Gulf megaprojects meet AI
From Syria sanctions to Gulf AI, COP30, and more.
Welcome back to Al-Monitor FutureVerse.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s Washington visit is the big headline this week, a trip that could facilitate sanctions relief breakthroughs and unlock investment — including funds needed to redevelop communications networks in a country featuring some of the world’s slowest internet speeds, suffocating its digital economy. It’s a story we’ll be tracking going forward.
In this edition, we also hear from a Silicon Valley veteran who is launching an artificial intelligence startup that’s trying to help Gulf megaprojects and critical industries save cash. Plus, we explore new spyware developments, COP30, ChatGPT influence campaigns and more.
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Sam (@sam_wendel)
TOP STORY
Bilal Abu-Ghazaleh, founder of 1001 AI. (Courtesy of 1001 AI)
Time is money for this AI startup
Dubai International Airport — the world's busiest international air travel hub — is on pace to attract a record 96 million passengers in 2025. At this bustling aviation nerve center, even minor operational inefficiencies can add up fast.
“It's $100 per delayed minute,” said Bilal Abu-Ghazaleh, founder and CEO of 1001 AI, a startup based between London and Dubai that aims to build an “AI-native operating system” for critical industries — software designed to analyze real-time operational data and make automatic decisions, from rerouting airport fuel trucks to reallocating construction crews.
In an interview with Al-Monitor, Abu-Ghazaleh, formerly a director at Silicon Valley’s Scale AI, explained how he spotted an opportunity to help Gulf industries become smarter. By automating complex workflows, 1001 AI estimates it can reduce inefficiencies worth over $10 billion across airports, ports, construction and the energy sector in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar alone.
The entrepreneur sees a market that’s ripe for his company’s services. Amid megaprojects and infrastructure build-outs, Abu-Ghazaleh believes Gulf states are poised to lead in applied AI, meaning the use of AI in real-world operations. “It comes down to this, like, perfect storm, right? Budgets, appetites, understanding,” he said. “We want to contribute to that.”
Investors are open to the pitch: On Oct. 20, the company — barely two months old — announced $9 million in seed funding led by US venture funds.
Read the full interview with 1001 AI here.
CLICKABLE
France's President Emmanuel Macron and Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa look on during a bilateral meeting within the framework of the COP30 UN climate conference in Belem, Brazil, Nov. 6, 2025. (LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)
Can COP30 deliver climate solutions?
Despite notable absences, delegations from the Middle East have journeyed to Brazil for COP30, with the UN climate conference arriving as the outlook for future climate action and cooperation is dimming.
Iran has arrested the leader of the online hacking group “Backdoor” (3ackdOor), accusing him of having ties to anti-regime media outlets and networks linked to Israel’s Mossad and other Western intelligence agencies.
Contracts between Israel and Trump-linked firms reveal campaigns and plans to target the US president’s base by deploying bots, hiring influencers and trying to make ChatGPT more pro-Israel.
With almost all of its citizens’ genes already sequenced in a national database, the UAE has become a test case for an ambitious and controversial approach to public health.
US absorbs notorious Israeli spyware firm
NSO Group, the Israeli company behind Pegasus spyware, says a group of investors led by Hollywood producer Robert Simonds has acquired a controlling stake in the firm, which has named a former Trump official to lead an effort to restore its battered reputation.
An investment firm backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s powerful national security adviser, has backed an Israeli startup developing lab-grown milk — marking a rare investment from the Gulf into Israel since the start of the Gaza war.
DEALFLOW
In this photo illustration a young man types on an illuminated computer keyboard typically favored by computer coders on January 25, 2021 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
- AI-powered emergency communications and response platform Carbyne (Israel) acquired for $625 million by US-based Axon.
- Cybersecurity company Armis (United States/Israel) raises $435 million.
- Asset manager Kamco and consultancy firm TechInvest (both based in Kuwait) announce plan to launch a new startup fund with between $100 million and $150 million in capital.
- AI server developer Majestic Labs (United States/Israel) raises $100 million.
- Novastar Ventures (UK) to invest $50 million into Egyptian climate tech companies.
- Cybersecurity startup Daylight (Israel) raises $33 million.
- Floral gifting and e-commerce platform Petal Group (Ireland/UAE) raises $18 million.
- Chip memory startup RAAAM Memory Technologies (Israel) announces $17.5 million funding round.
- Digital procurement startup Builtop (Saudi Arabia) raises $11 million.
- Cyber AI startup Malanta (Israel) secures $10 million seed round.
- Venture fund First Circle Capital (Morocco/Uganda) secures $6 million from the International Finance Corporation.
- Sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Office (UAE) announces 29 commercial deployment agreements for autonomous mobility technologies
- Dubai Holding and defense firm Palantir Technologies (United States) announce a UAE-based joint venture dubbed Aither.
DATA DISCOVERY
As Syrian President Sharaa met with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, on Monday, reconstruction of the country’s ruined infrastructure hinges on securing relief from sanctions that are preventing foreign investments from moving forward. One project to watch is Syria’s plan to build a new fiber optic communications network with help from regional telecommunications firms. Dubbed SilkLink, it would create a new digital backbone for a country featuring internet roughly 100 times slower than the region’s fastest speeds in the UAE.
ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE
A man holds the Nokia smartphone model 6 during a press conference of Finnish mobile phone maker HMD Global in Helsinki, on June 6, 2017. (EMMI KORHONEN/AFP via Getty Images)
🚨 Researchers from Palo Alto Networks have uncovered a previously unknown Android spyware family, dubbed LANDFALL, which has been used in targeted intrusion activities within the Middle East.
🛜 Capitalizing on connectivity crackdowns: Iran’s so-called “VPN mafia" is lobbying against the lifting of restrictions on messaging app Telegram.
🤑 Crypto converts: Morocco is moving to regulate digital assets with a new draft law, while Saudi Arabia could also be moving closer to launching stablecoins.
🤝 Are Israel-India defense tech ties set to grow?
🎢 YouTube star MrBeast has unveiled a Riyadh theme park.
📶 Morocco has officially launched 5G networks.
🧑🌾 An Algerian vertical farm has won an award for young entrepreneurs in the Mediterranean region.
🚔 Middle Eastern governments are stepping up efforts to combat online fraud as cybercriminals steal ever-larger sums.
📈 Shisha share sale: Dubai's AIR, the owner of hookah brand Al Fakher, said last week it had agreed to go public in the United States.
💸 Deal watch: Uber is in talks to acquire Turkish delivery service Getir.