Dr. Zhu Shenggao, Vice President of AI, Huawei Cloud Middle East and Central Asia
Doha, Qatar: Web Summit 2025 represents a pivotal milestone in Qatar’s journey to become a global tech hub. Since 2024, Qatar’s startup ecosystem has gained substantial momentum through government-backed investments, including a $1bn fund from the Qatar Investment Authority supporting both domestic and international ventures, said an official.
Qatar is emerging as a leader in AI and digital transformation, with initiatives aligned with its National Vision 2030 that focus on AI readiness, 5G implementation, smart city developments, job creation, and sustainability, noted Dr. Zhu Shenggao, Vice President of AI, Huawei Cloud Middle East and Central Asia in an interview with the The Peninsula.
The Web Summit, therefore, serves as a catalyst for Qatar’s tech growth, positioning the country to lead digital transformation in the MENA region while establishing Doha as a key player in the future of technology. Huawei has experienced significant growth in Qatar and the Middle East by strengthening collaborations with local governments and enterprises, he said.
The company has focused on initiatives aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030 and Digital Agenda 2030 while supporting the enhancement of digital infrastructure through smart cities, 5G networks, media services, and data centers.
Dr. Shenggao added, the company actively supports economic development through several key initiatives. These include supporting the Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) and AI-focused programs like the Qatar-based LLM (Fanaar). Huawei also collaborates with various institutions, including QDB and QSTP, to provide startups with resources and mentorship. Additionally, we have ongoing collaborations with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology on developing the Qatar National Sovereign cloud and HPC data center requirements in alignment with Digital Agenda 2030.
He reiterated, “Web Summit Qatar serves as a powerful catalyst for connecting local talent with global resources. The event gathers thousands of industry leaders, investors, and innovators worldwide, creating valuable networking opportunities and access to funding through the presence of venture capitalists.
The summit aligns with Qatar’s national vision to diversify the economy and promote entrepreneurship. It fosters a collaborative tech ecosystem that encourages connections between local startups and international tech firms, providing essential resources, exposure, and connections that can accelerate growth and create new opportunities in the tech landscape.
Huawei is committed to simplify AI construction, development, and operation based on the rich cloud services provided by Huawei Cloud Stack and the powerful capabilities of Pangu large models, so that each enterprise has its own dedicated large models. In addition, Huawei Cloud Ascend AI cloud service enables enterprises to obtain massive AI computing power with one click without reconstructing or building their own equipment rooms or operating and maintaining AI computing infrastructure.
