Gulf’s drive toward AI sovereignty faces challenges

The Gulf’s drive toward AI sovereignty earned a spotlight from TheGuardian. The Web Summit Qatar held last week saw the GCC neighbour announce bn-USD agreements at the summit to foster tech startups, joining moves by the UAE and Saudi to prop up the national AI infrastructure.

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However, the push faces hurdles, including limited access to semiconductors, shortages of local engineering talent, and relatively small volumes of Arabic-language training data. Venture capital investors remain divided on whether funding should shift toward emerging ecosystems in Europe and the Middle East or remain concentrated in Silicon Valley, where high valuations and entrenched advantages continue to attract capital.