The American University of Beirut and the CMA CGM Group signed a strategic partnership agreement to establish the CMA CGM Institute for AI and Insights within the College of Computing and Data Sciences, which is the eighth and newest college at the university, in a step aimed at enhancing research and innovation in the fields of artificial intelligence and data science, and linking advanced technologies with practical applications.
The agreement was signed by the President of the American University of Beirut, Dr. Fadlo Khuri, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, Rodolphe Saadeh, during a ceremony held on the university’s campus, in the presence of academic leaders, members of the Board of Trustees, deans, members of the educational staff, and students, in addition to a delegation from the group.
CMA CGM supports the partnership with a gift worth $10 million, allocated to establish the institute and create a sustainable financial endowment for it, with the aim of developing research and innovation at the intersection of computing, data science, and artificial intelligence with various disciplines, in addition to supporting entrepreneurship, contributing to the development of policies and practices, building capabilities, and enhancing international cooperation.
The institute will organize part of its research activities through specialized groups, including the CMA CGM Data, Decisions and Operations Group, which will work on a number of areas, most notably improving logistical operations and network design, forecasting, pricing and revenue management, research computing and automation, flexibility and disruption management, in addition to developing sustainable operations.
The CMA CGM Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Insights also aims to contribute to preparing a new generation of specialists in artificial intelligence and data science in Lebanon and the region, through specialized educational programs, certificates for skills development, professional diplomas, and opportunities for practical learning.
Khoury said that the university, in order to keep pace with its times, needs to be aware of the transformations that the world is witnessing and move with them, pointing out that it has sought over 160 years to transform knowledge into applications that serve people and society, and that the establishment of the College of Computing and Data Sciences represents a new step in this path.
Khoury described CMA CGM’s support as reflecting “exceptional confidence” in the American University of Beirut and Lebanon, the university’s students, and its educational staff, stressing the importance of investing in knowledge, and praising the role of Rodolphe Saadeh and the group’s commitment to innovation.
For his part, Saadeh said that the agreement represents the group’s first academic partnership of this size in the field of artificial intelligence, and combines the academic excellence of the American University of Beirut with the operational expertise of the CMA CGM Group to address major challenges in its sector.
He added that artificial intelligence will be pivotal to the future of the group and Lebanon, considering that the partnership renews confidence in Lebanese youth and contributes to training talents capable of participating in shaping the future of the sector.
The partnership seeks to connect computing, data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence to real-world challenges, and expand research and education in areas including logistics and sustainable operations, along with medicine, health, climate, languages and the humanities.
The university’s Vice Dean for Academic Affairs, Zaher Dawi, said that the agreement represents a turning point and a shared vision for developing computing, data science, and artificial intelligence “from Beirut to the world.”
In turn, the founding director of the College of Computing and Data Sciences, Jihad Touma, pointed to the transformation that the Mediterranean witnessed from a major physical transportation route to a corridor for information and smart decisions, considering that the institute can enhance Beirut’s historical role as a point linking the region to the world, and that university students will have a major role in building future systems and technologies.
The establishment of the CMA CGM Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Insights coincides with the development of the College of Computing and Data Sciences at the university, which will include more than 25 core members of the educational body, including 18 new members.
The college will offer programs at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels, and will receive its first batch of students in the fall of 2027.
Prepco Real Estate Technology in Dubai announced its entry into the world of Formula 1 racing with the Oracle Red Bull Racing team, through its presence in the Madrid and Baku Grand Prix.
This collaboration brings together two brands that share a single vision based on speed, innovation, performance, and the ability to challenge the ordinary. While the Oracle Red Bull Racing team continues to push the limits of performance on Formula 1 tracks, PREPCO provides easy access to the real estate sector, by employing technology to simplify the investment experience, reduce traditional barriers to entering the market, and make real estate ownership opportunities in Dubai available to a wider segment of investors.
The “Pribco” brand will appear on the Oracle Red Bull Racing team’s car (RB22) in the upper protective bracket area, or what is known as the “Halo”, in addition to the management team’s and drivers’ clothing, helmets and racing suits, giving the brand a global presence during two prominent races on the Formula 1 calendar, which are the Madrid Grand Prix and the Baku Grand Prix.
Amira Sajwani, founder and CEO of Bribco, said: “Bribco’s cooperation with Oracle Red Bull Racing represents an important and distinguished milestone in the company’s journey, which enhances our efforts to consolidate our position as a leading global company in the field of real estate technology, starting from Dubai. Just as Formula 1 challenges the limits of performance and speed, we at PREPCO are working to rethink traditional investment models and innovate smarter and easier ways that allow more people to access wealth-building opportunities. The emergence of our brand alongside (Oracle Red Bull Racing) gives us an important opportunity to take this vision to the global level.”
