Countries / Gulf
AI in the Gulf
Spending heavily to become AI powers, pairing sovereign wealth and US chip alliances with light-touch, principles-based rules.
- MGX’s first AI fund at close (Jul 2026)
- $49bn
- Planned UAE–US AI campus in Abu Dhabi, Stargate UAE its first 1 GW
- 5 GW
- Blackwell-class chips each cleared for G42 and HUMAIN (Nov 2025)
- 35,000
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Profile
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Strategy
The UAE’s National AI Strategy 2031 aims for global AI leadership; Abu Dhabi’s MGX closed a $49bn AI fund in Jul 2026. In Saudi Arabia, SDAIA sets policy and PIF’s HUMAIN runs data centres and a venture fund, and is turning to outside investment.
Regulation
Neither country has an AI law. The UAE relies on its non-binding 2024 AI Charter and data laws (CMS); Saudi Arabia uses its data protection law plus SDAIA guidance, and its draft Global AI Hub Law has not been enacted.
Compute
Stargate UAE is the first 1 GW of a 5 GW UAE–US AI campus, with its first 200 MW due in Q3 2026. In Jul 2026 the US eased chip export controls for the UAE. HUMAIN is building 100 MW sites in Riyadh and Dammam.
Key labs
G42 (Core42, Khazna), MBZUAI, Technology Innovation Institute, MGX (UAE); HUMAIN, SDAIA (Saudi Arabia).
Notable models
TII Falcon H1R 7B (Jan 2026); MBZUAI K2 Think V2, fully open (Jan 2026); HUMAIN’s ALLaM 34B, behind HUMAIN Chat.
What to watch
Whether Stargate UAE’s first 200 MW goes live on schedule; whether HUMAIN’s data centres are running as PIF cuts back; whether Saudi Arabia gets chip terms as easy as the UAE’s.