AI Dispatch | The Rise of the Agent-First World
Here are the top tech stories from our weekly AI Dispatch wrap-up (May 29–June 4).
News
- World’s First AI-Designed Vaccine Targets Future Pandemics
- Dubai’s ‘SME in a Box’ Reimagines Business Setup as an Integrated Service
- AI Dispatch | The Rise of the Agent-First World
- OpenAI, Anthropic & Microsoft CEOs Call for Stricter Laws Against AI Biothreats
- Sharjah Moves to Operationalize Agentic AI Across Government Functions
- UAE Expands AI Push With New Leadership Development Program
This week’s developments saw AI reshaping the global technology and business landscape, from enterprise infrastructure and government services to biosecurity— from Silicon Valley to the Gulf.
1. Microsoft Shares Major AI Upgrades at Build 2026
At the company’s flagship conference, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella declared that the era of operating systems and apps was over and that AI agents would define the future.
Key announcements include Project Solara, a platform to build AI devices like wearable badges and desk assistants; the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, a powerful PC for running large AI models locally; MAI-Code-1-Flash and MAI-Thinking-1 coding and reasoning models; Majorana 2, an improved quantum chip; and Scout, a background AI assistant with security controls.
Read more: From Agent Devices to Quantum Chips: Microsoft’s Biggest Build 2026 Announcements
2. Top AI Leaders Call for Stricter Laws Against AI Biothreats
Sam Altman (OpenAI), Dario Amodei (Anthropic), Mustafa Suleyman (Microsoft AI), and more than 50 other signatories have urged the US Congress in a public letter to impose safeguards on the handling of synthetic DNA and RNA—key materials used to develop vaccines and other biotech innovations.
Experts and leaders note that although ordering synthetic DNA online has sped up vaccine development, a blind spot exists that malicious actors can exploit to reconstruct harmful viruses.
Read more: OpenAI, Anthropic & Microsoft CEOs Call for Stricter Laws Against AI Biothreats
3. Anthropic Raises $65B in New Round
Anthropic has raised $65 billion in a Series H funding round, valuing the company at $965 billion. The funding includes previously committed investments from hyperscalers and will be used for AI research, safety work, computing infrastructure, and Claude product development.
The AI startup has surpassed OpenAI’s $852 billion valuation, thanks to a funding round led by Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks, and Sequoia Capital. Anthropic has greatly benefited from the growing demand for enterprise solutions, particularly for its products such as Claude, Claude Code, and Cowork.
Read more: Anthropic Raises $65 Billion at $965 Billion Valuation
4. Meta Enters Enterprise AI Race
Announced at the company’s WhatsApp-focused Conversations conference, Meta unveiled a new AI product for businesses, thereby formally entering the enterprise AI race. The Meta Business Agent will build upon existing business messaging services by offering “agentic” capabilities in which the assistant can take actions on businesses’ behalf, from booking calendar appointments to closing sales.
The move signals the social media giant’s ambitions to rival OpenAI, Anthropic, and Alphabet’s Google for a share of the enterprise AI market.
5. UAE GDP Surges 6.2% to AED 1.9 Trillion on Non-oil Growth
According to data from the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Center, in 2025 UAE’s real gross domestic product (GDP) rose 6.2% year-on-year to $517.3 billion (AED 1.9 trillion), while non-oil GDP grew an even faster 6.8% to $408.4 billion (AED 1.5 trillion).
The figures reinforce the UAE’s position as one of the Gulf’s fastest-growing economies and highlight efforts to reduce dependence on hydrocarbon revenues. Construction, financial, and real estate recorded the strongest growth rates.
Read more: UAE GDP Surges 6.2% to AED 1.9 Trillion on Non-oil Growth
6. Sharjah Moves to Operationalize Agentic AI Across Govt Functions
Sharjah is taking a significant step toward institutionalizing agentic AI within the public sector, following directives from H.H. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Executive Council.
The initiative positions agentic AI as a governance and capability-building agenda to transform how government entities operate, deliver services, and make decisions. The Sharjah Digital Department said agentic AI builds on foundations already established through the emirate’s broader digital transformation agenda.
Read more: Sharjah Moves to Operationalize Agentic AI Across Government Functions
7. AI infrastructure firm Positron Opens First Global Office at DIFC
AI inference infrastructure company Positron AI, valued at more than $1 billion and backed by over $300 million in funding, has announced a strategic expansion into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Positron’s next-generation product, Titan, is due for delivery in the first quarter of 2027 and is built around the Asimov chip. The company claims it will deliver five times better energy efficiency and six times more memory capacity than Nvidia’s upcoming Rubin GPU.
8. UAE Organizations Lead World on AI Agent Adoption, KPMG Finds
Organizations in the UAE are beating global peers in resilience, digital maturity, and AI integration, according to a new KPMG study. The study is based on a global survey of 2,500 technology leaders, including 70 participants from the United Arab Emirates.
According to the UAE Tech Report 2026, the country has the highest resilience levels globally, with 90% of organizations ranking in the top two resilience tiers. Most strikingly, 97% of UAE respondents report embedding AI agents into workflows, products, services, and value streams, well beyond the global figure of 87%.
