention Center in Riyadh, under the patronage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
GAIN is not just a conference. It is the primary diplomatic and commercial AI event of the Gulf calendar — the moment when Saudi Arabia’s national AI strategy collides with global technology leadership, investment decisions, and policy frameworks in a single three-day gathering. 70+ countries will be represented. Government leaders, policymakers, CEOs of major technology firms, experts, innovators, and researchers from across the data and AI sectors will converge.
The theme for GAIN 2026 is “AI for a Better World” — a deliberate positioning that echoes Saudi Arabia’s messaging at the ILO in June: that AI ambition must be anchored in human benefit, not technology for its own sake. Past editions have produced landmark outcomes. GAIN 2020 saw Saudi Arabia launch its first national AI strategy. GAIN 2022 announced the creation of SDAIA as a standalone national authority. GAIN 2024 produced significant bilateral AI partnerships and infrastructure commitments. GAIN 2026 is expected to be the most consequential edition yet.
Sep 15
GAIN 2026 opens — Riyadh, King Abdulaziz Conv. Centre
70+
Countries represented at the Summit
4th
Edition — following 2020, 2022, and 2024
The context for GAIN 2026 is unlike any previous edition. Saudi Arabia has spent the first half of 2026 establishing HUMAIN, signing $14.9 billion in AI infrastructure commitments, designating 2026 the Year of AI, earning World Bank endorsement for its AI learning sandbox, and conducting simultaneous AI diplomacy missions to Beijing and Seoul. GAIN 2026 is where all of that comes together — where the Kingdom will signal what the second half of its AI decade looks like.
For businesses planning their Gulf AI strategy, GAIN 2026 is not optional. It is the moment when major procurement decisions, partnership frameworks, and investment structures for 2027 and beyond will be shaped. Early registration is advised — the summit operates on a controlled-access model with formal invitation requirements.
"The UAE treats workforce AI capability as a measurable national target and a competitive differentiator, directly linked to the country's economic diversification vision — unlike many regulatory models in Europe and North America where AI policy and talent development often evolve separately."
— Abdullah Alghamdi, President, Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), November 2025
Why it matters: For anyone operating in Gulf AI — enterprise technology, investment, policy, or research — GAIN 2026 is the most important event on the calendar between now and year-end. It follows ROBOTECH 26 in Doha (October 27–29) and precedes the Global AI Show Abu Dhabi (November 12–13) and GITEX Tech-cation (December 7–11, Dubai). Q4 2026 is the Gulf’s most intense AI events quarter ever. Plan accordingly.
04
UAE - AI Global Reach · Events
The UAE's AI Ambition Is Going Global — From Africa to GITEX and a $100 Billion GDP Target
A series of developments this week underlines that the UAE’s AI strategy has shifted from national buildout to global projection — simultaneously advancing sovereign infrastructure at home and AI influence abroad.
GDP target: With global AI spending projected to reach $2 trillion in 2026, the UAE has set a bold domestic target: AI is expected to contribute $100 billion to UAE GDP by 2030. This is not a passive forecast — it is a policy target that drives every procurement, partnership, and education decision the government makes. The UAE’s AI and Data Authority, established by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid in June 2026, exists specifically to coordinate the delivery of this number.
$100B
UAE AI contribution to GDP target by 2030
$2T
Global AI spending projected in 2026
Dec 7
GITEX Tech-cation 2026 opens — Dubai Expo City
GITEX Tech-cation 2026 — December 7–11 at Dubai Expo City — is shaping up as the Gulf’s biggest-ever AI showcase, directed by Dubai’s ruler to become the world’s largest event dedicated to technology and AI. With 180,000+ expected attendees and an agenda spanning robotics, agentic AI, advanced computing, smart cities, and sovereign AI infrastructure, GITEX will close the Gulf’s most consequential AI events calendar in years.
International AI partnerships: The UAE’s Chief AI Officers network — embedded across federal government entities — is now engaging counterparts in African governments, South and Southeast Asian economies, and European regulators through structured bilateral exchange programmes. The UAE AI for Development initiative is the most visible of these, but it sits within a broader diplomatic architecture that includes the UAE’s seat at UNESCO’s AI ethics body ICAIRE in Riyadh, its participation in the Global Partnership on AI, and its bilateral AI cooperation frameworks with the US, UK, France, and India.
Stargate UAE: The 5 GW campus in Abu Dhabi — co-built with G42, OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, and SoftBank — continues active build-out. The first 200 MW cluster with Microsoft and G42 through Khazna Data Centers is expected to come online before year-end. With the A:5 chip reclassification now in force, the hardware procurement pipeline is fully unlocked.
