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.

Technology & AI
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.
Oct 22, 2026
Technology & AI
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.
Oct 22, 2026
Events & Market Intel
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.
Oct 22, 2026
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

Today's featured story

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

AI Roundup
OpenAI
Anthropic
Google Gemini
AI Policy

Earlier This Week

Technology & AIOct 22, 20266 min read
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.
By Fatma Al-Zahra
Events & Market IntelOct 21, 20264 min read
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.
By Fatma Al-Zahra
Technology & AIOct 21, 20265 min read
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.
By Dr. Khalid Al-Rashdi
Technology & AIOct 21, 20265 min read
£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.
By Omar Al-Riyami
Technology & AIOct 21, 20265 min read
Shawy Takes Its Oman Bus-Booking App to Riyadh and Sharjah
Muscat startup Shawy says its intercity bus marketplace now covers more than 100 routes, including cross-border trips to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Here is what can be checked, and what the company has not yet disclosed.
By Samir Al-Balushi
Events & Market IntelOct 20, 20266 min read
Omantel Launches Its First R&D Unit, With MIT CSAIL on Board
Omantel has set up its first centralised research and development function. It will work on four research areas with MIT CSAIL and three Omani institutions, and its first deliverable is a generative AI infrastructure whitepaper due by the end of 2026.
By Surah Al-Balushi
Technology & AIOct 20, 20265 min read
4 Universities, 500 Students: Oman's Grid-Planning Skills Push
Siemens has given grid-planning and protection software licences to SQU, Nizwa, UTAS and Sohar universities. The Ministry of Energy and Minerals chose the four universities, and about 500 students per semester are expected to train on the tools until 2028.
By Dr. Khalid Al-Rashdi
Technology & AIOct 20, 20266 min read
SalamAir Signs With Amadeus: Oman's Budget Airline Goes Dual-GDS
SalamAir has signed a distribution agreement that puts its fares and services on the Amadeus Travel Platform. Oman's low-cost carrier joined Sabre's network in 2025, so its flights will now sit in both of the big global booking systems that travel agents use.
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
Fortinet Puts a FortiSASE Node in Muscat: What Changes
Fortinet has opened a dedicated FortiSASE point-of-presence in Oman, so remote-user security traffic can be inspected inside the country instead of being sent abroad. Here is what was announced, what is still unclear, and what it means for Omani CISOs.
Oct 20, 2026
Technology & AI
NCSI AI Survey: 46% Fear Data Leaks, but 36% Share Anyway
Oman's statistics centre has published its 2026 survey of how Omanis use AI. Privacy is the biggest worry among users, yet more than a third have shared personal data or photos with AI tools. Respondents also named government services as the second most urgent area for AI rules.
Oct 20, 2026
Technology & AI
Oman's FSA Starts Live Trial of Rushd Robo-Advisor
On 19 October 2026, Oman's Financial Services Authority started a supervised trial of Rushd, an algorithm-driven, Sharia-compliant investment advisory platform, inside its fintech regulatory sandbox. Client numbers and transaction volumes are capped at each stage.
Oct 20, 2026
Events & Market Intel
ITU Innovation Board Wraps Muscat Meeting: What Oman Showed
Oman's telecom regulator hosted the fourth meeting of the ITU's Digital Innovation Board in Muscat from 11 to 13 October 2026. Delegates toured TRA's spectrum monitoring station and Omantel Innovation Labs, but no formal outcomes have been published yet.
Oct 19, 2026
Technology & AI
275 Trips Avoided: PDO's Remote Grid Fault System Hits 60%
Petroleum Development Oman says its Protection Relay Engineering Workstation now covers about 60% of its electrical network and avoided an estimated 275 field dispatches between 2024 and mid-2026. Here is what the new figures show, and what they leave out.
Oct 19, 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.

About us Our team Methodology