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Dubai To Issue Licenses To Support AI And Web3 Businesses
The licenses will be 90% subsidized and support the emirate’s push to transform itself into a digital society.
Dubai will issue commercial licenses to help artificial intelligence and Web3 startups to set up businesses as the UAE aims to attract more investment and further digitize its economy.
The licenses will be issued by the AI and Web 3.0 Campus through the Dubai International Financial Center and will be 90% subsidized, the DIFC said on Monday.
The activities will include AI research and consultancies, IT infrastructure, technology research and development, and public networking services.
“We are confident that by granting these licenses, we will attract more global talent and investment to the region and create a culture of collaboration and innovation. This is a notable milestone for the Dubai AI and Web3 Campus and will strengthen Dubai’s position as the business destination of choice for technology-focused companies,” explained Mohammad Alblooshi, chief executive of the DIFC Innovation Hub.
Launched in June, the campus aims to form the largest cluster of AI and Web3 companies in the MENA region. DIFC aims to attract over 500 companies by 2028, bring $300 million in funds, and create more than 3,000 jobs over the next five years.
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AI has rapidly gained traction as the digital economy grows and countries continue to encourage its adoption. The technology is already in widespread use for online shopping, search engines, smart homes, data analysis, speech and face recognition systems, and more.
For businesses, AI could add between $2.6 trillion and $4.4 trillion annually, according to a recent study from McKinsey. Web3, meanwhile, encompasses blockchain and general decentralization and is projected to contribute $15 billion to GCC economies annually by 2030.
News
Nano Banana 2 Arrives In MENA For Google Gemini Users
Google brings its latest image model to Gemini and Search, adding 4K output and tighter text control for regional users.
Google has opened access to Nano Banana 2 across the Middle East and North Africa, pushing its newest image model into everyday tools rather than keeping it inside the exclusive (and expensive) Pro tier.
The rollout spans the Google Gemini desktop and mobile apps, and extends to Google Search through Lens and AI Mode. Developers can also test it in preview via AI Studio and the Gemini API.
Nano Banana 2 runs on Gemini Flash, Google’s fast inference layer. The focus is speed, but also control. Users can export visuals from 512px up to 4K, adjusting aspect ratios for everything from vertical social posts to widescreen displays.
The model maintains character likeness across up to five figures and preserves fidelity for as many as 14 objects within a single workflow. This enables visual continuity across scenes, iterations, or edits — supporting projects like short films, storyboards, and multi-scene narratives. Text rendering has also been improved, delivering legible typography in mockups and greeting cards, with built-in translation and localization directly within images.
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Under the hood, the system taps Gemini’s broader knowledge base and pulls in real-time information and imagery from web search to render specific subjects more accurately. Lighting and fine detail have been upgraded, without slowing output.
By embedding the model inside Gemini and Search, Google is normalizing advanced image generation for a mass audience. In MENA, where startups and marketing teams are leaning heavily on AI to scale content across languages and borders, that shift lands at a practical moment.
The move also folds creative tooling deeper into search itself, so that image generation is no longer a separate workflow. It now sits right next to the query box.
