G42, the UAE’s flagship artificial intelligence company, took a big step in its bid to establish regional leadership in the booming field.

The Abu Dhabi-backed tech company, whose Chairman is National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, announced a partnership with OpenAI on Thursday to build an AI data center with a 1-gigawatt capacity that would make it one of the most powerful facilities in the world.

Among other investors in the Abu Dhabi data center called Stargate UAE – OpenAI’s first major project outside the U.S. – are Oracle, SoftBank, Nvidia, and Cisco.

G42 and OpenAI didn’t disclose a cost for the Abu Dhabi project, although similar projects planned in the U.S. run well over $10 billion, The Wall Street Journal reports. It said the data-center project is the fruit of months of negotiations between the UAE and the Trump administration that culminated in a deal last week to allow the U.A.E. to import up to 500,000 advanced AI chips a year.

Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, meanwhile, is planning next week’s graduation ceremony, where 104 students from 24 countries will get their degrees, including the six-year-old school’s first Emirati PhD graduate.

MBZUAI’s President Eric Xing told Bloomberg in an interview published today that he hopes to make his school the Stanford of the Gulf, pointing to the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship it cultivates, and its global influence.

The $1.1 billion IPO for Saudi Arabia’s Flynas low-cost airline has reached the runway and is ready for take-off after the offering to institutional investors was nearly 100 times oversubscribed.

The carrier, whose largest shareholders are Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holdings and the government’s Public Investment Fund, is the latest in a slew of IPOs for Saudi companies that have also encountered high demand, including Umm Al-Qura construction, which raised more than $500 million in March.

Flynas shares, which will start trading on Riyadh’s Tadawul Stock Exchange May 28, were set on Wednesday at 80 riyals apiece, the top of the range given by the IPO’s investment bankers.

Proceeds from the offering are slated for expanding Flynas’ fleet by 225 planes and launching several new flight hubs. The budget airline flies to 59 destinations and is popular with Muslim pilgrims to Mecca and expat workers from India, the Philippines and elsewhere.

Flynas is not alone among Gulf airlines interested in going public. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, owned by the ADQ sovereign wealth fund, is actively preparing for an IPO while Emirates and Qatar Airways have been mulling share sales for years.

Still waiting to stretch its wings is Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s new national carrier wholly owned by the PIF, which plans to start flying its stylish royal blue jetliners this year in the fourth quarter.

Abu Dhabi researchers are hopeful for a breakthrough in treatment for Type 1 diabetes within two years using a method of regenerating the pancreas with engineered cells.

The Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center, a subsidiary of ADQ-controlled Pure Health, is collaborating with Kyoto University and research company Rege Nephro on the research, which is being showcased at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, The National reports.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the pancreas stops producing insulin, which regulates blood glucose levels.

There is currently no cure, and treatment usually relies on lifelong monitoring and daily insulin injections. It is hoped that regenerating the pancreas could provide long-term relief.

In separate research, ADSCC revealed in January it had successfully used umbilical cord-derived cells to treat a 20-year-old Emirati patient with Type 1 diabetes.

It looks like Donald Trump will get the Qatari Boeing 747 he wants after all.

The Pentagon gave the green light on Wednesday to the Qatari government’s offer to provide the plane – estimated to be worth between $200 million and $400 million – as a gift to replace two aging planes that currently serve as Air Force One.

The plane will require as much as $1 billion and several years of work to provide the level of communications and defense capabilities necessary to function as the flying White House required for presidential travel, The New York Times reports.

Democrats have assailed the plan as a conflict of interest, suggesting Qatar expects political favors in return for the gift.

“The Secretary of Defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said.

Amid the influx of private equity firms to the Gulf’s financial capitals, the head of Kuwait’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund says the industry must be handled with caution.

Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha Wednesday, Sheikh Saoud Salem Al-Sabah, Managing Director of the Kuwait Investment Authority, warned that some international money managers are struggling to return funds to investors because of inflated valuations.

“Private equity is very troubled, I believe, especially in the large buyouts, venture capital and the rise of continuation vehicles,” Sheikh Saoud said in a panel discussion on the second day of the three-day conference. “That’s a very worrying sign.”

The KIA is the second largest sovereign wealth fund in the Gulf, trailing the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and slightly ahead of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

The region’s six biggest funds oversee assets of about $4 trillion, and many of them have historically been significant backers of private equity firms, according to Bloomberg, the chief media partner for the annual Doha summit, which is underwritten by the Qatari government.

Also speaking at the conference today was Steven Mnuchin, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary and present Managing Partner of Liberty Strategic Capital, who counseled patience in trade negotiations with China.

“If the U.S. can level the playing field and get better access for the country’s businesses in China, the opportunity is massive,” he said.

Days after U.S. President Donald Trump returned to Washington from a trip that took him to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, his son Donald Trump Jr. appeared at the Doha conference and said The Trump Organization won’t “do direct deals” with foreign government entities.

While his father has been criticized for entertaining an offer from the government of Qatar to receive a $400 million Boeing 747 plane as a gift to replace Air Force One, the younger Trump said the family business is being cautious about its international connections. 

“We’re going to play by the rules and it’s as simple as that,” he said.

Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute has launched Falcon Arabic, a powerful new Arabic-based large language model, as the UAE vies to stay in the consumer AI race.

