Latest news with #MohammadAbuSheikh
Web Release
12-06-2025
- Business
- Web Release
CNTXT AI and Actualize Partner to Launch Dialect-Aware Arabic AI Voice Agent, Targeting GCC's $2.2B Conversational AI Market
CNTXT AI , a Data and AI enabler driving AI readiness in the region, has partnered with Actualize, a leader in real-time voice automation, to launch a next-generation Arabic AI voice agent that understands and responds to regional dialects in real time, enhancing customer engagement across key service touchpoints. The collaboration addresses persistent challenges in Arabic voice technology — from underrepresentation of regional dialects to the need for privacy-compliant, locally hosted deployments. With the GCC's digital economy accelerating, voice automation is emerging as a critical layer in customer operations. According to IMARC , the GCC conversational AI market is expected to grow from $325 million in 2024 to over $2.1 billion by 2033, expanding at an annual rate of 23.6%, driven by rising demand for personalized, on-demand voice services. This partnership responds directly to that demand — offering a ready-to-deploy, Arabic-native voice agent that meets regional enterprise needs from day one. The AI voice agent combines Munsit, CNTXT AI's proprietary Arabic speech-to-text model, with Actualize's voice automation platform to deliver accurate voice interaction. The Arabic AI voice agent is now available for public trial with no sign-up or downloads required. Built for High-Impact Use Cases The Arabic voice agent is tailored to high-frequency, high-value business scenarios where (timely, context-aware voice communication enhances efficiency and customer satisfaction.) such as: Booking Confirmation – Automatically follows up with customers to confirm appointments, reducing no-shows and improving operational efficiency – Automatically follows up with customers to confirm appointments, reducing no-shows and improving operational efficiency Receptionist Automation – Answers and routes incoming calls in the appropriate dialect, enhancing caller experience with culturally aware interaction – Answers and routes incoming calls in the appropriate dialect, enhancing caller experience with culturally aware interaction Sales Agent Support – Engages leads through outbound voice calls, capturing interest, qualifying intent, and escalating hot leads to human agents – Engages leads through outbound voice calls, capturing interest, qualifying intent, and escalating hot leads to human agents Order & Payment Follow-Up – Calls customers to verify order details, confirm deliveries, or issue payment reminders, improving conversion rates and cash collection – Calls customers to verify order details, confirm deliveries, or issue payment reminders, improving conversion rates and cash collection Government Services – Enables voice-enabled digital kiosks and e-service platforms with dialect recognition 'Voice AI built for our region's linguistic diversity is no longer a future concept — it's a business necessity,' said Mohammad Abu Sheikh, CEO of CNTXT AI. 'By combining Munsit's dialectal intelligence with Actualize's automation infrastructure, we're making it possible for organizations to serve Arabic-speaking customers with clarity, confidence, and care.' A Regionally Tuned Solution for Arabic Speech Traditional speech technologies often fail to capture the depth and diversity of Arabic speech. Munsit, the speech-to-text model powering the voice agent, was developed to address this directly. The model has been independently benchmarked on six public datasets, outperforming industry leaders like OpenAI's Whisper and Meta's SeamlessM4T in Arabic speech recognition accuracy. The integrated voice agent supports real-time transcription, and localized pronunciation handling across dialects — while respecting regional data sovereignty and compliance requirements. 'Arabic deserves tech that speaks its language literally and culturally.' said Muhammed Shabreen, CEO at Actualize. 'This integration gives enterprises across MENA the voice tools they need to automate customer-facing operations while respecting language and cultural nuance.'
