Author: Art Ryan

Singapore is bringing AI-powered travel planning directly to Chinese travelers. The Singapore Tourism Board and Mafengwo have launched the “Singapore AI Inspiration Lab” in Beijing. The immersive pop-up uses artificial intelligence to help visitors discover new ways to explore Singapore. The project focuses on personalized travel rather than standard sightseeing lists. Younger travelers, families, and seniors can explore different itineraries based on their interests. It also continues a longer partnership between Singapore Tourism Board and Mafengwo. Their work has gradually moved from destination marketing toward AI-powered travel services. Meta Title: Meta Description: Singapore Tourism Board and Mafengwo launch an AI…

IBM is stepping deeper into the Middle East banking sector as artificial intelligence moves from experiments into everyday financial operations. At the upcoming IBM MEBIS 2026 AI banking event, new advancements and strategies shaping the region’s banking industry will be explored. The company has joined the 17th Middle East Banking Innovation Summit, or MEBIS 2026, as Title Sponsor. The event will take place on September 16 and 17 at Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai. More than 400 banking leaders and delegates are expected to attend. The timing is interesting. Banks across the region are no longer asking whether they should…

The artificial intelligence boom is quickly becoming an infrastructure boom. Global investment in AI infrastructure could reach $31.6 trillion through 2050, according to a new PwC forecast. The money will support data centers and the computing equipment packed inside them. That includes GPUs, servers, storage systems, CPUs, and networking hardware. The number is huge, but it isn’t fixed. PwC’s central forecast sits inside a much wider range. Depending on AI adoption, cumulative investment could land between roughly $22 trillion and $50 trillion. And this isn’t a one-time construction rush. AI hardware becomes outdated quickly. That means operators will keep replacing…

Plan A Technologies has acquired a proprietary AI assessment tool aimed at technical M&A due diligence. The Las Vegas-based AI and software engineering company announced the deal on September 2, 2026. The technology is designed to examine complex software environments faster. It can also uncover technical risks and patterns that conventional assessment methods may miss. The acquisition comes as technology buyers face a new problem. More software is being written with artificial intelligence. That can make it harder to understand what sits underneath a company’s products before an acquisition closes. Plan A wants its new AI technology to make that…

Google is giving creators, marketers and everyday users more ways to work with AI-generated visuals, while also making video much easier for Gemini to understand. The company has rolled out new image and video tools designed to make content creation and analysis faster. On the image side, Google is expanding its generative AI capabilities with more control over editing and customization. On the video side, Gemini is gaining what Google calls agentic video understanding, allowing the model to search through footage and focus on the moments that actually matter. For social media teams, this goes beyond another round of AI…

Artificial intelligence is moving into one of the UAE government’s highest levels of decision-making with the introduction of the UAE Cabinet AI Advisor System. The UAE Cabinet has launched its new Cabinet AI Advisor System. It uses 32 specialised AI advisors to support ministers with policies, legislation, and government initiatives. The system isn’t designed as a simple chatbot sitting on the side. It will operate around the clock alongside ministers. Its work includes analysing proposals, assessing their impact, and tracking how decisions are implemented. The launch is part of a much bigger government shift toward agentic AI. Sheikh Mohammed bin…

Dubai is moving its Agentic AI plans directly into the private sector. Dubai Chambers has launched specialised training tracks for more than 14,000 member companies. The programme targets businesses within Dubai Chamber of Commerce’s Business Groups and Business Councils. The goal is practical adoption, not simply AI awareness. Companies will learn how Agentic AI can improve operations, productivity, and business decisions. Training will run through the newly launched Dubai Chambers Academy. The digital platform will offer dedicated Agentic AI courses alongside other business programmes. More Than 14,000 Dubai Companies Will Receive Agentic AI Training The programme is aimed at more…

Artificial intelligence in the UAE is moving beyond pilots and demonstrations. The next challenge is putting AI into systems that governments and industries can actually depend on. Robo.ai Inc. is positioning itself for that shift. The UAE-based technology group is expanding its local operations and AI infrastructure capabilities. Its strategy puts data governance, engineering, manufacturing, and local delivery at the center. The company is targeting areas where reliability matters more than hype. Government services, public security, transportation, finance, and other critical sectors are part of the plan. Robo.ai Is Making Localisation Part of Its AI Strategy Robo.ai wants its UAE…

Aramco Digital has unveiled a new industrial AI ecosystem built for Saudi Arabia’s heavy industries. Called iCONNA, the platform combines industrial connectivity, artificial intelligence, connected devices, and Industrial Internet of Things technology. It was unveiled at LEAP 2026 in Riyadh by Aramco Digital CEO Dr. Ashraf AlTahini. The idea is bigger than simply connecting machines. Aramco Digital wants industrial sites to turn live operational data into faster decisions. Over time, that could support facilities that become more automated and adaptive. At the center is Saudi Arabia’s national 450 MHz industrial network. It provides dedicated connectivity for industrial environments where reliability…

Nokia has opened its first research and development centre in Saudi Arabia. The Nokia Riyadh AI R&D centre marks an exciting milestone for the company in the region. The new Riyadh facility has a clear target: smarter telecom networks powered by artificial intelligence. The centre will develop AI software for network automation and orchestration. Nokia wants networks that can configure themselves, detect problems, improve performance, and reduce energy use. Less manual intervention is part of the idea. There is a bigger Saudi angle here too. Nokia plans to develop software in Riyadh that can eventually reach customers worldwide. That fits…

Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN is putting more weight behind Arabic-first artificial intelligence. Recently, HUMAIN Arabic.AI investment has become a key part of the push to develop innovative AI solutions tailored for the Arabic language. The Public Investment Fund-backed AI company has made a strategic investment in Arabic.AI. It has also formed a partnership with Arabic.AI and language technology company Tarjama. The value of the investment was not disclosed. The deal is focused on something global AI platforms still struggle with: enterprise-grade Arabic. HUMAIN will combine its infrastructure, computing resources, and AI models with Arabic.AI’s language technology. Tarjama brings years of translation…

Amazon Web Services is putting a firm date on one of its biggest infrastructure projects in Saudi Arabia. AWS says its first cloud infrastructure region in the Kingdom is on track to launch in December 2026. The project forms part of more than $5.3 billion in planned Saudi cloud investment. The announcement came during LEAP 2026 in Riyadh. AWS also expanded its partnership with Saudi AI company HUMAIN. Together, they plan to provide up to 50 megawatts of capacity in the Kingdom’s first AI Zone by 2028. The combination is significant. Saudi Arabia is not simply adding another cloud region.…

Adobe is moving part of its artificial intelligence workload onto Saudi Arabia’s growing AI infrastructure. The software company has become the first global software provider to migrate AI workloads to HUMAIN’s AI Compute platform. Qualcomm technology will accelerate the deployment. The shift keeps Adobe’s regional compute and data processing inside Saudi Arabia. The first workloads involve AI data captioning. It is an early production test for infrastructure that Saudi Arabia wants to offer at global scale. HUMAIN, Adobe, and Qualcomm are already treating the deployment as the beginning rather than a one-off project. Adobe Becomes HUMAIN’s First Global Software Customer…

Saudi Arabia’s air cargo sector is moving deeper into artificial intelligence. Saudia Cargo is expanding its use of AI while preparing to double its freighter fleet. The strategy supports Saudi Arabia’s wider push to become a major logistics hub connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa by 2030. AI is no longer being treated as an extra layer inside the company. It is now embedded across several operational processes. Saudia Cargo is using algorithms to forecast demand, manage capacity, and improve load planning. The company is also using sensors for temperature-sensitive shipments. Automation tools are helping teams handle cargo more efficiently and…

Saudi Aramco is using LEAP 2026 to deepen its push into artificial intelligence and advanced digital technology. The energy giant and Saudi Aramco Digital announced several new agreements in Riyadh on September 1. The deals involve leading technology companies and cover several areas. Industrial AI sits near the center of the strategy. Cybersecurity, innovation, and technology localization are also major priorities. Aramco is already using AI across its industrial operations. Now, the company wants to take those systems further. That means moving from experiments toward AI that works reliably at industrial scale. Aramco Signs New Technology Agreements at LEAP 2026…

Intuit and Perplexity are pushing agentic AI deeper into everyday business operations. The two companies announced a strategic partnership on August 31. QuickBooks and Mailchimp will connect directly with Perplexity Computer. The goal is simple: move users from asking questions to actually completing business tasks. Business owners could use one AI interface to research an issue, inspect financial data, and take action. That includes chasing unpaid invoices or checking marketing results. The partnership gives Perplexity access to Intuit’s financial intelligence through secure connectors. QuickBooks Is Coming Directly Into Perplexity Computer The integration will bring QuickBooks tools into Perplexity Computer. Users…

Broadcom wants enterprises to run more of their AI without sending sensitive data to an external cloud. With VMware Cloud Foundation AI models, organisations can benefit from powerful AI capabilities while keeping their data secure on-premises. At VMware Explore 2026, the company announced a major expansion of AI support for VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF). Several leading AI models have now been validated to run directly on the platform. The lineup includes models from Google DeepMind, NVIDIA, NEC, Alibaba Cloud and Z.ai. Enterprises can deploy them on-premises and offer AI models as internal services. It is another sign that private AI…

Nvidia is making another big move in AI infrastructure. This time, the money is heading to Taiwan. The chip giant is investing $3.5 billion in MediaTek through convertible bonds. The agreement expands an existing partnership between the two semiconductor companies. But this is not simply a financial investment. MediaTek will bring Nvidia technology into future custom AI chips. Those chips could sit inside the same data centers that already depend heavily on Nvidia hardware. That gives Nvidia another way to stay central to AI infrastructure. Even when customers start designing more of their own silicon. Nvidia Is Making Its Biggest…

Autonomous drones are getting another hardware boost. This time, SiMa.ai ARK Electronics autonomous drones are at the forefront of the latest advancements. SiMa.ai and ARK Electronics have formed a strategic partnership around intelligent drone development. The companies are combining AI computing with U.S.-made drone and robotics electronics. The goal is fairly practical. They want manufacturers to build smarter drones faster, without piecing together complex hardware from scratch. Their joint solution targets commercial, industrial, agricultural, and defense applications. It also puts more AI processing directly on the drone. That matters when connectivity is weak, delayed, or unavailable. SiMa.ai and ARK Electronics…

Microsoft has put a firm date on its long-awaited Saudi Arabia cloud expansion, officially announcing the Microsoft Saudi Arabia cloud region launch. The company says its Saudi Arabia East datacenter region will become available in November 2026. The new infrastructure will support cloud and AI workloads inside the Kingdom. It will serve both government agencies and private companies. The timing matters. Saudi organizations are moving beyond small AI experiments. More companies now want to run AI at scale. Local infrastructure gives them another option without sending sensitive workloads outside the country. Microsoft Saudi Arabia East Goes Live in November Microsoft…