The new LLM is trained across both Modern Standard Arabic and dialects, and TII claims that it matches the performance of models up to 10 times its size, Bloomberg reports.

The U.S. and China are increasingly dominating the competition to develop the world’s most powerful AI models, leaving countries like the UAE fighting to keep up.

Earlier this month, it was reported that TII’s flagship Falcon model had fallen behind in the rankings and user adoption, while G42, which backed another system called Jais, had shifted focus to customizing models from companies like OpenAI instead of developing its own.

Oman has launched two smart city projects as part of its efforts to cut carbon emissions and diversify its economy.

The first city, for 10,000 residents, will be built in the mountain region of Jebel Akhdar, while the second, Thuraya City in Muscat, will house 8,000 people, Arabian Gulf Business Insights reports.

Both cities will rely on renewable energy, including solar power, and will be used to promote Oman’s carbon-free environment plans, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning said.

The announcement comes a week after the Sultanate launched the Oman Centre for Net Zero. Like other Gulf countries, Oman has been ramping up investment in green infrastructure to diversify its economy beyond oil and gas.

The push for smart cities also reflects the country’s commitment to attracting foreign investment and creating livable, future-ready urban environments.

While cruise ships teem with Middle East travelers heading to the Greek Islands, Hong Kong and the Caribbean, Lakshmi Durai is trying to introduce more people to shorter luxury trips sailing between the Gulf states and along the Red Sea.

As founder and CEO of CruiseXplore, an internet booking platform that fills cabins for some two dozen cruise lines, including Carnival, Norwegian and Disney, Durai has lately teamed up on the mini-holidays with Aroya Cruises, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

“This is a very high-potential market,” Durai, a 30-year veteran of the industry, told The Circuit during this month’s annual Arabian Travel Market exhibition in Dubai. “It’s an easy way for people to experience cruising for the first time.”

Jeddah-based Aroya opened for business just two years ago and runs a variety of cruises to nearby ports of call including Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh, the Jordanian resort city of Aqaba and Jabal Al Sabaya Island in the Red Sea. Its sole 18-deck ship has more than 1,600 cabins, along with swimming pools, spas, restaurants and a no-alcohol policy.

Cruise revenue in the Middle East and Africa is projected to grow some 60% over the next five years to $230 million, according to Horizon Grand View Research. That’s a minuscule 1.6% of the global market, which an optimistic Durai sees as providing even more room to grow.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What sets CruiseXplore apart from other international players?
We are a cruise consolidator working with over 30 cruise brands. Each brand might have 10 to 20 ships, sailing from more than 300 destinations worldwide. Our team includes experienced cruise professionals, so we really know the market.

Cruising isn’t one-size-fits-all. There are family cruises, couples cruises, destination-focused cruises, and luxury cruises – each with unique features. Our job is to match the right cruise to the right guest, based on their style of vacationing. We don’t just sell cruises; we sell the experience.

How do you decide which cruise lines to partner with?

Every cruise line is beautiful in its own way. We don’t categorize any cruise line as better or worse. It’s about understanding the product – what it offers, who it targets, and what kind of people it attracts. If a cruise line operates professionally, we are open to working with it. We’re here to sell anything that sails on water!

What cruise destinations are most popular with your customers?

Globally, cruises operate in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Caribbean, Alaska, Australia and even unique places like the Arctic, Antarctica, and the Amazon. But for this region, European cruises are very popular due to proximity and ease of travel.

First-timers often choose Mediterranean routes – Spain, Rome, France, Greek Islands, and Turkey – because of the history and scenic coastlines. Others who prefer cooler climates opt for Northern Europe, especially Norway and its fjords. Those cruises are getting very popular.

What about Saudi Arabia? Is the Red Sea becoming a cruise destination?

Saudi Arabia launched its own cruise line, Aroya Cruises, last year. It’s a beautiful ship that operates in the Red Sea. Aroya is the only GCC-based cruise brand, but we work with over 30 international cruise lines. MSC, Costa, and others also operate in the region, sailing into GCC ports.

What are the industry trends that look promising for the Gulf region?

Local cruising is becoming quite popular – it’s an easy way for people to experience cruising for the first time. Still, a large portion of the Middle Eastern population hasn’t been on a cruise, so this is a very high-potential market.

Having local cruises means people can try it without flying abroad. It helps raise awareness and builds confidence for them to book international cruises later. And for visitors, cruising makes it easy to visit multiple countries – Oman, Bahrain, Qatar – without needing to arrange separate flights or accommodations.

What investments does the Middle East cruise industry need?

More ports and attractive destinations. The GCC countries have already made great improvements in infrastructure, but the more ports of call we have, the more appealing the region becomes for cruise tourism.

Can you tell me how the industry has changed since you started in the 1990s?

I actually started in 1994, so it’s been 30 years. I was very young then! I came to Dubai that year and joined the cruise industry right away. I gradually moved up the ranks and started managing cruise brand representations as a director. After 20 years, I decided it was time to do something on my own, and that’s when we launched CruiseXplore in 2014. We just completed 10 years.

Back then, cruising was a very new concept in the region. We had to explain to people what a cruise was, and there were a lot of misconceptions. There weren’t even ships docking in the Middle East. That changed around 2008-2009 when major cruise lines like Royal Caribbean and Costa started operating here. People began to see ships in local waters, and awareness increased. Today, thanks to the internet, cruising is becoming very popular.