Artificial intelligence has become the defining technology of this decade, permeating sectors from finance and logistics to defence, retail, and public services. Across the Middle East and North Africa, governments and enterprises are rapidly deploying AI to advance national digital agendas, optimise operations, and unlock new productivity. As 2025 draws to a close, the global AI landscape is entering a new phase—one defined not just by smarter models, but by platforms capable of autonomous task execution, large-scale knowledge integration, and enterprise-grade reliability.
This review examines where the world’s top AI platforms stand today and what the MENA region can expect from them in 2026.
Anthropic: Scaling Intelligence and Reliability
Anthropic has positioned itself as one of the most trusted AI players globally. Its flagship model family, Claude, saw a major leap with Claude Opus 4.5, featuring enhanced reasoning, coding performance, and autonomous task-handling. The company also entered a strategic long-term agreement with Google to access more than 1 GW of TPU compute power by 2026, enabling even larger and more capable model development.
What to expect in 2026:
• More advanced agentic capabilities capable of handling end-to-end workflows.
• Enterprise-grade security and auditability, which will appeal to regulated sectors in GCC economies.
• Wider integrations across productivity suites and research tools.
Google: Multimodal Intelligence Goes Mainstream
Google’s Gemini platform continues to redefine multimodal AI. The Gemini 3 suite, launched in late 2025, offers deeper reasoning, real-time visual understanding, and code-generation proficiency across cloud, mobile, and enterprise applications. Its evolution aligns closely with the digital transformation roadmaps of Gulf economies, which emphasise AI-powered government services, logistics automation, and smart-city development.
What to expect in 2026:
• A unified AI ecosystem across Android, Chrome, and Google Cloud, supporting developers from Cairo to Riyadh.
• Enhanced AI-in-search and AI-in-productivity features for SMEs, including real-time market insights and automated business workflows.
• Custom AI models for regional languages and enterprise datasets.
Microsoft: AI Embedded Everywhere
Microsoft has accelerated its AI rollout through Copilot, Azure AI infrastructure, and deep integration into daily productivity tools. This positions Microsoft as one of the most influential actors in enterprise AI adoption across MENA—where governments, banks, oil & gas majors, and consulting firms are already operating within Microsoft ecosystems.
What to expect in 2026:
• More powerful Copilot features embedded in every layer of Office, Dynamics, Teams, and Azure.
• End-to-end AI governance tools tailored for regulated industries.
• Greater support for hybrid AI deployments, crucial for national data-sovereignty frameworks in GCC states.
Nvidia: The Engine Behind the AI Boom
Nvidia remains the backbone of global AI infrastructure. As enterprises and governments build their AI capabilities, demand for Nvidia GPUs, AI supercomputers, micro-datacenter units, and enterprise software continues to rise sharply. MENA countries investing heavily in national AI innovation hubs and hyperscale datacenters are already major customers.
What to expect in 2026:
• Next-generation GPU families optimised for large-scale generative-AI and agentic workloads.
• Turnkey AI datacenter solutions ideal for national AI missions and sovereign-cloud projects.
• Expansion of edge-AI hardware for robotics, industrial automation, and smart mobility—key sectors in the GCC.
Emerging Platforms: Specialisation and Speed
Beyond the big four, several emerging platforms are gaining momentum in 2025:
• AI automation suites that streamline business operations and reduce labour-intensive tasks.
• Creative generative tools supporting media, advertising, gaming, and content production.
• Low-code AI builders allowing SMEs to deploy chatbots, analytics dashboards, and customer-service tools without technical teams.
These tools are particularly relevant for MENA’s booming SME sector, where resource constraints often limit advanced tech adoption.
What to expect in 2026:
• Highly specialised AI verticals—health diagnostics, legal AI, logistics optimisation, and retail analytics.
• Affordable, subscription-based AI packages curated for small businesses.
• Improved cross-language capabilities, including Arabic-first models.
What Will 2026 Look Like?
Together, these developments point toward a transformative 2026 shaped by four major shifts:
- AI Agents Become Mainstream
AI platforms will move beyond chat to autonomous agents capable of completing multi-step tasks—booking travel, managing operations, analysing financials, or creating end-to-end reports. - Enterprise-Grade AI Everywhere
Banks, energy companies, logistics firms, and public-sector agencies in MENA will increasingly embed AI into existing digital systems. - AI Cloud Expansion and Sovereignty
National cloud infrastructures in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and Oman will attract global AI vendors delivering sovereign, compliant AI capabilities. - Democratisation of AI for SMEs
Affordable AI solutions will help smaller firms compete with larger corporates by automating marketing, analytics, customer engagement, and operations.
Outlook for the MENA Region
The region stands to benefit significantly from this next wave of AI evolution. Ambitious national AI strategies, sovereign cloud initiatives, and large-scale compute investments make the GCC one of the most future-ready zones for AI adoption. For startups and SMEs, 2026 could be a turning point—ushering in a more level playing field driven by accessible, intelligent tools.
AI is no longer only about smarter models; it is about reshaping the entire architecture of work, innovation, and competitiveness. As the world accelerates, MENA is well-positioned to be one of its most dynamic AI theatres in the coming year.
