News

Abu Dhabi’s TII Rolls Out Fiber Laser For Surgery And Industry

TII’s new 2µm fiber laser is built for surgical precision and industrial processing, with German MedTech backing clinical rollout.

Published

12 months ago

October 1, 2025

Nour Nasir

abu dhabi's tii rolls out fiber laser for surgery and industry

Abu Dhabi Technology Innovation Institute

Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute has introduced a two-micrometer high-power fiber laser built to sharpen the precision of surgical work and industrial processing.

Developed at the institute’s Directed Energy Research Center, the Thulium-based system is compact and energy-efficient. Its wavelength interacts cleanly with water-rich materials, allowing surgeons to cut with control and manufacturers to handle delicate substrates without excess damage.

In medicine, early evaluations point to use in urinary stone removal, prostate surgery, and advanced urology devices. Beyond hospitals, the same wavelength can be applied to cutting and welding in water-rich industrial materials where precision and safety are critical.

To move it into clinics, TII has partnered with LIMA Photonics, a German startup specializing in medical device design, regulatory compliance, and commercialization. The partnership links Abu Dhabi’s research base with Europe’s medical technology market.

“At TII, we’re developing high-performance laser systems designed for real-world impact,” said Dr. Felix Vega, Chief Researcher at the Directed Energy Research Center. “Our 2 µm fiber laser showcases this approach — offering capabilities with strong potential in surgical and industrial settings”.

Also Read: IBM And AWS Plan Riyadh Hub To Drive Regional Cloud Growth

Dr. Samir Lamrini, CEO at LIMA Photonics, also commented, adding: “We are deeply impressed by the laser research demonstrated at TII and look forward to a strong partnership that we will establish in a synergistic and complementary spirit. The performance, multiple operating modes, and the system architecture of the laser are an ideal asset for clinical applications”.

The collaboration also reflects Abu Dhabi’s aim to convert advanced research into usable products, a core part of the UAE’s innovation strategy. By drawing international partners into its programs, the institute is reinforcing the emirate’s push to position itself as a regional anchor for high-tech industries under Vision 2030.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.