UAE telco major e& partners with US firm Emergence for new AI deal

Dubai: e& enterprise – the business technology arm of UAE telecoms group e& – has partnered with US-based Emergence – an artificial intelligence research company – to deploy data-sovereign AI systems for regulated industries across the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye (MENAT).

The partnership, according to an e& announcement from earlier this week, comes as governments and enterprises in the Gulf accelerate investment in AI while tightening rules around data protection and cross-border data flows.

Under the agreement, e& enterprise will act as a distribution and implementation partner for Emergence’s agentic AI platform – software that can autonomously analyse data and execute multi-step tasks – offering deployment options that allow organisations to retain full control over their data.

These include on-premises installations – systems hosted on local servers – and air-gapped environments – networks fully disconnected from the internet –, both of which features solutions aimed at sectors such as banking, healthcare, aviation and government.

“Enterprises are moving beyond experimentation and want AI systems that can be deployed safely at scale,” said Amit Gupta, Vice President and Head of Data and AI at e& enterprise, adding that governance and observability were becoming central to AI adoption.

Focus on regulation and data control

Companies in regulated industries have been cautious in adopting AI tools built on public cloud platforms, citing concerns over data sovereignty – legal control over where data is stored – and compliance.

e& enterprise said the partnership is designed to address those constraints by enabling customers to deploy AI systems without transferring sensitive data outside national borders.

Emergence’s platform is used to automate complex workflows, including financial reporting, pharmaceutical research and manufacturing analytics, reducing manual effort and accelerating decision-making.

While e& enterprise will provide advisory, deployment and managed services, positioning itself as a regional gateway for global AI platforms seeking access to MENAT markets.

Satya Nitta, Chief Executive of Emergence, said many organisations struggle with fragmented data and heavy reliance on human oversight, which limits AI’s effectiveness.

AI investment in the Gulf has increased sharply as governments push digital transformation agendas.

According to P&S Intelligence, the GCC artificial intelligence market was valued at $12.3 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $26 billion by 2032.

Around 19 per cent of organisations in the region have moved from pilot projects to full-scale agentic AI deployment, with 74 per cent planning adoption, the research firm said.