Channel Post MEA
27-05-2025
- Business
- Channel Post MEA
CNTXT AI And Beam Address Gulf's $5.4 Billion AI Agent Opportunity
CNTXT AI has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Beam AI, a platform for AI agents. Together, the two companies will deliver secure, scalable, and localized AI agents to power operations and serve enterprise and government sectors in the Gulf. The partnership enables Beam AI to expand into the GCC through CNTXT AI's trusted infrastructure and data services, while CNTXT AI integrates Beam AI's agentic execution layer into its sovereign stack — offering intelligent, autonomous solutions designed to operate securely within national borders. With the GCC AI market valued at $4.2–$5.4 billion in 2025 and expected to reach $22.4 billion by 2033, according to IMARC, this collaboration reflects the region's accelerating momentum toward advanced AI adoption. 'Beam AI brings agentic execution. We bring the Data and the infrastructure foundation. Together, we're making automation actionable, secure, and built for the Gulf.' said Mohammad Abu Sheikh, CEO of CNTXT AI. 'CNTXT AI brings the compliance, context, and capacity we need to scale our technology meaningfully in the region,' added Jonas Diezun, CEO of Beam AI. How AI Agents Power Key Workflows Designed for real-world deployment, these AI agents automate repetitive workflows and integrate seamlessly into enterprise environments. Beam's AI agents go beyond Gen AI delivery and can take actionable steps for use cases such as: Property Management: Automating tenant inquiries and underwriting requests Financial Services: Streamlining invoice parsing and transaction monitoring Data Operations: Extracting structured data from unstructured documents Public Services: Automating citizen inquiries, permit applications, and service requests while providing 24/7 support through virtual assistants and chatbots Each agent is built to adapt, act, and deliver real-world results — all while maintaining compliance and control. 'This isn't about layering automation for the sake of it,' said Diezun. 'It's about embedding intelligent agents that work natively within existing systems — empowering teams, not sidelining them.' Partnership Highlights Beam AI's agents will operate on CNTXT AI's private-by-design infrastructure, ensuring compliance with local data sovereignty laws CNTXT AI will lead implementation across the GCC, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and beyond All solutions will be localized for linguistic diversity and regional regulations The companies will co-develop data pipelines and feedback systems to enable continuous agent learning and refinement By embedding intelligent agents into core systems, CNTXT AI and Beam are accelerating enterprise transformation — delivering tangible outcomes for Gulf organizations ready to lead in the AI era. 0 0
Khaleej Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
This UAE-built AI model understands Arabic and is better than ChatGPT, claims creator
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape industries worldwide, the development of locally built, culturally attuned technologies is gaining momentum. In the UAE, one company is tackling a long-standing challenge: accurate Arabic speech recognition. CNTXT AI, based in Dubai, recently unveiled Munsit — a speech-to-text model designed specifically for Arabic, trained on thousands of hours of regional audio data. We spoke with Mohammad Abu Sheikh, CEO of CNTXT AI, about why building this technology in the UAE matters, the complexities of Arabic dialects, and what this means for the future of AI in the region. What inspired you to build an Arabic speech recognition model here in the UAE, when global giants already dominate the field? We built Munsit because global tech giants weren't solving our problem. Arabic voice tech has long been underserved. Most models are designed for English, then retrofitted for Arabic, leading to low accuracy and misunderstood dialects. We saw a clear need and felt a responsibility to act. The UAE, with its AI-first vision and infrastructure, offered the ideal launchpad. It's a country committed not just to adopting AI, but building it. That's what led to Munsit: a model engineered from the ground up for Arabic, reflecting our dialects, our data, and our region. We wanted to accelerate the shift from AI consumer to AI producer. Many talk about the limitations of Arabic in tech, but few have tackled it at this scale. What were the linguistic or cultural challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them? While many see Arabic as too complex for AI, we see it as a strategic opportunity. The real challenge wasn't the language, it was the data. Less than 5 per cent of online content is in Arabic, and even less is usable for training. If data is the new oil, then unstructured data is oil unrefined — full of potential but useless until processed. Without high-quality data, you can't build high-performing models, so we solved this problem ourselves. We developed a data pipeline from scratch using weak supervision — a scalable, algorithmic approach that processed over 30,000 hours of raw Arabic audio and refined it into a clean, high-quality dataset ready for large-scale training. That gave us the foundation to train Munsit on how Arabic is actually spoken, at a speed and cost traditional methods simply couldn't match. How did you source such a large and representative Arabic dataset, and what did you learn about the voices of the region in the process? We built our Arabic speech dataset from scratch, sourcing voices from a