Core42’s SuperPOD ranks top in region; and more Middle East AI News

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Another busy week, with many multiple technology and tech-related events taking place across the Middle East. Some big deals announced this week, including a joint venture launched by Gcore and Ezditek; a joint venture formed by NAVER and National Housing Company (NHC) to develop digital twins; and an agreement signed between Tawal and 5SKYE to deploy next-generation 5G AI micro edge data centres.

TOP500 also published its annual ranking of high performance computing systems this week, ranking Core42’s news NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD 25th most powerful system in the world, and the most powerful system listed for the Middle East. Aramco has five systems in the TOP500 list.

Scroll down to read all the news!

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Thanks for reading!

/Carrington

Middle East AI News – 21-Nov-24

HPC

Core42’s SuperPOD ranked top in Middle East

#UAE #HPC - The 64th edition of the TOP500 list has ranked Core42’s NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD™ as the Middle East’s most powerful high-performance computing (HPC) system, the second-largest NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD deployment worldwide, and the 25th largest HPC system globally. Based in the UAE and a subsidiary of G42, Core42 specialises in sovereign cloud and AI infrastructure. (Middle East AI News)

Market

Generative AI to drive MENA software market to $19.98B

#MENA #spending- Global analyst firm Gartner predicts software spending in MENA will grow by 13.7% in 2025 to reach $19.98 billion. Generative AI and cloud services will drive this growth, impacting infrastructure, software, and services investments. (Middle East AI News)

Egypt ranks in MENA’s top 3 for start-up growth

#Egypt #startups - Egypt ranks among MENA’s top three for start-up entrepreneurship, according to the Minister of CIT. ICT contributed 5.8% of Egypt’s GDP last year, with start-ups playing a key role. (Ahram Online)

LLMs

New leaderboard to evaluate telecom-focused LLMs

#UAE #LLMs - Huawei Paris Research Centre, Khalifa University, and GSMA launched an open leaderboard to evaluate telecom-focused LLMs. The project was unveiled during the 6G Summit in Abu Dhabi. (Middle East AI News)

Data Centres

Gcore and Ezditek launch joint venture for AI in Saudi

#Saudi #AIInfrastructure - Gcore and Ezditek announced a joint venture to build high-performance AI infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. The initiative includes an AI factory in Riyadh to develop and deploy generative AI solutions globally, positioning Riyadh as a hub for AI innovation. (Middle East AI News)

Sharjah to build largest Tier 3 data centre

#UAE #datacentres - Sharjah Communication Technologies Authority will partner with BEEAH-Khazna to build the Emirate’s largest Tier 3 data centre in Kalba’s free zone on the UAE’s east coast. (Zawya)

R&D

MBZUAI to help Malaysia’s UniKL launch AI faculty

#Malaysia #research- Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) will partner with Malaysia’s Universiti Kuala Lumpur to establish an AI faculty. The collaboration was announced during Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister’s visit to the UAE. (The Edge Malaysia)

Digital Twins

NAVER and NHC to establish joint venture for digital twins

#Saudi #digitaltwins - NAVER Corp. has signed an MoU with Saudi Arabia’s National Housing Company (NHC) to establish a joint venture to develop and commercialise digital twins platforms. The deal was signed during Cityscape Global in Riyadh last week. (KED)

Funding

NYBL secures funding via Startup Qatar

Riyadh-based AI startup NYBL has secured funding via the Startup Qatar programme of Qatar Development Bank (QDB). The startup was part of the first cohort of the investment programme. The programme promises successful applicants will receive a total of QAR 43.8 million ($ 12 million) in funding and benefits such as access to a shared office space. (Entarabi)

QIA c-leads Cresta's Series D funding

#Qatar #USA #funding - California AI startup Cresta has secured $125 million in Series D funding, co-led by World Innovation Lab (WiL) and QIA (Qatar Investment Authority), with additional contributions from Accenture, EnvisionX Capital, LG Technology Ventures, Qualcomm, and Workday Ventures. (Cresta)

Digital Transformation

ADIB Egypt to invest $20.2mln to drive digital transformation

#Egypt #UAE #digitaltransformation - Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank – Egypt (ADIB Egypt) plans to invest approximately EGP 1 billion ($20.2 million) in the digital sector during the upcoming period, according to a stock exchange filing for it's third quarter results. (Zawya)

eVTOLs

Archer Aviation appoints UAE Lead for air taxis

#UAE #airtaxi - Archer Aviation has appointed Dr Talib Alhinai to lead its UAE operations, including plans to test air taxis between Abu Dhabi and Dubai in 2025. Dr Alhinai also serves on the UAE’s aviation regulator board. (UAS Weekly)

IoT

Tawal and 5SKYE deploy AI at the edge

#Saudi #edge - Tawal and 5SKYE have partnered to deploy next-generation 5G AI micro edge data centres, providing scalable, real-time data processing at the network's edge. The technology will support transformative use cases such as IoT-driven CCTV AI Analytics, Digital Advertising, and Edge Compute. (Zawya)

Education

CMU-Q integrates AI across campus activities

#Qatar #AIInEducation - Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar is implementing a campus-wide AI integration plan. The initiative will merge AI into academic and extracurricular activities while fostering collaborative AI research and development. (Asia Education Review)

Young minds explore IoT at Sharjah Book Fair

#UAE #IoT - Fun Robotics hosted an interactive IoT workshop at the 43rd Sharjah International Book Fair, introducing young innovators to how IoT can revolutionise everyday life. (Zawya)

Arabic

UNESCO to explore AI’s role in advancing Arabic

#Global #Arabic - UNESCO will host a major event in Paris on World Arabic Language Day to explore AI’s potential for protecting and advancing the Arabic language. Experts will discuss innovation, digital inclusion, and cultural preservation. (Muscat Daily)

Sharjah launches bilingual tech terms dictionary

#UAE #education - Sharjah Digital Department unveiled a bilingual Arabic-English Technology Terms dictionary at the Sharjah International Book Fair, offering a comprehensive reference for researchers and cybersecurity professionals. (Zawya)

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[ This newsletter was AI edited & human edited ]