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NVIDIA Teams With Ooredoo For Large-Scale Middle East Launch
The move will give local customers access to cutting-edge generative AI technology and comes amid US curbs on chip exports to the region.
NVIDIA has agreed to a deal with Qatari telecoms group Ooredoo that will see the computing corporation’s artificial intelligence technology deployed at data centers in five Middle Eastern locations.
The expansion plans are NVIDIA’s first large-scale foray into a region where Washington has curbed US chip exports to prevent Chinese firms using Middle Eastern countries to gain back door access to cutting-edge AI technology.
Once plans are complete, Ooredoo will be the first company in the region able to offer clients direct access to NVIDIA AI and graphics processing. The telecoms firm currently has data centers in Algeria, Tunisia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and the Maldives, though no details have been released on the exact technologies that will be available in individual locations.
In a recent statement, NVIDIA’s senior vice president of telecom, Ronnie Vasishta, explained that the company’s technology will soon allow Ooredoo customers to deploy the latest generative AI applications. Meanwhile, Ooredoo’s CEO, Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo, explained in a recent interview that “B2B clients, thanks to this agreement, will have access to services that probably their competitors (won’t) for another 18 to 24 months”.
Also Read: The Most AI-Proof Career Opportunities In The Middle East
Neither company has disclosed the value of the deal, which was signed at the TM Forum in Copenhagen, Denmark, on June 19. However, we do know that Ooredoo will invest $1 billion to upgrade its regional data center capacity in the near future, while also partitioning its large undersea cable and fiber networks into a separate commercial entity.
News
Dirham-Backed Stablecoin DDSC Enters Live Phase In UAE
Central Bank approval moves the dirham-backed token into deployment, targeting regulated payments and settlement flows.
The UAE has cleared the launch of DDSC, a dirham-backed stablecoin now entering live operation after approval from the Central Bank. The move pushes the project beyond its pilot phase and into the country’s regulated financial system.
The token is backed by a consortium led by IHC, Sirius International Holding and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), framing it as an institutional instrument rather than a consumer crypto product. DDSC was first announced in April 2025, but regulatory clearance now allows deployment and integration across approved channels.
DDSC runs on ADI Chain, a Layer 2 blockchain built by the Abu Dhabi-based ADI Foundation. The infrastructure is designed for governance and performance requirements expected by large institutions, linking blockchain settlement with existing compliance and oversight frameworks.
The focus is practical, targeting treasury settlements, high-value payments, trade and supply-chain transactions, and programmable financial flows for regulated entities. FAB plans to offer access to the token through approved platforms for its clients, keeping the rollout inside controlled banking environments.
“DDSC marks a defining milestone in the UAE’s digital finance journey,” said Syed Basar Shueb, CEO of IHC. “With the Central Bank’s approval and our transition into live operation, we are delivering trusted, institutional-grade infrastructure that strengthens resilience, accelerates innovation, and expands what is possible in regulated digital payments”.
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FAB says the project reflects how stablecoins can sit within traditional finance when risk controls are built in from the outset. “This milestone underscores that stablecoins can be integrated responsibly into the financial system when built to meet rigorous regulatory and risk requirements,” said Futoon Hamdan AlMazrouei, Group Head of Personal, Business, Wealth and Privileged Client Banking Group at FAB.
The launch reinforces the UAE’s strategy of pushing digital finance through regulation instead of open-ended crypto experimentation. Stablecoins in this model are positioned less as trading assets and more as programmable extensions of national currency, aimed at institutional scale and government use cases.
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