wide range of real-world environments — news broadcasts, casual conversations, public archives, and everyday interactions across the region. We captured dialectal variation and quickly realised we were documenting the lived experience behind the language. These differences, shaped by history, geography, and culture, are more than linguistic. They're expressions of identity and belonging. CNTXT AI calls this a 'sovereign technology' — what does that mean for the UAE's place in global AI development? Sovereign AI means full ownership of the data, the infrastructure, and the outcomes. In the UAE, that translates into national investment and AI readiness at every level. Munsit is a result of that vision: built locally, deployed securely, and aligned with the country's digital priorities. The UAE is defining its own path in AI; building models that reflect regional identity and serve local needs. Data sovereignty is central to that mission. Data is precious, and it must remain in our hands. That's how the UAE moves from participant to standard-setter in global AI — exporting trusted, culturally grounded technology. What does this breakthrough mean for everyday Arabic speakers, especially in education, public services, or content creation? Arabic speakers now have a model that understands them in real time, with contextual accuracy and speed. In education, it enables dialect-aware tools for early learners and non-literate users. Imagine Emirati ed-tech platforms offering voice feedback that reflects how students actually speak. In government, it addresses dialect diversity, especially in judicial settings where interpretation can break down. Munsit detects these differences, transcribes accurately, and localizes output into formats like Emirati Arabic. It powers fast, scalable transcription and indexing in media, making Arabic content easier to find, distribute, and monetise. How big of a role did homegrown talent play in building Munsit, and do you see this as a turning point for young AI developers in the UAE? Munsit was shaped by homegrown talent — every layer reflects regional hands and regional voices. And yes, this is a turning point. You don't need to leave the region to build breakthrough AI. The infrastructure is here. The capital is here. The ambition is here. The ecosystem is ready. You can invent, and not just implement, from the region and lead globally. It's validation for the next generation: world-class AI can, and will, be built right here. What comes next for Munsit and for Arabic voice AI as a whole? What's next? A new generation of Arabic-first products, designed here and deployed globally. Munsit serves as the voice layer in our broader AI stack alongside tools for preparing, testing, and deploying AI in a sovereign way. From this foundation, we're expanding fast: domain-specific voice agents and multilingual dialect switching. One of the most exciting developments : our Arabic Text-to-Speech suite, launching with Emirati and Saudi dialects. With native voice talent onboarded, we're delivering the region's fastest, most accurate Arabic TTS, a major step toward full-stack voice infrastructure. What would you tell a young developer or linguist in the UAE who dreams of building world-class tech, right here? Start now. Move fast. You don't need permission. You're already in one of the most AI-ready nations on earth. So build. Don't just dream of catching up. Dream of leading. Because if we don't build the future in our language, solving our own problems, who will?
Zawya
30-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
CNTXT AI unveils Munsit: The most accurate Arabic speech recognition model
Built in the UAE, Munsit sets a new global standard for Arabic speech recognition, powering seamless transcription across private and public services DUBAI, UAE – CNTXT AI, the UAE-based Data and AI company, today announced the launch of Munsit — a next-generation Arabic speech-to-text model that outperforms every global model on Arabic, including those from OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft and ElevenLabs. Munsit' — derived from the Arabic root for 'to listen' — symbolizes a breakthrough in voice technology that truly listens with attentiveness and understands the richness of Arabic speech. Developed entirely in the UAE, Munsit sets a new benchmark for transcription accuracy across Modern Standard Arabic and 25+ dialects, enabling seamless Arabic voice data processing across real-world applications. This breakthrough reflects CNTXT AI's mission to build sovereign technology — AI built in the region, for the region — that competes globally. The model is available now via API, and on-premises deployment for organizations seeking full data control. How Munsit Powers Arabic Voice Solutions Munsit is designed to deliver highly accurate Arabic transcription across diverse, real-world scenarios. Addressing the increasing demand for reliable Arabic language solutions, Munsit empowers essential applications, including: Subtitling for Content Creators: Automatically generates precise Arabic subtitles for films, videos and podcasts. Meeting Notes and Minute-Taking: Transcribes meetings and discussions into Arabic, supporting official documentation and efficient record-keeping. Call Center Support: Converts voice messages and chatbot interactions in Arabic into text, streamlining feedback and quality assurance processes. Government and Public Services: Offers transcription and dialect comprehension services tailored for public sector needs, such as processing citizen requests and ensuring accessible communication. Built for