Will the Gulf's push for its own AI succeed?

"Three years ago [when Web Summit Qatar began], people were talking about entering a multi-polar world. We are now living in a multi-polar world, said Paddy Cosgrave. As evidence, he referenced the fiery rebuke of Donald Trump given by the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, at Davos a few weeks prior. He pointed to the act that had preceded him on stage: dancing robots built by a Chinese company, which he called the most advanced in the world."

"He pointed to the act that had preceded him on stage: dancing robots built by a Chinese company, which he called the most advanced in the world. First was the Qatari prime minister, who announced a series of billion-dollar moves meant to foster startups in the country. Then came the Palestinian-Jordanian founder of UpScrolled, an insurgent TikTok competitor whose founder announced on stage that the app had crossed 2.5 million users amid the confused backlash to the new US entity of TikTok."

"As the US becomes a more unstable place to immigrate to and start a company, all three major Gulf powers are making a show of their multibillion-dollar push into AI. It's not just Qatar that is spending big. Last year, the UAE signed a deal with the US for advanced chips that will fill one of the largest datacenters in the world to be constructed outside Abu Dhabi. Saudi Arabia's state-owned AI firm, Humain, has inked billions of dollars in deals to"

Sovereignty emerged as the dominant theme at Web Summit Qatar, with Gulf states pushing to build independent AI capacity and tech ecosystems. Qatar announced billion-dollar initiatives to foster startups, while regional entrepreneurs highlighted rising local platforms such as UpScrolled reaching millions of users. The UAE secured an advanced chips deal with the United States to populate a major datacenter outside Abu Dhabi. Saudi Arabia's state-owned AI firm, Humain, has signed multibillion-dollar agreements. Rising U.S. political and immigration instability is contributing to Gulf efforts to capture more of global tech influence and infrastructure.

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