AI in Oman | AI, Tech, Startups & Oman's Digital Economy

AI in Oman is an independent newsroom reporting on artificial intelligence, startups, and digital policy for founders, investors, and public-sector teams across the Sultanate — tracking where funding, jobs, and revenue move under Vision 2040.

Events & Market Intel
6 Use Cases, 5 Days: Oman's Drone Trials Enter Shortlisting
Applications for Oman's AAM Strategic Demonstrator Programme closed on 25 October. MTCIT and the CAA are now shortlisting drone and air taxi proposals across six use cases, with live trials set for 6 to 10 December 2026.
Oct 28, 2026
Technology & AI
TRA Drafts Rules for Phone Chargers: Comments Due 26 November
Oman's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has opened a public consultation on draft controls for selling chargers and batteries for smartphones, tablets and laptops. Importers, retailers and consumers have until 26 November 2026 to respond.
Oct 28, 2026
Technology & AI
$75M+ Target: Phaze Ventures Opens Two AI Funds From Oman
Muscat-headquartered Phaze Ventures has secured more than $40 million in commitments for a global AI and deeptech fund and a separate fund for homegrown Omani AI businesses. ITHCA, Ominvest, Oman LNG Development Foundation and Future Fund Oman are the anchors.
Oct 28, 2026
Events & Market Intel
PDO Goes Autonomous: AI Agents, Digital Twins and a 5-Year Deal
At its Autonomous and Digital Transformation Day in Muscat, Petroleum Development Oman launched an AI-driven Autonomous Production Programme, a digital twin project and its first agentic AI tools. It also signed a five-year digital well construction partnership with SLB and Halliburton and a local hardware pact with Omani firm Onsor Technology.
Oct 26, 2026

Today's featured story

Technology & AIOct 29, 20265 min read

100+ Machines: Oman Makers Centre Opens for Digital Manufacturing

The Research and Innovation Authority has officially opened the Oman Makers Centre in Muscat. Run by Madayn, it offers 3D printers, CNC machines, laser cutters and electronics labs, and its pilot phase already produced a 3D printer developed entirely in Oman.

By Ahmed Al-Hinai

Digital Manufacturing
Research and Innovation Authority
Madayn
3D Printing
Industrial Innovation

Earlier This Week

Technology & AIOct 26, 20265 min read
Nama Bets on Grid Data and AI After 80% Smart Meter Rollout
Nama Electricity Distribution says its next step is turning smart meter, SCADA and GIS data into AI-driven asset monitoring and predictive maintenance. It has published its 2025 reliability figures and an investment plan worth more than OMR600 million.
By Dr. Khalid Al-Rashdi
Technology & AIOct 25, 20265 min read
Oman's Ambulances Go Paperless: CDAA's New Digital Care System
On 21 October 2026, Oman's Civil Defence and Ambulance Authority launched an electronic medical care report and a field medical supervision system. Both are meant to link with the Nidaa emergency platform. Here is what changed, and what the authority has not yet disclosed.
By Samir Al-Balushi
Technology & AIOct 25, 20267 min read
$3bn, 400MW: Mubbadrah's Consortium Plans an AI Campus in Oman
Muscat-based Mubbadrah Investment is leading a consortium that plans a $3 billion AI data centre in Oman, with up to 400MW of capacity and 400MW of solar backing it. US AI infrastructure firm Crusoe has expressed interest in taking the capacity, but no site, timeline or signed offtake has been announced.
By Dr. Khalid Al-Rashdi
Technology & AIOct 24, 20265 min read
MBSAT Taps ST Engineering iDirect for Oman's Sovereign Satcom
MB Group's satellite arm has picked ST Engineering iDirect to supply the ground system for its sovereign MBSAT-1 network. The deal covers Ka-band gateways and cloud-based network software, and services are targeted for 2027.
By Fatma Al-Zahra
Technology & AIOct 23, 202611 min read
GPT-6 Arrives, Prices Crash: September 2026's AI Shifts for Oman
OpenAI's GPT-6 family, Anthropic's cheaper Claude Opus 5.5, a Gulf-hosted UNESCO ethics forum and a security rethink of the UAE's AI mega-campus made September 2026 a turning point. Here is what each one means for businesses and developers in Oman.
By Dr. Khalid Al-Rashdi
Technology & AIOct 22, 20266 min read
232 Ideas, 10 Winners: Oman's UPGRADE Picks Its AI Startups
Oman's Research and Innovation Authority has picked 10 student projects for a one-year startup incubation. Six of them are built on AI. The winners range from cardiac ECG analysis to cheque-fraud screening, and the programme drew 232 applications this year, up from 202 in 2025.
By Fatima Al-Hashmi
Technology & AIOct 22, 20265 min read
Oman and British Council Plan AI Pilot in Secondary Schools
Oman's Ministry of Education has signed a letter of intent with the British Council to pilot AI-supported English learning and teacher training in selected secondary schools. Here is what was agreed, and what still needs to be confirmed.
By Layla Al-Zadjali
Events & Market IntelOct 22, 20265 min read
Oman Maps Its Tech Future to 2040 in C4IR Foresight Workshop
On 21 October, Oman's Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the World Economic Forum ran a workshop in Muscat to test a 2040 technology roadmap and set up a national foresight system. A data platform for programme owners launched the next day.
By Omar Al-Riyami