Arabic, Trained on Real Voices To create Munsit, CNTXT AI processed over 30,000 hours of Arabic audio, refining it into a high-quality 15,000-hour dataset that captures a wide range of dialects, accents, age groups, and environments. Munsit is powered by advanced AI and high-performance NVIDIA infrastructure, delivering fast, accurate transcription for a variety of Arabic-speaking use cases — from call centers and public services to education and media. Leading Global Performance in Arabic AI Benchmarking on Hugging Face leaderboard confirmed that Munsit-1 outperformed leading global speech recognition systems — including OpenAI's Whisper and GPT-4o Transcribe, Meta's SeamlessM4T, ElevenLabs' Scribe, and Microsoft Azure's Speech-to-Text —on Arabic datasets. CNTXT AI has also released a detailed research paper, outlining the model's architecture, training methodology and evaluation results. 'Munsit is more than just a breakthrough in speech recognition — it's a declaration that Arabic belongs at the forefront of global AI,' said Mohammad Abu Sheikh, CEO of CNTXT AI. 'We've proven that world-class AI doesn't need to be imported — it can be built here, in Arabic, for Arabic. This launch sets a new standard for sovereign technology, made in the UAE and ready for the world.' A Strategic Step Toward Arabic-Language AI Leadership Munsit-1 is the first step in a broader roadmap toward a full suite of Arabic voice technologies — from TTS to AI voice assistants. 'This is only version one,' added Abu Sheikh. 'What comes next will redefine how Arabic is understood, spoken, and processed by machines — on our terms, in our language.' ABOUT CNTXT AI is a UAE-based Data and AI company that enables organizations to prepare, build, test, deploy, and scale sovereign AI solutions while maintaining full data control. Our comprehensive suite of solutions transforms data into actionable AI applications—seamlessly, securely, and without compromising sovereignty. From AI-ready data pipelines to scalable deployment and industry-standard validation, we ensure AI adoption is practical, compliant, and optimized for real-world impact.
Mid East Info
25-02-2025
- Business
- Mid East Info
CNTXT AI Launches TestAI: The GCC's First AI Readiness Platform to ensure trustworthy and scalable AI Voice Agents
Dubai, UAE: Today, CNTXT AI launches TestAI, the GCC's first AI validation platform, ensuring AI-powered voice interactions are accurate, functional and deployment-ready . AI-powered agents are transforming industries, automating customer interactions, streamlining operations and enhancing efficiency. However, many are deployed without proper validation, leading to errors and loss of trust. With the voice AI agent market set to grow from $11.2 billion in 2025 to $45 billion by 2032, organizations cannot afford to deploy AI without being fully prepared and user-ready. 'AI models are being deployed without standardized oversight. Without rigorous testing, businesses expose themselves to financial and reputational risks' said Mohammad Abu Sheikh, CEO of CNTXT AI. 'TestAI is the safeguard AI desperately needs today. We ensure that every AI-powered voice interaction is tested, trusted and ready for real-world deployment.' Why AI Needs a Quality Control Layer to work AI-powered voice agents handle millions of daily interactions in banking, telecom, healthcare, and e-commerce. However, without hands-on testing in real interactions, they risk misinterpretations and inaccuracies, damaging customer trust and brand reputation. TestAI acts as an AI sandbox, ensuring AI performs as intended while identifying and resolving flaws before they impact customers. Unlike slow, inconsistent manual testing, it validates AI at scale, guaranteeing real-world accuracy and reliability, while providing actionable recommendations for improvements. For example, for AI-powered real estate assistants, TestAI simulates 1000+ real-world scenarios (from expats searching for apartments to tenants breaking leases) verifying that AI accurately understands customer needs before deployment. 'The tool provides real-time insights to fine-tune AI voice agents, reduce errors, and create a seamless customer experience,' added Hasan Abu Sheikh, Chief Product Officer. 'We want to confirm AI follows through on its promises- building ways to verify that AI actually performs the actions it claims, closing the gap between intent and execution.' Setting the Standard for Arabic AI Validation While most AI models claim to support Arabic yet fail in real-world understanding, TestAI sets a new benchmark. It is the first AI validation platform that not only processes Arabic but ensures its accuracy through automated, scalable testing of real-world testing. Designed specifically for non-technical teams, TestAI also democratizes AI functionality, making it accessible across entire organizations. Following its launch, TestAI will expand beyond voice AI testing to industry-specific applications, including business, legal, and medical AI. Beyond validation, it will assess how AI systems behave, makes decisions and responds in real-world interactions—ensuring they function reliably and in alignment with industry standards before deployment. With AI driving critical customer interactions across banking, healthcare, and beyond, TestAI provides the essential validation layer that guarantees AI voice agents are trustworthy, compliant, and ready to deploy. 'We built TestAI to be the quality gate that every AI must pass before deployment,' said Abu Sheikh. 'Our goal is to make AI validation as essential as security testing in software development.'
