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The money is flowing. Oman signed two billion-dollar data center deals in the same week. Meanwhile, those building data centers are being charged $5mn per day for late delivery. Plus, how should a software engineer restructure their portfolio for AI roles?
You’ll find it all below.
AI news ACROSS THE GULF
1. HUMAIN expands Nvidia deal to raise compute capacity: The Saudi AI champion has extended its partnership with the US chip maker through a commitment to develop 84 megawatts of AI computing capacity. Deployments will begin before year end, with further capacity planned for 2027. One to watch closely: it could bring a hiring wave in data centre operations, platform and MLOps.
2. Qatar eyes faster AI progress with National Center for AI: Alongside defining the national AI strategy, setting policy and supporting adoption, the Center will also oversee a Digital Capability Development and Training Department. The Department will provide training programs and open up AI career pathways in Qatar. Partnerships with universities and tech institutions are also planned, creating more routes from higher education into industry.
3. Oman announces two hyperscale-sized AI data centers in same week: Oman’s Mubbadrah Investment is heading a consortium of partners from the UK, US, and Dubai to bring a $3bn 400 MW AI data center to the Sultanate. That follows a £1bn deal signed between the UK and Oman for a large-scale AI data centre in Salalah. Both are major moves that signal a growing appetite from foreign investors to back Oman’s AI agenda.
WHAT HAPPENED WORLDWIDE
1. Meta postpones its new business terms after AI scraping concerns: Publishers voiced fears that Meta’s new terms, originally due to be enforced from October 30, would allow the tech conglomerate to scrape their news content for AI training. Meta denies this, but has revised the term’s wording for clarity. If you run Meta ads with generative AI content, be prepared for what’s changing.
2. AI slaps a $5mn per day fine on data centre delays: Underlining the pressure of AI competition, data center tenants are enforcing the eye-watering fee for every day a data center opens late. Power is reportedly the main obstacle to new data centers. It's why delivery and commissioning roles have never been more important.
3. AI has delivered “zero financial payoff” outside tech, according to Apollo economist: The words of Torsten Slok, Partner and Chief Economist at private equity leader Apollo, on AI’s benefits to corporate America outside of tech firms. The evidence: “Revenue per worker is rising for the Mag 7 but is flat for the S&P 493”. Slok argues that AI’s inability to provide sound judgement that factors in accountability, trust, ethical rules, and fairness limit the tech’s bottom-line benefits on a macroeconomic scale. Don’t be surprised if Slok’s comments find their way into employer board-level decks.
top AI JOBS
Must-see roles live on Bravou this week.
🇸🇦 AI Engineer - Associate, PwC Middle East 📍 Riyadh
🇰🇼 AI Engineer, Masaj 📍 Kuwait City
🇶🇦 AI Engineer, Carnegie Mellon University 📍 Doha
🇦🇪 Machine Learning Research & Engineering Specialist, Gramian Consulting Group 📍 UAE, Remote
🇦🇪 Principal Consultant - AI Infrastructure Services, Dell 📍 Dubai
🇦🇪 Data Scientist, Deeplight 📍 Dubai
🇦🇪 Data Scientist, Sia 📍 Abu Dhabi
| Search all jobs on Bravou |
THE debate
Every software engineer needs a portfolio. The information it holds depends on the role in question.
As AI continues its disruptive march, many engineers are asking the same question: how do I rebuild my portfolio for AI jobs? Thankfully, it’s not the heavy lift you might think.
If you’re looking to pivot from software engineer to AI engineer, our latest insight article is for you. We outline the four steps to update your portfolio for a new automation focused role. Read it now here on the Bravou resources page.
channels to follow
🐦⬛ @karpathy, X: Andrej Karpathy, formerly of OpenAI and Tesla. Posts digestible explanations rather than a sales pitch to his 4.3M+ followers.
🐦⬛ @simonw, X: Simon Willison tests new models and tools out in the open and tells you which are worth a closer look. A good X account to separate hype from substance.
📖 This Week in AI Club, Substack: Sharp analysis on what’s happening in the space and what you should do about it. Also shares frequent links to free AI skills building resources.
THE FINAL WORD
A single job description doesn’t tell you much about what skills the wider market prioritises. Analyse a group of JDs, and you start to see the common capabilities you need to align yourself with.
AI can do it for you. Here’s how.
- Collect the job descriptions. Gather 20 to 30 roles you’d happily apply for. Copy each as plain text into one document.
- Paste everything into Claude or ChatGPT. Context windows are now large enough to take all of them in a single conversation. The process is also cheap enough to be worthwhile.
- Use this prompt: “These are 25 job descriptions for AI roles in the Gulf. Tell me which requirements appear most frequently, which appear in only one or two, and which are listed as essential but don't feature again. Don’t summarise them individually.”
- Then paste your CV and ask: “Which of the recurring requirements can I show evidence of, and which can’t I?”
The areas you can show evidence of become the central part of every application for the role you’ve analysed. Use everything else as your curriculum for self-learning.
Happy job hunting.
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📚 Check out the Bravou Resources page for more job search guidance and insights