Top 5 CRM Platforms Omani Businesses Can Buy in 2026
From Zoho's Gulf-hosted data centres to Odoo's Dammam-region cloud, here's how five major CRM platforms actually compare on Oman availability, Arabic support, pricing and PDPL-relevant data residency.
Sep 4, 2026
Top 5 AI Chatbot Platforms for Businesses in Oman (2026)
A 2026 comparison of five chatbot platforms for Omani businesses, assessed on Oman data residency, PDPL readiness, Arabic support, channels, implementation, and pricing.
Aug 14, 2026
Top 5 Payroll Tools for Omanisation Compliance in Oman (2026)
With Omanisation penalties now reaching OMR 500 a month per unfilled quota position, we compare five payroll and HR platforms, from Oman-built Amaal Small ERP and COHRUS to Zimyo, greytHR, and Zoho Payroll, covering compliance, WPS workflows, and quota tracking.
Aug 4, 2026
Fawtara Is Coming: Top 5 Accounting Tools Oman SMEs Need
Oman's Fawtara e-invoicing mandate takes effect for large taxpayers in August 2026, with SMEs required to comply by 2027. We compare five accounting platforms, from Zoho Books and Tally to a Gulf-built alternative, on how ready each one really is.
Jul 4, 2026
Top 5 ERP Systems for Omani SMEs and Startups (2026)
From Microsoft Dynamics 365 to Focus Softnet, we compare the five most-used ERP platforms in Oman to help founders and SME owners choose the right system for their next growth phase.
Jun 4, 2026

All comparisons

Technology & AI
SQU Takes Top 2 Spots at Oman's Coding Final, GUtech Third
The 2026 Oman Collegiate Programming Contest results are out. Sultan Qaboos University teams finished first and second and GUtech came third, with training camps planned before December's regional contest in Egypt.
Oct 22, 2026
Technology & AI
RO1.5bn Target: Oman Launches Digital Economy Phase Two
Oman has officially launched the 2026-2030 phase of its National Digital Economy Programme. The launch came with a WEF-built strategic intelligence platform, a new 9% GDP-share figure and targets of RO300 million in tech investment and 3,000 jobs a year.
Oct 22, 2026
Events & Market Intel
6 Startups, 4 Prototypes: Hadatha's Cyber Showcase at ISTC 2026
Oman's transport and IT ministry used the seventh Information Security Technology Convention in Muscat to show six Omani cybersecurity startups and four prototypes built by young Omanis through its Hadatha centres.
Oct 21, 2026
Technology & AI
48 Teams, 1 Ticket to Egypt: Oman's University Coding Final
MTCIT opened the Oman University Programming Competition 2026 at Sultan Qaboos University on 20 October, with 144 students in 48 teams. The top teams go on to an international contest in Egypt in December, and the ministry will run training camps for them first.
Oct 21, 2026
Technology & AI
£1bn+ AI Data Centre for Salalah: Yamna's Oman Deal Explained
UK-founded Yamna is set to sign an agreement with Oman to build a large-scale AI data centre in Salalah, with the first phase alone expected to exceed £1bn. Here is what has been confirmed, what has not, and why Dhofar matters.
Oct 21, 2026

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About this publication

AI in Oman covers artificial intelligence, startups, digital policy, investment, jobs, and Vision 2040 through reported stories, market analysis, practical guides, and ecosystem insight from across the Sultanate.

Coverage is produced by a named team of AI correspondents working from public reporting, official releases, and cited source material.

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