Qatar University (QU) has announced a strategic collaboration with Google Cloud aimed at advancing artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, fostering digital transformation, and solidifying Qatar's position as a regional technology leader.
The announcement was made on the sidelines of the two-day World Summit AI Qatar 2025, which concluded on Wednesday in Doha.
“We are incredibly excited about this collaboration with Google Cloud, which marks a pivotal moment for the QU's digital future,” said president Dr Omar al-Ansari. “These initiatives will not only empower our students and researchers with cutting-edge AI tools and platforms but also drive real-world impact across various domains, contributing directly to Qatar's knowledge-based economy and supporting our national aspirations for innovation and technological advancement.”
"Our collaboration with the QU represents an investment in the future of AI and digital innovation in the region,” said Google Cloud regional general manager Ghassan Kosta. “By providing access to our cutting-edge technologies, expertise, and a comprehensive platform like Gemini Enterprise and the QU Spark AI Innovation Hub, we are empowering the QU to lead the way in developing AI solutions and fostering a new generation of skilled professionals that will drive Qatar's digital economy forward.”
The relationship between the QU and Google Cloud will feature three key initiatives: the QU Spark AI Innovation Hub, Expanding QU AI Platform through Gemini Enterprise adoption, and Driving QU's Multicloud Strategy through DC Migration to Google Cloud.
The QU Spark AI Innovation Hub: Scheduled to launch by Q1 2026, this state-of-the-art centre will serve as a comprehensive ecosystem fostering advanced AI development, machine learning, and data science at the QU.
It will provide a robust platform for students and researchers to build, test, and deploy cutting-edge AI models, helping cultivate a new generation of AI talent and drive impactful research within Qatar.
The hub will offer access to powerful AI accelerators, including Nvidia GPUs (graphics processing units) and Google Cloud TPUs (Tensor processing units), alongside flexible consumption options through Compute Engine VMs (virtual machines), Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), and Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform.
Expanding QU AI Platform through Gemini Enterprise adoption: This upgrade involves transitioning existing NotebookLM Enterprise users to Gemini Enterprise.
Gemini Enterprise will serve as a broader platform, helping to improve resources and provide a richer user experience, with NotebookLM as a core component.
This initiative directly complements the AI Innovation Hub by significantly advancing the university's capabilities in AI and enabling in-house agent development by developers and advanced researchers.
Gemini Enterprise offers capabilities such as AI assistants, deep research, idea generation, AI agents, web search, and media generation.
Driving QU's Multicloud Strategy through DC Migration to Google Cloud: Google Cloud will support the QU in its comprehensive cloud transformation journey. This initiative will enable the QU to leverage the scalability, flexibility, and advanced services of Google Cloud.
To further strengthen the research ecosystem in Qatar, Google.org has provided the QU with support to fund the development of AI research and talent capacity for Arabic language technologies.
The core research areas will include natural language processing, information retrieval, and machine learning.
This builds on Google's longstanding commitment to Qatar and is aligned with the AI Opportunity Initiative for the Middle East & North Africa, the company's largest AI initiative in the region announced last year, which provides essential AI skills, research funding, and access to helpful AI products in Arabic, a statement added.
