Invest Qatar has partnered with San Francisco-based applied artificial intelligence company Brain Co to support AI adoption across Qatar’s public and private sectors.
The partnership will create a framework for identifying and developing AI pilot programmes with government and private-sector stakeholders. The initiatives will align with Qatar’s Third National Development Strategy and National AI Strategy.
Invest Qatar will also support Brain Co’s expansion in Qatar and the wider region. As part of that expansion, Brain Co plans to establish a flagship office in Doha.
Brain Co targets AI adoption across key sectors
The partnership comes after Brain Co worked with Qatar’s Ministry of Municipality on an AI-powered building permit system.
The system can issue building permits within 120 minutes, compared with 30 days under the previous process. It can also process up to 70% of engineering plans electronically during its first phase, according to Qatar’s Government Communications Office.
The project gives Brain Co an existing use case in Qatar’s public sector. The new partnership could support further AI pilots across healthcare, energy, financial services and regulatory services.
Invest Qatar will connect the company with government and private-sector stakeholders. It will also help Brain Co engage with Qatar’s technology and innovation ecosystem.
The focus is therefore broader than a single technology project. The partnership links AI deployment with Qatar’s wider digital transformation plans.
Talent development forms part of Qatar AI push
Alongside technology projects, the partnership will focus on developing local AI capabilities.
Invest Qatar and Brain Co plan to support training, knowledge transfer and capacity-building initiatives. These programmes are intended to strengthen local expertise in AI and related technologies.
That workforce focus adds a talent dimension to Qatar’s AI adoption plans. For employers, wider AI deployment can also create demand for new technical and digital skills.
Qatar’s government has already linked AI projects with the wider digital transformation of public services. At the launch of the AI-powered building permit system in October 2025, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said the initiative marked the start of efforts to expand AI applications across government entities.
The building permit system uses AI to read and verify engineering plans against approved standards. The government said this approach is intended to speed up procedures while maintaining technical requirements.
Brain Co plans Doha base for regional expansion
Brain Co announced plans for a flagship Doha office during Web Summit Qatar 2026.
The new base will support the company’s work in Qatar and its plans for wider regional expansion. The company has identified healthcare, energy, financial services and regulatory services as priority areas in the country.
Brain Co emerged from stealth in September 2025 after raising a $30 million Series A round co-led by Gil Capital and Affinity Partners.
The company was incubated by Elad Gil, Jared Kushner, Luis Videgaray and Eric Wu. Its investor group also includes technology executives and founders such as Andrej Karpathy, Aravind Srinivas, Patrick Collison and Reid Hoffman.
Brain Co said it had 10 Global 2000 customers when it emerged from stealth. Its early work included applications in construction permitting, industrial energy use, hospital patient care and customer service automation.
What the Invest Qatar partnership means for businesses
For Qatar, the agreement creates a route for testing AI applications with both public and private-sector organisations.
The immediate focus is on pilots, skills development and technology adoption. However, the Doha office also gives Brain Co a local base from which to pursue regional opportunities.
The partnership also builds on an existing government deployment. Qatar’s building permit system shows how AI can be applied to a specific administrative bottleneck, with the government reporting a reduction in permit processing time from 30 days to 120 minutes.
The next phase will depend on how similar applications perform across other sectors. Healthcare, energy, financial services and regulatory processes are now among the areas identified for potential AI deployment.