- GCC AI Events - Q3 & Q4 2026
→ GAIN Summit — Sep 15–17, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)
→ ROBOTECH 26 — Oct 27–29, Doha (Qatar)
→ Global AI Show Abu Dhabi — Nov 12–13, Abu Dhabi
→ GITEX Tech-cation — Dec 7–11, Dubai Expo City
Why it matters: The UAE is running the most sophisticated multi-dimensional AI strategy of any country its size. Infrastructure at home (Stargate, A:5 chips, AI Data Authority), people investment (NEP-AI, Emirates Skills), global diplomacy (Africa $1B, bilateral AIs), and events hosting (GITEX) are all advancing simultaneously. For businesses assessing UAE market entry or expansion, the window between now and GITEX December is the single best period to establish presence.
05
[QATAR / OMAN / BAHRAIN / KUWAIT] - AI Practitioners — August Check-In
Qatar Invests QR40 Billion, Bahrain's AI Law Clears Its Final Hurdle, Oman's Zone Gains Traction, Kuwait Addresses Its Gap
As the UAE and Saudi Arabia continue to dominate the AI headlines, the Gulf’s other four markets each had meaningful developments this week — individually quiet, but collectively significant.
Qatar this week confirmed the full pipeline of activity under its QR40 billion Digital Agenda 2030. Qatar University’s Spark AI Innovation Hub — built with Google Cloud — is fully operational and running Arabic-language AI research funded by Google.org. The GovAI Programme partnerships with Accenture, Microsoft, Oracle, Scale AI, and Malomatia are in active government deployment. Qatar’s digital government readiness is the second highest in the GCC after the UAE — its Hukoomi portal carries 400+ services, and the country climbed 25 places in the UN e-Government Index in a single cycle. ROBOTECH 26 in Doha (October 27–29) is 85 days away and is drawing international registrations from across the AI and robotics industry. Qatar’s Oxford Insights AI readiness score of 63.59 — third in the GCC — continues to reflect a country that has the governance, the capital, and the ambition, but is still building the infrastructure density to match.
Bahrain passed a significant milestone this week: its standalone AI law has cleared its final reading in the Shura Council and is expected to receive Royal Assent within days. When enacted, Bahrain’s AI Act will be the GCC’s first binding AI legislative framework — introducing regulatory oversight, licensing requirements for AI deployment, and penalties for misuse. For enterprise AI companies, this creates the clearest legal operating environment in the Gulf. The Central Bank of Bahrain sandbox continues to be the most active fintech AI testing environment in the region.
QR40B
Qatar Digital Agenda 2030 investment
Royal Assent
Bahrain's AI Act — GCC's first binding AI law — imminent
RD 50
Oman Royal Decree AI Special Zone — early interest growing
Oman’s AI Special Zone — established by Royal Decree 50/2026 — is actively attracting early interest from international data center operators and AI services companies. The submarine cable connectivity advantage (highest concentration of international submarine cable landings in the Middle East) is proving to be a genuine commercial differentiator in conversations with potential investors. Oman’s strategy of positioning itself as an alternative GCC AI hub — with lower land costs, coastal cooling advantages, and non-aligned technology governance — is finding an audience among international companies that want a Gulf presence without the geopolitical alignment pressures of Abu Dhabi or Riyadh.
Kuwait this week announced a new national digital infrastructure plan that directly addresses its most acknowledged weakness — data center capacity. The plan targets doubling Kuwait’s data center count from five to ten over the next three years, with new facilities incorporating AI-optimised compute from the outset. While this still leaves Kuwait significantly behind the UAE’s 57 and Saudi Arabia’s 51, it represents the most concrete infrastructure commitment Kuwait has made to date. Combined with the Microsoft digital skills programme and New Kuwait 2035 governance, Kuwait is finally beginning to translate its AI ambition into physical capacity.
GCC AI SNAPSHOT
Where Each Country Stands This Week
Eleven editions in, and the Gulf’s AI decade has entered a new phase. The infrastructure bets are placed — Stargate, HUMAIN, Qai, Oman’s Special Zone. The talent programmes are running — NEP-AI, SAMAI, the KAU AI curriculum. The regulatory frameworks are arriving — Bahrain’s AI Act, UAE’s PDPL countdown, the Coursera compliance playbook.
What this week added is the global dimension. Mubadala’s GlobalFoundries isn’t just a Gulf story — it’s a US government-endorsed semiconductor story with Gulf capital at its heart. The UAE’s Africa initiative isn’t aid — it’s AI export strategy. Saudi Arabia’s GAIN Summit isn’t a regional event — it’s where global AI policy gets shaped, seven weeks from now.
The Gulf is not building for the Gulf anymore. It is building for the world — and the world is beginning to notice. That’s the story of Issue #011. See you next Sunday, inshallah. 🫖
