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< PreviousBIG PICTURE 10 EDGE | Saudi Special The U.S. and China are building digital borders faster than data can move, all while chasing the same ambition: unfettered compute power in an AI-ﬁ rst era SILICON BEHIND BORDERSBIG PICTURE EDGE | Saudi Special 11 T he United States is considering new export controls that would restrict shipments of products bound for China if they contain U.S-origin software or were manufactured using such software. The potential measures span a wide range of goods — laptops, jet engines, and other technology — representing what could become a dramatic escalation of the tech standoff between Washington and Beijing. This comes as China introduces its own barriers, including fresh export restrictions on rare earths critical minerals used in chipmaking and advanced electronics — signalling a tit-for-tat escalation over the components that power modern computation. The irony sits in plain sight. Each side acts to slow the other down, sealing borders around semiconductors, manufacturing tools, and code. Yet beneath the policy language lies a shared obsession: access to more compute. China tightens control over the minerals and machinery needed to manufacture chips. The U.S moves to choke off the software and intellectual property behind them. Each nation pushes for supremacy in AI while inadvertently highlighting how interdependent global supply chains remain. This fractured supply landscape introduces a new map of technological power — less about geography, more about who governs data, silicon, and acceleration. The world’s most advanced computing infrastructure no longer ﬂ ows freely across continents. It moves through gates. It requires permission. The real question is whether borders drawn around code and chips can truly secure dominance in a system built on exponential demand. In a race where every breakthrough multiplies the need for the next one, restricting access may delay rivals, but it also risks slowing progress itself. For all the walls rising around silicon, there is a limit to how long innovation can be contained. AI runs on collaboration as much as competition; ideas cross borders far faster than cargo ever will. Markets can be fenced, but algorithms leak, talent migrates, and capital hunts opportunity wherever it grows. The world’s next breakthroughs may emerge not from the biggest stockpiles or the strictest controls, but from the ecosystems. Each nation pushes for supremacy in AI while inadvertently highlighting how interdependent global supply chains remain NEWS 12 EDGE | Saudi Special 500,000 of NVIDIA’s AI processors will flow into UAE annually under new export licences I n a signiﬁ cant policy shift underscoring the deepening technology partnership between Washington and Abu Dhabi, the United States has approved several billion dollars’ worth of NVIDIA chip exports to the UAE. The licenses were granted by the U.S Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security under the framework of a bilateral AI agreement ﬁ nalised earlier this year. Reports claim that the approval allows UAE to import up to 500,000 of NVIDIA’s most advanced AI chips per year, beginning in 2025. These include the chipmaker’s GPUs designed for training and running large-scale AI models. The arrangement, valid through at least 2027, could be extended to 2030 depending on ongoing cooperation and reciprocal investments. The decision marks one of the most substantial technology export approvals by Washington to a Gulf nation. It signals a growing recognition of the UAE’s ambition to build a domestic AI ecosystem embedded in advanced infrastructure, high-performance computing, and sovereign data capabilities. For the U.S, it reﬂ ects a pragmatic balancing act, extending technological collaboration with trusted partners while maintaining export-control policies that limit access to rivals. As part of the broader perspective, the UAE has committed to directing a similar scale of investment into U.S tech ventures and AI infrastructure, creating a two-way channel for innovation and capital ﬂ ow. Analysts say the move aligns with both countries’ strategic interests: the U.S gains a dependable regional ally to counterbalance China’s growing AI inﬂ uence, while the UAE gains access to the computational power needed to scale local AI applications across sectors such as ﬁ nance, energy, and public services. A U.S Commerce Department spokesperson described the initiative as a “transformational U.S–UAE AI