Technology news and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
Technology News and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
Dubai, in partnership with Google, has launched a $1M award for AI-generated short films at the 2026 1 Billion Followers Summit. The contest aims to showcase AI’s creative power in filmmaking while promoting humanitarian storytelling, aligning with the UAE’s investment in the global content economy.
Saudi Arabia, under Vision 2030, has established itself as the region’s AI leader and a rising global power. With SDAIA, Humain, supercomputing investments, and Arabic AI models, the Kingdom is building a comprehensive ecosystem to secure long-term competitiveness and set global standards in artificial intelligence.
Pakistan will introduce AI regulatory sandboxes to help 50 enterprises test applications safely by 2027. Backed by HPC centres, AI hubs, and national data repositories, the initiative is part of a strategy to build a robust AI ecosystem, boost innovation, and strengthen global cooperation.
Experts at the Digital Pakistan Vision 2047 seminar called for urgent AI adoption across industries to boost competitiveness. Speakers emphasized youth education, workforce upskilling, and business involvement, while launching an AI Center to advance discourse and policymaking for Pakistan’s digital future.
KACST’s training program highlights Saudi Arabia’s commitment to building a skilled, future-ready workforce in cutting-edge technologies, ensuring young Saudis are both creators and leaders in the global digital economy.
Yango Tech met Pakistan’s IT Minister Shaza Fatima to explore AI partnerships and digital transformation opportunities. The collaboration aims to strengthen Pakistan’s IT ecosystem, boost exports, and deliver AI-driven solutions through Yango’s services spanning mobility, delivery, retail, and B2B tech.
Bangladesh’s TV market is embracing AI, with global and local brands introducing personalized, voice-controlled, and adaptive smart TVs. While affordability and infrastructure challenges remain, rising demand in urban centres and local innovation suggest AI features will soon become mainstream for Bangladeshi households.
The UAE tourism sector is transforming with AI-driven personalization, smart entry systems, and sustainable technologies. From eco-friendly hotels to 5G-enabled travel services, the country is creating tailored, safe, and seamless journeys. This positions the UAE as a global leader in tech-driven and sustainable tourism.
OmniOps has partnered with Groq to advance sovereign AI infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. The MoU focuses on deploying locally hosted, high-performance inference solutions, ensuring regulatory compliance, and supporting Vision 2030 goals by accelerating AI adoption across key sectors like government, energy, and aviation.
Saudi Arabia will introduce an AI curriculum to over six million public school students in 2025–2026, aligning with Vision 2030 goals to build a knowledge-based society. The program, supported by SDAIA, includes global training, ethical AI guidelines, scholarships, and academies to prepare a future generation of AI leaders.