Gulf tech reality check

With the dust barely settled from President Donald Trump’s swing through Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in May, the US-Gulf tech partnership could be facing a reality check.

Samuel Wendel
Samuel Wendel
Jun 10, 2025
This photo taken on March 22, 2018, shows a woman looking at social networking applications on a smartphone in Kuala Lumpur.

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Mere weeks after US President Donald Trump’s Gulf trip made headlines with a flurry of tech dealmaking, early signs suggest that this relationship is still a work in progress. We explore this development and more — including a surge of tech activity across North Africa, bold new bets on AI coming from Kuwaiti and Lebanese players, and much more.

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