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UAE-Based G42 Partners On World’s Fastest AI Supercomputer
The machine, named Condor Galaxy, has been built to assist with generative AI projects and is over 20 times faster than its predecessor.
Condor Galaxy, the world’s “fastest AI training supercomputer”, has been built with assistance from G42, a UAE-based technology holding group. The machine is actually a network of nine interconnected AI supercomputers developed by US-based AI company Cerebras Systems.
Located in Santa Clara, California, the massive machine boasts 4 exaFLOPs of power and a staggering 54 million cores that will significantly reduce AI processing times.
G42 will use Condor Galaxy to train AI models across a variety of data sets and has already created and tested Arabic bilingual chat, healthcare, and climate study applications.
“Collaborating with Cerebras to rapidly deliver the world’s fastest AI training supercomputer and laying the foundation for interconnecting a constellation of these supercomputers across the world has been enormously exciting,” said Talal Alkaissi, CEO of G42 Cloud. “The partnership brings together Cerebras’ extraordinary compute capabilities, together with G42’s multi-industry AI expertise,” he added.
Training the latest AI models requires enormous computing power and specialized programming skills. ChatGPT, for example, relies on 175 billion parameters and uses 10,000 Nvidia GPUs to train its AI algorithms.
Condor Galaxy brings genuine innovation to these kinds of processes, as all computing is performed entirely without complex distributed programming languages. This means that large projects no longer require weeks or even months spent distributing work over thousands of GPUs.
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“Many cloud companies have announced massive GPU clusters that cost billions of dollars to build but are extremely difficult to use. Distributing a single model over thousands of tiny GPUs takes months from dozens of people with rare expertise,” noted Andrew Feldman, CEO of Cerebras Systems. “CG-1 eliminates this challenge. Setting up a generative AI model takes minutes, not months, and can be done by a single person” he added.
The G42 and Cerebras partnership marks another step toward the democratization of AI. The combination of massive computing power and unique AI data sets should produce groundbreaking results and turbocharge hundreds of AI projects around the world.
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Checkout.com Set To Launch Card Issuing In The UAE
The payment service provider’s expansion is a first-of-its-kind investment and could reshape digital transactions across the region.
Checkout.com is laying the groundwork to become the first global payments platform to introduce card issuing in the United Arab Emirates — a move that could reshape how businesses in the region manage financial transactions.
The company plans to roll out its domestic card issuance offering in the UAE by 2026, subject to regulatory approval. The launch would give businesses the tools to issue both physical and virtual branded cards. This, in turn, opens up new ways to reward customers, streamline expense processes, and handle B2B payouts efficiently.
Checkout.com’s CEO and Founder, Guillaume Pousaz, revealed the plans during Thrive Abu Dhabi, the firm’s debut conference in the Emirates. Joined on stage by Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, General Manager for MENA, Pousaz presented to an audience of over 150 partners and merchants at Saadiyat Island. Also in attendance was H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama, the UAE’s Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications.
Abbondandolo highlighted the strategic importance of the announcement: “As a global business, we focus on bringing products to markets that our customers want and need. Today’s announcement is proof of our commitment to the MENA region and its rising influence in the digital economy. The appetite for innovation here is real, and we’re proud to be building the infrastructure that powers it”.
One early adopter of Checkout.com’s UAE acquiring services is Headout, a travel experiences marketplace, which recently named the payment provider as its main partner in Europe. The company has already begun card issuing there and is keen to expand that offering into MENA once approval is granted.
The expansion of services in the UAE and beyond builds on Checkout.com’s track record in the region. It was the first global payments firm to secure a Retail Payment Services license from the UAE’s Central Bank and was instrumental in rolling out Mada and Apple Pay in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
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The firm has also been rolling out new products: One of the latest is Flow Remember Me, currently in beta testing. It allows shoppers to store their card information once and access it across Checkout.com’s entire network, potentially cutting checkout times by up to 70%.
Earlier this year, Checkout.com also introduced Visa Direct’s Push-to-Card solution in the UAE, enabling both domestic and international payouts. Its collaboration with Mastercard has grown as well, making it easier for businesses to send funds directly to third-party cards securely and quickly.
With regional tech ambitions on the rise — spurred by initiatives like Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the UAE’s 2031 Agenda — Checkout.com sees its role as one of a key enabler. “Our mission is to help ambitious businesses navigate the complexity of payments, so they can move faster, go further, and make the most of every opportunity,” said Abbondandolo. “In MENA, performance is personal. It’s local. It’s built on trust. And when payments perform, businesses thrive”.
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