What is happening

• In a Q1 2026 survey of 105 HR leaders across the six GCC countries, 49% were piloting AI in selected functions and only 16% used it across functions.
• The most cited barriers were technology integration (61%), talent gaps (44%) and unclear return on investment (37%).
• Ownership is unclear: HR is the primary owner of AI adoption in only 3% of organisations, and 9% have no clear owner.
• At the top, 70% of Middle East CEOs say they have a clearly defined AI roadmap, and 43% of GCC CEOs report extensive AI use in sales, marketing and customer service.

What it means for you

Strategy is not the bottleneck. Execution is. The companies pulling ahead pick a few use cases with a measurable business case, assign a single owner, and fix the data and integration work before they scale.

How we help

We run a readiness assessment, select and pilot two or three use cases against a baseline, set up the ownership and governance model, and hire or build the team to run AI in production.

What is happening

• Stargate UAE, a 1 GW AI campus in Abu Dhabi developed by G42's Khazna with OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, Cisco and SoftBank, is due to bring its first 200 MW online in the third quarter of 2026.
• In Saudi Arabia, the National Infrastructure Fund agreed in January 2026 to provide up to $1.2 billion to HUMAIN to build up to 250 MW of AI data centre capacity.
• HUMAIN is also developing an Arabic multimodal large language model and promoting AI adoption in energy, healthcare, manufacturing and financial services.

What it means for you

Local compute and Arabic-language models make it easier to keep data in-country, meet residency rules and serve Arabic-speaking customers. Expect AI costs to fall and regulators to raise the bar on data governance.

How we help

We help you choose platforms and partners, design data governance that fits UAE and Saudi rules, and structure AI and technology entities in the right free zone.

What is happening

• The Stanford AI Index 2026 reports that more than 80% of UAE employees regularly use AI at work, and the UAE's AI talent concentration more than doubled between 2019 and 2025.
• AI-related roles made up about 2.87% of UAE job postings in 2025, and AI education is mandatory at all school levels from the 2025–26 academic year.
• Yet 42% of GCC organisations are not hiring AI roles at all, and 64% have no defined rewards approach for AI and data roles.

What it means for you

Demand for AI leaders and specialists will outrun supply. Companies without a clear pay and career model for these roles will lose them to those that have one.

How we help

We search globally for Chief AI, data and technology leaders, benchmark pay for AI roles, and place engineering and data teams in the Gulf through our Employer of Record.

What is happening

• In January 2026 the World Bank forecast GCC growth of 4.4% for 2026, with non-oil sectors above 60% of GDP across the region.
• In April 2026 the IMF trimmed its outlook amid regional geopolitical uncertainty, forecasting 3.1% growth in 2026 for both the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and 4.5% for Saudi Arabia in 2027.
• CEO confidence remains high: 93% of GCC CEOs expect economic growth to strengthen, 88% of Middle East CEOs plan to invest outside their home market, and 72% plan a major acquisition within three years.

What it means for you

Capital is still flowing, but it is choosier. Expect more intra-regional expansion and acquisitions, with buyers looking harder at governance, cash flow and the quality of management.

How we help

We help you choose the next market, build the case for an acquisition, and put the leadership and structure in place to integrate it.

What is happening

• Seven GCC IPOs raised $1.19 billion in the first half of 2026, below 2025 levels, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis.
• Some issuers deferred or withdrew offerings amid regional volatility, while the pipeline for the rest of 2026 remains active.

What it means for you

The window will reopen, and the companies ready on day one will capture it. Meanwhile, family offices, private equity and strategic investors are the main sources of growth capital.

How we help

We prepare the equity story, model and data room, strengthen governance and board composition, and run targeted processes with regional private investors.

What is happening

• The voluntary pilot went live in July 2026, using a Peppol-based model with accredited service providers.
• Businesses with annual revenue of AED 50 million or more must appoint an accredited provider by 30 October 2026 and go live on 1 January 2027.
• Businesses below AED 50 million must appoint a provider by 31 March 2027 and go live on 1 July 2027; in-scope government entities go live on 1 October 2027.

What it means for you

E-invoicing touches your ERP, billing, customer master data and finance team. Leaving it late means rushed integrations and penalty risk.

How we help

With our accredited partners we assess readiness, help you select a provider, and coordinate the finance and systems changes, alongside VAT and corporate tax compliance.

What is happening

• About $1 trillion in GCC family assets is expected to pass to the next generation by 2030.
• Globally, only about 30% of family businesses reach the second generation, and fewer than one in three have a strong, communicated succession plan.
• UAE Federal Law No. 37 of 2022 gives family businesses a framework for ownership and governance, and ADGM and DIFC offer structures for family offices and holding entities.

What it means for you

Succession is a governance, structure and leadership question at once. Families that formalise early protect both the business and the relationships.

How we help

We design governance and holding structures, introduce independent directors, and hire the professional managers who let the next generation lead.

What is happening

• Around 600 foreign companies had set up regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia by March 2025 under the Kingdom's regional HQ programme.
• PwC's 2026 survey places Saudi Arabia and the UAE among the top ten global investment destinations named by CEOs.

What it means for you

Many international companies now need a presence in both Riyadh and the UAE. The order, structure and staffing of those two entities matter.

How we help

We plan two-hub structures, set up the UAE entity, coordinate Saudi entry with partners, and hire country leadership for both.