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NewsMaterial3 min readDisconfirmAI Editorial

Independent Tech Analyst Richard Windsor: Middle East Layers AI Products on Top of Compute Strategy, with Digitized Government Services as a Key Condition

Windsor observed at the Abu Dhabi AI Everything exhibition that the Middle East tech show agenda has shifted from data center models to AI product and service development, but he noted that the region's compute strategy remains on track, with product development layered on top. He believes the UAE's highly digitized government services (with no offline legacy systems) constitute a differentiated advantage, but existing AI assistant experiences are poor, and chip imports depend on US Department of Commerce export licenses.

2026-10-08 14:25 GMT+8

At the AI Everything exhibition held in Abu Dhabi, independent tech analyst Richard Windsor observed a shift: over the past few years, the main attraction at Middle East tech shows was the model of data centers under construction and the promise of an endless supply of tokens at a great price, while this year's booths and agenda have turned toward layering AI onto existing digitized services and developing AI-driven products for local businesses. Government agencies and state-owned companies occupied at least 60% of the booths. Windsor explicitly pointed out that the region's compute infrastructure strategy is still very much on track, with product development being layered on top of this foundation rather than replacing it.

The core mechanism proposed by Windsor is that the United Arab Emirates Federal Government is already highly digitized; he himself can complete permanent residency applications, driver's license renewals, vehicle registrations, birth or death registrations, and other operations within a single app called TAMM without stepping foot in any government building. He believes this gives the region a significant advantage—there are no offline legacy systems to deal with. While other governments are undergoing painful digital migration processes, the UAE can directly layer AI on top of its existing digital infrastructure.

However, Windsor also pointed out a problem he observed at the exhibition: all these government apps are equipped with AI assistants, yet he believes these assistants are worse than useless, having a detrimental effect on user experience. He explicitly stated that there is still a long way to go when it comes to adding AI.

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Regarding the geopolitical landscape, Windsor noted that European AI companies performed prominently at the exhibition while Chinese companies were almost absent. Mistral and ElevenLabs both had large booths, and Black Forest Labs was present but did not have a physical booth. These companies have all established a presence in the UAE and are expanding their scale, which Windsor interprets as a strategy to leverage the local open regulatory environment. The only Chinese company with any notable presence was Alibaba Cloud, which is due to its physical layout in the region for over ten years, but its AI compute part uses Western-designed chips. Windsor believes this reflects the region's trend of shifting from cooperation with China to cooperation with the West, a shift that began several years ago with Microsoft's investment in G42.

Windsor also pointed out a specific constraint: the region's data center strategy relies on importing 11GW of chips over the next few years, all of which require export licenses from the US Department of Commerce. He described this as a realistic condition where the region has little room for maneuver.

Windsor's conclusion is that after a brief hesitation, he remains quite positive about the prospects of this new industry in the Middle East, believing that the region will become a significant provider of compute and potentially services, just as it is today a significant provider of energy.

Sources

  • radiofreemobile.com↗
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