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PULSE · Thursday, June 11, 2026

Daily GCC briefing.

UAE leads AI adoption globally, GCC cybersecurity enters new era, and MENA startups raise $454.7M in May

AI Security Funding DevTools Business
TODAY'S STORIES

5 stories for today.

AI Telecom Review

UAE becomes first nation to surpass 70% AI adoption among working-age population

The UAE has become the first economy in the world to surpass 70% AI adoption among its working-age population during Q1 2026, reflecting deep integration of generative AI across work, education, and productivity. The milestone underscores the GCC's broader AI-driven economic transformation strategy, with McKinsey projecting AI's contribution to the Middle East economy to reach $320 billion by 2030.

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Security Intelligent CISO

Help AG report: GCC cybersecurity priorities shift to sovereignty and AI-driven resilience

Help AG (e&'s cybersecurity arm) released its 2026 State of the Market Report, revealing DDoS attacks surged 857% in the GCC since 2019 with over 371,000 attacks in 2025 alone. Attack speeds increased 65% in Q1 2026, with some compromises reaching impact in under 40 hours. The UAE Cybersecurity Council reported daily attack attempts spiking from 200,000 to 700,000 during periods of regional tension.

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Funding Wamda

MENA startups raise $454.7M in May 2026, up 202% month-on-month

MENA startups raised $454.7 million across 33 deals in May 2026, a 202% increase from April. However, 66% of the total came from debt financing. The UAE led with $379 million across 15 deals, largely driven by Trukker's $300M debt facility. Saudi Arabia ranked second at $70 million across 11 deals, up 167% from April. Deal count dropped 57% year-on-year, showing investors remain selective amid regional uncertainty.

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DevTools Google Developers Blog

Google I/O 2026: Gemini 3.5 and Antigravity 2.0 bring agent-first development to builders

Google unveiled Gemini 3.5 series models and Antigravity 2.0 at I/O 2026, introducing an agent-first development platform with a new CLI. Developers can now spin up specialized subagents for complex workflows with built-in sandboxing and credential masking. Google AI Studio added native Kotlin support for vibe-coding Android apps and one-click Cloud Run deployment.

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Business GCC Business Watch

Saudi economy stays resilient at ~2% growth in 2026, draws Gulf businesses despite regional conflict

The IMF projects Saudi Arabia's economy to grow around 2% in 2026, demonstrating resilience despite regional conflict and reduced oil exports. NielsenIQ data shows both UAE and Saudi Arabia surpassing global GDP growth trends, with the UAE at 4% and KSA at 3%. PwC reports both nations' PMI remained above 50, signaling continued expansion even amid geopolitical headwinds.

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ABOUT PULSE

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Pulse is Sabbk's daily intelligence brief for decision-makers across the Gulf. Every morning, we surface the stories that matter — AI breakthroughs, funding rounds, security alerts, market shifts, and dev tools reshaping how the region builds.

Curated by humans, informed by data. No filler, no recycled press releases — just the signal you need to stay ahead.

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