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A model of IBM Quantum shows the three chandeliers that would be a part of the System Two installation, the System One comprises of one such chandelier, seen during the inauguration of Europe's first IBM Quantum Data Center, on Oct. 1, 2024, in Ehningen, Germany.

Saudi Arabia deploys region’s first industrial quantum computer: What to know

The announcement significantly boosts Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy to diversify the economy away from oil by the end of the decade.

A view of Al Majdoul, a skyscraper in Riyadh, Aug. 1, 2023.

Feature

Saudi Arabia leans on AI for real estate growth as gigaprojects slow

The kingdom is increasingly announcing projects merging AI and real estate to cut costs while building smarter, data-driven, and more sustainable infrastructure.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

MOHAMED AFRAH/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Org, Saudi partner Dar Global launch crypto scheme for Maldives resort

The deal marks a notable fusion of the Trump family’s traditional real estate business and its expanding foothold in the crypto world, and arrives a day before Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince arrives in Washington.

Latest News

Analysis

Deals and data: Saudi Crown Prince brings growing AI ambitions on US visit

US President Donald Trump meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a “coffee ceremony” at the Saudi Royal Court on May 13, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

UAE deals with Anduril, Palantir deepen US tech footprint in Gulf defense

A drone is seen during the opening ceremony of the Milipol, the international exhibition of homeland security, at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, in Doha, on Oct. 31, 2016.

United Arab Emirates

Meet the Silicon Valley-linked AI startup targeting Gulf’s costly inefficiencies

Bilal Abu-Ghazaleh, founder of 1001 AI.

United Arab Emirates

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

David Rosenberg

In Tel Aviv, reporting on business and tech

Rayyanah Barnawi

Meet Rayyanah Barnawi, Saudi Arabia's first female astronaut to go to space

Rayyanah Barnawi said she’ll be taking Arabic coffee with her to drink aboard the International Space Station, teaching children, and practicing zero-gravity space flips with her colleagues.

Hydrogen-powered car

King Mohammed IV launches Morocco's first hydrogen car

The development of the hydrogen-powered vehicle, due to be released in 2025, is a response to the rising global demand for sustainable cars.

Coinbase 'welcomed' to Abu Dhabi's Hub71, hinting at new base in UAE

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said at a Dubai-based tech event that the UAE could serve as a hub for parts of the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.

United Arab Emirates

H225M helicopter

UAE axes $879m military helicopter deal with Airbus

Muammar Abdulla Abushehab, defense and security industry affairs sector chief for the UAE’s Tawazun Council, stressed that the decision was not a political one.

United Arab Emirates

An illustration picture taken in London on Dec. 30, 2021, shows gold-plated souvenir cryptocurrency coins.

UAE reprimands cryptocurrency firm OPNX

The company, which is planning a transparent crypto platform, allegedly did not receive the necessary regulatory authority from the UAE.

A photo taken on March 31, 2023 in Manta, near Turin, shows a computer screen with the home page of the artificial intelligence OpenAI web site, displaying its chatGPT robot. - Italy's privacy watchdog said on March it had blocked the controversial robot ChatGPT, saying the artificial intelligence app did not respect user data and could not verify users' age. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)

In water-starved Middle East, large ChatGPT data centers are a threat

The UAE announced its record-breaking green data center in February of this year. The Moro Hub, created by the digital arm of DEWA, became the largest solar-powered data center, according to Guinness World Records.

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Israel's Netanyahu calls domestic rise of lab meat part of 'global revolution'

Investment in lab-grown meat and other plant-based proteins is taking off in Israel, which has a relatively large vegetarian and vegan population.

A US Black Hawk helicopter takes off from Britain's RFA Cardigan Bay landing ship in the Gulf waters off Bahrain stand next to a rigid-hull inflatable boat during the International Maritime Exercise (IMX), on November 5, 2019. - IMX is a joint military exercise involving assets and personnel from more than 50 partner nations and seven international organisations. The US has pushed for the creation of a US-led operation dubbed the International Maritime Security Construct to safeguard trade and the flow of o

CENTCOM hires first-ever AI adviser as it fields new tech in Middle East

US CENTCOM became the first combatant command to appoint an AI, machine learning and robotics adviser this week as the Pentagon looks to keep ahead of China’s technological advances.

Washington Pulse

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Cyberattacks strike Israeli banks as Iran celebrates Quds Day

A group called "Anonymous Sudan" took responsibility for coordinated cyberattacks on Israeli banks and the Israel Post.

In this photo illustration, the welcome screen for the OpenAI ChatGPT app is displayed on a laptop screen on Feb. 3, 2023, in London, England.

Analysis

Middle East unlikely to slow down on AI, ChatGPT rollout

Astra Tech, backed by Abu Dhabi AI company G42, said it created the first Arabic language ChatGPT last Wednesday. Also this week, the number of signatories of the open letter increased more than sixfold since last Monday’s 3,000, highlighting the growing concern about unregulated AI.

By Salim A. Essaid

A man walks past a sign of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in Mumbai on August 5, 2022. - India's central bank on August 5 hiked interest rates for the third time in four months, as Asia's third-largest economy contends with a widening trade deficit and weakening currency. (Photo by Indranil MUKHERJEE / AFP) (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE, India to boost cooperation via digital currency

The Emirati Central Bank has begun implementing its digital dirham strategy following a financial cooperation agreement with India and the UAE's cryptocurrency push.

UAE center unveils Falcon LLM, 'better, faster' ChatGPT rival

The model claims to use only 75 percent of GPT-3’s training compute time, and 40 and 80 percent of DeepMind’s Chinchilla NLP and Google’s PaLM-62B compute times, respectively.