In turn, Issa Ibrahim, co-founder and president of Bribco, said: “In the world of racing, results are decided by fractions of a second, and today, investment must keep pace with this speed. This is where Pribco came from. Speed and efficiency are at the core of our partnership with Oracle Red Bull Racing, and they are also at the heart of the way we develop our solutions. In the ring, every decision makes a difference, and the same applies to investing, so we believe that the investment experience should move in this direction. Our vision is to simplify access to investment opportunities, making it faster and smoother. From Madrid to Baku, this vision takes off with us on board a Formula 1 car.”
For his part, Paul Gandolfi, Executive Director of Commercial Affairs at Oracle Red Bull Racing, said: “Formula 1 is based on innovation, precision, and a constant ambition to push the limits of the possible. The cooperation between (Oracle Red Bull Racing), (DAMAC) and (Bripco) brings together 3 entities that share these principles and values.”
He added: “At Oracle Red Bull Racing, we are keen to cooperate with partners who share our commitment to excellence and a mentality of challenge, which makes this cooperation a natural extension of our partnership with DAMAC. We are pleased to witness Pribco’s presence during the Madrid and Baku Grand Prixes through this partnership. Since Damac joined the team earlier this year as our first partner in the field of real estate development, the partnership has added a new perspective and opened unique opportunities for our team. We look forward to continuing to develop this relationship, bringing together the worlds of real estate, innovation and motorsport.”
From its headquarters in Dubai, Prepco is leading efforts to develop the real estate investment landscape, through an integrated system of digital solutions, including partial real estate ownership, tokenization of real estate assets, investment in gold, and real estate financing solutions, in addition to a group of innovative products designed to simplify access to investment and ownership opportunities, and make building wealth easier and available to a wider segment of individuals.
Saudi Arabia is entering a new phase in the process of adopting artificial intelligence, in which it is moving from building capabilities and technical readiness to expanding the scope of practical uses in various sectors of the economy, at a time when the need for digital infrastructure is increasing, capable of combining communication, computing, data management, and security and compliance requirements.
Engineer Ahmed Al-Anqari, CEO of Etihad Salam Telecommunications Company (Salam), believes that the year 2026 represents an important turning point in this path. During this period, the Kingdom moves from the stage of preparation for artificial intelligence to the stage of actual empowerment, with the next stage focusing more on expanding the scope of technology adoption, and transforming investments and advanced capabilities into practical applications that achieve real value for the business sector.
Al-Anqari said - in an interview on the sidelines of Salam’s participation as a strategic sponsor in the “LEAP 2026” conference in Riyadh - that the Kingdom has succeeded in laying strong foundations for the artificial intelligence system, supported by an advanced data infrastructure, integrated national coordination, and ambitious investments aimed at achieving the desired transformation.
He explained that the company’s participation in the conference comes under the slogan “We enable what is coming.” It displays a range of integrated solutions supported by artificial intelligence in the industrial, healthcare, transportation and security sectors, with the aim of developing scalable applications and contributing to driving the growth of the digital economy in the Kingdom.
According to Al-Anqari, the role of telecommunications companies is no longer limited to connecting individuals and companies to networks, but is increasingly moving toward connecting them with artificial intelligence capabilities, explaining that “Salam” is working, through its infrastructure and integrated solutions, to bridge the gap between national ambitions in this field and the practical application of technologies in daily business, by providing safe, easy-to-access solutions that are appropriate to the needs of the local market.
Regarding the transformations that the telecommunications sector is witnessing with the expansion of the use of artificial intelligence, Al-Anqari said that the technology has fundamentally changed the needs of business sector customers, such that the traditional model based on providing connectivity and data capacities is no longer sufficient to meet the requirements of the new stage.
He explained that companies today are looking for a partner who can combine connectivity services, computing capabilities, and technical capabilities, and manage them within one integrated system. Pointing out that this trend represents the essence of the concept of “Integrated Communication” (Connectivity+) adopted by Salam, and embodies its transformation from a communications company to an integrated technology company.
He added that this model is based on providing a system that includes fiber optic networks, data centers, edge computing infrastructure, and cloud partnerships, in addition to technical integration expertise, allowing for dealing with the needs of new companies imposed by artificial intelligence applications.
The CEO of Salam pointed out that accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence in the business sector is linked to three main factors, which are confidence in where the data resides, clarity about compliance requirements, and the presence of a partner capable of simplifying technical complexities.
He pointed out that many institutions have a clear ambition to benefit from artificial intelligence, but at the same time they face challenges related to internal readiness, starting with organizing data and determining responsibilities for its management and ownership, and extending to how to move from initial experiments to integrated operational systems capable of meeting regulatory requirements.
He said that Salam is working to address these challenges by providing a sovereign infrastructure that ensures that data remains within the Kingdom, and environments that are compatible with regulatory requirements and designed for artificial intelligence workloads, in addition to linking artificial intelligence solutions to existing business systems, which, according to him, contributes to making technology adoption easier and more effective.
