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The Emirates Intelligencer

An Independent Daily Bulletin on Artificial-Intelligence Investment, Adoption and Deployment. Published by otonomi.co

Vol. I., No. 58 Thursday, August 27, 2026 From the Archive
Agentic Economy

Dubai Sets Agentic AI Plan For 295,000 Companies

The emirate is shifting artificial intelligence adoption from public-sector pilots into a citywide private-sector programme with named company, assistant and startup targets.

By The Otonomi Investment Desk

Dubai has approved a plan to accelerate the adoption of agentic artificial intelligence across the private sector, with a target of empowering 295,000 companies, developing and delivering 100 specialised AI assistants over the next two years and supporting the establishment of 50 agentic AI companies. Arabian Business reported that the initiative was approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum during a meeting of the Higher Committee for Future Technology Development and the Digital Economy.

Sheikh Hamdan said Dubai aims to become the world's leading hub for developing and deploying advanced AI solutions, with the private sector playing a central role in the transformation. The plan is intended to strengthen business readiness, attract talent, expand international partnerships and create economic outcomes from agentic AI adoption.

The same update showed wider digital-economy infrastructure around the programme. The SME digital trade initiative with Amazon had reached more than 105,000 companies by May 2026, the Ignyte platform served more than 36,000 users, Dubai AI Campus hosted more than 400 specialised companies and Dubai Founders HQ had attracted more than 1,100 members and 500 startups whose companies raised more than AED200 million in funding.

Arabian Business Read original source

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Enterprise Adoption

UAE Organisations Move Agentic AI Into IT Budgets

More than half of UAE organisations have implemented agentic AI, but only 7 percent have used it to build autonomous workflows, according to ServiceNow's 2026 Enterprise AI Maturity Index cited by The National. The report said UAE organisations expect AI to account for almost one fifth of total information technology budgets by 2027.

ServiceNow said the UAE made a 13-point improvement in its AI maturity score. Saif Mashat, the company's vice president for the Middle East and Africa, said the UAE remains one of the world's most ambitious AI markets, but warned that companies pulling ahead are moving from AI pilots to AI orchestration across legacy systems, data, governance and agents.

The National Read original source
Sovereign Platforms

Inception42 And Microsoft Link AI Assistants For UAE Rollouts

G42's Inception42 has partnered with Microsoft to help governments and businesses in the UAE use AI assistants in day-to-day operations, Arabian Business reported. The collaboration links Inception42's Catalyst platform with Microsoft 365 Copilot, allowing organisations to build AI assistants once and use them across both systems.

The partnership builds on Microsoft's $1.5 billion investment in G42 announced in 2024 and supports the UAE strategy for AI assistants to be used in 50 percent of federal government operations within two years. Inception42 chief executive Ashish Koshy said Catalyst gives governments and enterprises a platform to build, govern and manage AI agents, while Microsoft UAE general manager Amr Kamel said the model lets data remain in-country while integrating with tools employees already use.

Arabian Business Read original source
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Further Dispatches
SME Productivity

e& UAE Bundles Microsoft Copilot Into Business Broadband

e& UAE launched Business Pro AI plans that bundle business fibre connectivity with Microsoft Copilot for small and medium-sized enterprises, according to a company announcement. The offer combines secure connectivity, productivity tools and AI assistance under one provider, one subscription and one monthly bill, reducing the need for separate software licences and multiple vendors.

Esam Mahmoud, senior vice president for SMB sales and marketing at e& UAE, said SMEs remain central to the UAE economy but face cost and implementation barriers when adopting advanced AI tools. The company linked the launch to Microsoft's AI Diffusion Report, which found that 70.1 percent of the UAE's working-age population uses generative AI, the highest rate in the world.

e& Read original source
Industrial Robotics

Adnoc Partnerships Put UAE In Robotics Scale-Up Race

The UAE's energy sector and technology adoption are helping make the country a major robotics market, Gecko Robotics founder Jake Loosararian told The National. He said Adnoc, with which Gecko has several partnerships, uses robots and artificial intelligence to improve workflows and drive growth, and described the UAE as among the world's top five countries in robotics.

Gecko combines robotic hardware with AI software for critical infrastructure operations and lists Adnoc among its major partners. In 2025, Adnoc and Gecko signed three deals to use robotics and AI across the oil company's operations and to train Emiratis, while Gecko had earlier established an international base in the UAE under the Ministry of Economy's NextGen FDI programme.

The National Read original source
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