partnership” that would drive mutual economic and technological beneﬁ ts. NVIDIA declined to comment, but market observers suggest the deal could set a precedent for future technology transfers between Western ﬁ rms and Middle Eastern economies investing heavily in AI development. Experts also note the decision reinforces UAE’s position as a global AI hub, home to institutions like G42, MBZUAI, and the ATRC. While the approval has been met with optimism, it also highlights the need for robust governance. U.S APPROVES BILLIONS IN NVIDIA CHIP EXPORTS TO UAE The move strengthens U.S-UAE technology ties and accelerates the UAE’s plans to become a global AI powerhouseTomorrow’s digital society decoded mwc doha, DECC 25 – 26 November 2025NEWS 14 EDGE | Saudi Special 25CM resolution of radar image will provide near-photographic clarity T he Abu Dhabi-based space and data intelligence company Space42 has shipped three SAR satellites — Foresight-3, Foresight-4 and Foresight-5 — from its UAE facility to U.S, after manufacturing and testing them locally, in partnership with global radar specialist ICEYE. These satellites, formerly under the umbrella of the country’s new space manufacturing and sovereign imagery capability programme, will join the Foresight constellation, which already includes Foresight-1 and Foresight-2, and aims for full constellation maturity by 2027. The signiﬁ cance of radar-based imaging cannot be overstated: unlike optical systems, SAR can “see” through cloud cover and at night, and thus provides reliable data for disaster response, maritime surveillance, environmental and urban monitoring, resource management and national security. With these new units approved and in transit, the UAE is setting the pace for Middle East-based Earth- observation infrastructure. Khalid Al Awadhi, SVP Earth Observation Systems at Space42, said, “This is a proud moment for Space42 and UAE. For the ﬁ rst time, satellites equipped with cutting-edge SAR technology have been tested in the UAE. This reﬂ ects how far we have come: from reliance on imported technology to building advanced platforms with our global partners. These satellites...reaffi rm the UAE’s leadership in the next generation of AI-powered Space Technology.” All three satellites were built and tested in the UAE which marks the ﬁ rst time such advanced SAR platforms have completed critical Assembly, Integration & Testing (AIT) activities within the country. Once deployed, the satellites aim to deliver radar imagery at 25-centimetre resolution with near-global coverage and rapid revisit, feeding the company’s AI-powered GIQ analytics system. Through this technical milestone, UAE’s “National Space Strategy 2030” envisions moving the country from being a consumer of satellite data to a sovereign producer and exporter of high-value geospatial intelligence. The shipped satellites clearly accelerate that shift. UAE’s SpaceTech leadership and manufacturing base is enabled by domestic AIT capability, Emirati engineering and leadership, and global partners. UAE SHIPS FIRST BATCH OF SAR SATELLITES TO U.S Three satellites shipped by Space42 will provide reliable data coverage through cloud cover and at night for eff ective disaster response REPORT 16 EDGE | Saudi Special AI PROMISES PLENTY BUT READINESS REMAINS THE MISSING METRIC I n an era where conﬁ dence in AI has become the new corporate currency, Riverbed’s 2025 Global Survey cuts through the optimism with something rarer — data-backed reality. After surveying 1,200 business and IT leaders across seven countries, including Saudi Arabia which is also the only Middle Eastern economy represented — the report ﬁ nds that despite soaring investment and high reported ROI, only 12 per cent of AI initiatives have been fully deployed. The rest, it seems, are still caught between proof- of-concept and full-scale performance. Global AI investment has nearly doubled to $27 million per enterprise, with 87 per cent of organisations claiming their AIOps projects have met or exceeded expectations. Yet that optimism masks a worrying truth: just 36 per cent of companies consider themselves ready to operationalise AI, a slight decline from last year’s ﬁ gures. In other words, the money’s moving faster than the maturity. The gap between boardroom conﬁ dence and technical reality is glaring — 42% of business leaders believe they’re AI-ready versus only 25% of technical specialists. It’s a familiar corporate paradox: the will to deploy AI is there, but the infrastructure, governance, and data discipline