Al-Anqari stressed that the launch of the “Salam 2.0” business sector services group in its new form - as one of the enablers of the company’s NEXT strategy - comes in the context of enhancing the company’s transformation from a provider of communications services to a technical partner, and contributing to shaping the future of the government, business and individual sectors in the Kingdom.
He added that this transformation supports the company's ambition to go beyond basic communication services to provide solutions based on advanced technologies, and to benefit from innovation and specialized expertise, to achieve a tangible impact for customers in various parts of the Kingdom.
Al-Anqari believes that providing communication capacities alone is not enough to fully benefit from artificial intelligence. Especially in applications that require immediate decisions and responses.
He gave examples of this in applications for detecting defects on production lines, real-time rerouting of vehicles in the logistics sector, and inventory management based on direct demand indicators, explaining that such applications require computing capabilities close to the place where the data is generated, and capable of responding within fractions of a second.
He said that “Salam” is working for this reason to provide edge computing infrastructure near customers, explaining that the concept of “integrated connectivity” is based on enabling data processing in the location most appropriate to the nature of the application, whether that is within a central data center, or at the edge, or within the customer’s site itself.
He stressed that the real impact of artificial intelligence will not only be measured by the size of data centers or major national projects, but rather by the extent of its use in various components of the economy, including small and medium enterprises.
He pointed out that these facilities need ready-made, easy and secure solutions that can be adopted without having to establish their own data centers or employ large teams specialized in artificial intelligence.
He explained that “Salam” has well-established relationships with companies throughout the Kingdom, and is aware of their needs in the field of communications, which, according to him, enables it to combine secure computing capabilities, solutions suitable for different sectors, and reliable connectivity services, and provide them within integrated services that small and medium enterprises can easily adopt, which is reflected in the development of their business and growth.
Regarding the sectors in which the impact of artificial intelligence is expected to appear more quickly, Al-Anqari pointed out that there is growing momentum in the sectors of energy, health care, government, manufacturing, tourism and hospitality.
He explained that the uses of artificial intelligence vary from one sector to another, but they share basic requirements related to infrastructure. Pointing out that the energy sector provides broad opportunities to use technology to improve operations, while its applications are developing in the healthcare sector in the areas of diagnosis and patient care.
As for the manufacturing sector, he explained that artificial intelligence supports applications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, including predictive maintenance and quality control, which are uses that require processing large amounts of data and responding to them quickly.
He added that the common denominator between these sectors is the need for an advanced infrastructure that maintains data within the Kingdom, provides a low response time in immediate applications, and at the same time meets the highest compliance standards.
He said: “Therefore, we work at (Salam) to meet these needs through the concept of integrated communication.”
The CEO of Etihad Salam Communications Company confirmed that the company is working to contribute to achieving the goals of “Saudi Vision 2030” related to developing the digital infrastructure and building an advanced system capable of supporting major national projects in the Kingdom.
He said that artificial intelligence has created a major leap in the way digital infrastructure is designed, operated and secured, in line with the Kingdom’s digital ambitions and the goals of “Vision 2030.”
He explained that artificial intelligence has become an essential part of modern operating systems, and contributes to enhancing the flexibility of networks through predictive analytics, in addition to its role in developing comprehensive systems for cybersecurity monitoring, protecting vital national infrastructure, and raising levels of efficiency and reliability.
Al-Anqari believes that the true criterion for success by 2030 will be the transition of artificial intelligence from a technology that tops the news and discussions to a natural part of daily operations and business throughout the Kingdom.
He stressed that expanding the scope of adopting artificial intelligence to include small and medium enterprises will be an important factor in supporting the goals of “Saudi Vision 2030” and enhancing the contribution of technology to the growth of the Saudi economy.
He said: “When a factory manager in Jubail, a doctor in Riyadh, and a store owner in Abha use artificial intelligence naturally, just as they use electricity or communication lines today, then we can say that we have achieved success.”
He pointed out that based on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's national strategy for data and artificial intelligence, the Kingdom will invest 75 billion riyals ($20 billion) in this sector until 2030, stressing that achieving these ambitions requires expanding the scope of technology adoption so that it goes beyond major projects and reaches various economic activities.
Al-Anqari stressed the importance of digital sovereignty as one of the basic axes in building the artificial intelligence system, explaining that the concept of sovereignty is not limited to applications or software, but rather starts from the actual infrastructure, where the data is located, how it is transmitted, and the party that controls access to it.
He explained that building huge national computing capabilities, in return, requires a strong national network capable of preserving sensitive data within the Kingdom and transferring it with the efficiency and speeds required by artificial intelligence applications.
He said that “Salam” has a digital infrastructure that includes a national fiber-optic network, extending more than 19,000 kilometers, linking the main cities in the Kingdom, in addition to operator-neutral data centers.
