Smart Cities
NEOM, Masdar, and smart city AI projects transforming urban life across the Gulf and wider MENA region.
NEOM's Line pivots from megacity to AI server corridor as MENA data-centre race heats up
Saudi Arabia's Line is being reimagined as a 170 km AI server corridor cooled by Red Sea seawater, as NEOM, Masdar 2.0, and Lusail compete for MENA's AI core.
AI and the Gulf's Urban Future: What Dubai's Smart City Summit Tells Us About NEOM and Masdar
Dubai's AI for Smart City Summit takes stock of NEOM's unbuilt ambitions and Masdar's operational reality as the Gulf's urban AI experiments diverge.
NEOM's AI Backbone: Inside The Line's Cognitive Infrastructure
NEOM OS, The Line's city-scale reasoning layer, is further along than the built environment and more ambitious than any comparable smart-city deployment. A tour of the six service planes.
Sharjah's Quiet Smart City Play: AI in Heritage Preservation and Cultural Tourism
While Dubai builds megaprojects, Sharjah is taking a different approach: using AI to preserve heritage and attract cultural tourists. It might be the smarter play.
Arabic Voice AI: From Call Centres to Medical Triage
How advanced speech recognition is automating contact centres and transforming medical triage across the Gulf and MENA region.
Egypt's New Administrative Capital: Can AI Make a Desert City Liveable?
Egypt's ambitious New Administrative Capital aims to be a sustainable smart city powered by AI and renewable energy. But can technology overcome the desert's harshest constraints?
The Rise of AI-Powered Building Management in MENA's Megaprojects
From Dubai's towers to Cairo's new capital, AI-driven building management systems are transforming how Middle Eastern megaprojects operate.
Smart Waste, Smart Water: How AI Is Solving the Gulf's Resource Crisis
Artificial intelligence is transforming how Gulf states manage waste and water—critical resources in regions facing severe climate stress.
Qatar's Lusail: From World Cup Legacy to the Gulf's Smartest Neighbourhood
Lusail City is evolving from a World Cup venue into the Gulf's smartest neighbourhood, powered by the AGIL operating system integrating all urban systems.
Riyadh's Smart Traffic Revolution: AI Cuts Commute Times by 30% in 2026
Riyadh's AI-driven traffic management systems deployed at 350 intersections have reduced commute times by 30%, reclaiming hours from the 52-hour annual commute loss.
Oman's Digital Oman and the Sensor Economy
Oman's Digital Oman strategy is transforming the nation through IoT sensors, smart cities, and digital services aligned with Vision 2040.
Abu Dhabi's Masdar City 2.0: The World's First Fully AI-Managed Urban Zone
Masdar City operates as the world's first fully AI-managed urban zone, with AI systems optimising energy, water, transport, and waste with 50% energy reduction achieved.
Dubai's Digital Twin: How the Emirates Built a Complete AI Mirror of Their City
Dubai launched Dubai Live in 2025, a unified command centre for real-time city operations powered by 20,000+ cameras and thousands of IoT sensors.
NEOM's AI Brain: Inside the Operating System Powering Saudi's $500B Smart City
Saudi Arabia's NEOM is transforming from a megacity project into a state-of-the-art AI infrastructure hub with a $5 billion partnership with DataVolt to build AI data centres.