are still catching up. “AI maturity isn’t about who spends more — it’s about who cleans their data ﬁ rst.” The report exposes that fragility. Fewer than half of respondents rate their data as excellent for accuracy or completeness. Without clean, real-time data, even the most expensive AI models are only as good as their weakest input. At the same time, 96 per cent of enterprises are consolidating IT operations tools to simplify workﬂ ows and cut across observability silos, while 93 per cent are open to switching vendors altogether. Tool simpliﬁ cation, once a cost-saving move, has now become a survival strategy for scaling AI. Meanwhile, the hybrid-work era’s unsung bottleneck — Uniﬁ ed Communications is straining under its own weight. UC tools now consume 42% of the workweek, yet 15% of all IT help-desk tickets stem from UC issues, taking an average of 43 minutes to resolve. For organisations chasing effi ciency, every minute spent troubleshooting a meeting is a minute lost to innovation. OpenTelemetry, once niche, is now mainstream: 94 per cent of enterprises expect it to become the foundation of observability strategies by 2027. It’s fast emerging as the digital lingua franca for AI systems that need end-to-end transparency. Saudi Arabia’s inclusion in the Riverbed survey marks a telling shift. It is evidence of how rapidly the Kingdom is climbing the global AI maturity ladder. Backed by Vision 2030 and record national investment in cloud, data, and digital governance, Saudi enterprises are emerging not just as adopters but as testbeds for “AI operational maturity.” In a world where only one in ten AI initiatives has reached full scale, the Kingdom’s execution-ﬁ rst model shows that readiness can, in fact, be designed. Ultimately, Riverbed’s ﬁ ndings underscore a hard truth: AI isn’t slowing because of algorithms — it’s slowing because of alignment. Until enterprises bridge the gap between vision and viability, AI’s biggest challenge won’t be its potential — it’ll be its preparation. AI maturity isn’t about who spends more — it’s about who cleans their data ﬁ rstREPORT EDGE | Saudi Special 17 STATS IN BRIEF is the average enterprise AI investment in 2025, nearly double of what it was in 2024 organisations say their ROI from AIOps projects has met or exceeded expectations of AI initiatives have actually reached full deployment across an enterprise of organisations consider themselves fully prepared to operationalise AI enterprises claim OpenTelemetry to be foundational to their observability strategy by 2027 of companies are consolidating ITOps to simplify operations & reduce complexity of organisations view movement and sharing of AI data as vital to their AI strategy of IT help-desk tickets caused by UC issues, taking about 43 minutes to resolve plan to establish a dedicated AI data-repository strategy by 2028 $27M87%12% 36% 94% 96% 91% 15% 75%GITEX SPECIAL 18 EDGE | Saudi Special F rom the moment the lights came up on the 2025 edition of GITEX Global, all eyes and ears were towards H.E Omar Sultan Al Olama’s opening address - UAE’s Minister of State for AI, Digital Economy & Remote Work Applications. In a now-familiar ritual, Al Olama took to the stage and set the tone, inviting audiences into a story that stretches far beyond booths and gadgets. He began by rewinding the narrative: the UAE wasn’t awakened by the AI boom of the last few years. Instead, he traced its journey back to 2008, when Abu Dhabi began investing in chip technologies and AI-focused companies— well before the term ‘AI’ entered everyday conversation. And, that reference matters, because it was a deliberate declaration of a mindset that has been shaped for decades, not quarters. “We don’t think like other countries; we think in multidecade intervals,” he said. At its core, his address carried three interlocking themes: BUILD THE FOUNDATION, NOT THE HEADLINE Al Olama made clear that the UAE’s approach is not about chasing the moment, but planting the infrastructure. He pointed to policies, talent, computation and governance as the building blocks of sustainable AI. His message: The ﬂ ash launches will follow, but only when the groundwork is in place. BE HUMBLE, OPEN & COLLABORATIVE Perhaps the most striking line: “We do not claim to know it all — we claim to be the best students and the best listeners.” Rather than playing the we-have-arrived card, UAE is positioning itself as a learner, a co-operator, and building an ecosystem that welcomes ideas, partners and even critique. That tone is rare in high-level tech addresses and signals a mature conﬁ dence, not hubris. DEPTH OVER HYPE, PEOPLE OVER PROCESS Al Olama warned that the real measure of AI success is how it improves lives, how it embeds in systems, how it becomes invisible in the everyday. He pointed out how more than 50% of online content is now AI-generated, and yet people are tuning out because it lacks human connection. His takeaway: technology must serve people, not headlines. His address to the audience off ered a lens into the purpose behind everything the nation continues to work for. He established how the UAE’s narrative is about leading with intention. What does this mean in practice? It shifts how we view the spectacle of GITEX. Beyond the dazzling AV, the startups and the pavilion glitz, what we should be watching are the signs of infrastructure, the governance frameworks, the talent pipelines, the long-game partnerships. Because when the Minister speaks of “multidecade intervals,” he’s asking us to look beyond the event week and into the decades ahead and tap into the leaderships’ vision. In that sense, his words at GITEX 2025 did not just open a conference but a conversation. A conversation about how a nation thinks about AI, how it chooses to embed it in society, and how it invites the world not just to display innovation— but to participate in it. WHEN THE UAE HITS PLAY The ﬁ rst words at GITEX 2025 come from Omar Sultan Al Olama — and this time he didn’t merely open the show; he gave us the lens through which to view it We do not claim to know it all — we claim to be the best students and the best listeners GITEX SPECIAL EDGE | Saudi Special 19 T he Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP) is set to roll out a fully electric “smart inspection car” designed to identify visa and residency violations on UAE roads. Announced at GITEX 2025, the vehicle marks a bold move in mobile enforcement, pairing automotive mobility with AI-powered monitoring. The vehicle features six high-resolution cameras mounted around its body, providing full 360-degree visual coverage. These cameras capture facial images within approximately ten metres of the car, feeding data into AI algorithms that analyse appearances and match them against immigration and residency records. The onboard system generates live heat-maps, ﬂ ags suspect individuals, and alerts offi cers in real time via a digital dashboard. Despite its automation, this is not driverless technology: human offi cers remain behind the wheel and on the screen. They receive alerts, review ﬂ agged individuals, then approach any persons who might be in violation, to verify documentation and follow the standard inspection process. ICP emphasises that the system supports, rather than substitutes, ﬁ eld-based enforcement. Deployment of these patrol cars is planned for early 2026, starting in Dubai and expanding to other emirates thereafter. The timing is strategic, as the authority has ﬂ agged more than 32,000 visa-related violations in the ﬁ rst half of 2025 alone, a ﬁ gure that underscores why mobile detection is becoming a priority. The innovation reﬂ ects a broader shift in UAE enforcement strategies: moving from static checkpoints and manual document inspections to dynamic, mobile intelligence units. The electric vehicle’s clean mobility aspect aligns with national sustainability goals, while the AI capabilities promise faster, more targeted responses to irregular residency, overstays and other compliance issues. Nonetheless, the deployment raises questions of civil liberties and oversight: how will facial-match accuracy be validated, how will data be stored, and what safeguards will govern human review versus machine alert? Though details remain limited in current disclosures, ICP has stressed human offi cer oversight and full protocol following alerts. In short, the smart inspection car may become a ﬂ agship for future ﬁ eld enforcement, where mobility, data and AI converge to enforce residency compliance in real time. Being announced at GITEX, this development signals a new chapter in how government agencies in the UAE are combining tech, mobility and intelligence under one roof. UAE ANNOUNCES SMART RESIDENCY PATROL CARS The AI-equipped inspection vehicles will be able to detect visa and residency violations on the move as part of a shift toward mobile, data-driven enforcement The innovation reﬂ ects a broader shift in UAE enforcement strategies: moving from static checkpoints and manual document inspections to dynamic, mobile intelligence units Next >