The demand is real and structural
Gulf states and governments across emerging markets are explicitly seeking a non-US option for AI infrastructure. The reason is not ideological: they do not want critical infrastructure tied to one country's companies, one country's export permissions and one country's foreign-policy swings.
That concern has already turned into budget. The sovereign AI market was worth roughly $40 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $148 billion by 2032. Saudi Arabia elevated AI infrastructure to a strategic priority under Vision 2030.
And it is no longer handled like a software purchase. It is handled like critical national infrastructure — the same category as power and telecommunications.
The door is already open — and the way it opened is exactly our model
Turkish engineering earning trust in the Gulf is not an aspiration; it is on the record. Türkiye's defence and aerospace exports reached $7.15 billion in 2024, and the first half of 2025 added $3.6 billion, up 25% year on year. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar are the two largest buyers of Turkish defence exports, at 15% and 13% respectively.
Saudi Arabia's $3 billion procurement became the largest defence export agreement in Türkiye's history.
But the significant part is not the figure — it is the shape of the agreement. Technology transfer agreements were signed between the Saudi defence company SAMI and Turkish firms, and production moved to Saudi Arabia. In other words, the relationship the Gulf built with Turkish engineering was never "buy it and stay dependent". It was "build it, transfer it, let the country own it".
Note: these are public sector indicators, not Hendez references or partnerships. They are here to show the model under which the Gulf opened its door to Turkish engineering.
In software and AI the argument is stronger still
In hardware, an export permit is a risk. In software and AI the risk runs deeper. A model vendor can cut off service, multiply the price, retire a version, or fall under its own country's sanctions regime. The institution does not lose the system — it loses the system's ability to run.
Then there is data. In the Gulf, data residency is a redline rather than a preference; in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Egypt sensitive data is expected to remain in country. Saudi data breach penalties reach SAR 5 million and double on repeat.
On top of that comes governance: SDAIA's AI adoption framework sets a mandatory governance baseline for public sector entities, and the same discipline is expected from suppliers selling technology into government.
Few suppliers sit at the intersection of all three: non-US, able to keep data in country, and able to produce the governance file.
Our model: build it, transfer it, let the institution own it
Hendez's five commitments are exactly this model expressed in software, and they are written into every contract.
Data does not cross the border. The deployment topology is declared per jurisdiction; where required the system runs fully air-gapped with no outbound connection.
Model independence. The architecture is never bound to a single model vendor. If the model in use shuts down, becomes expensive or hits an export restriction, the system keeps running.
Knowledge is transferred weekly. Not a ceremony at the end, but documentation, code review with the institution's own staff, and a recorded architectural decision log — every week. The goal is that your team can run the system before we leave.
Exit guarantee. On termination, within 30 days: full documentation, source code, model weights and data in open formats, plus a recorded 40-hour knowledge transfer.
Provenance is shown. In a system that produces public decisions, an unsourced answer is not acceptable.
Language is not a detail — it is a reason work is won
In the Gulf a public specification is written in Arabic, the technical annex arrives in English, and the implementing team works in its own language. Running all three with one team, without a translation agency in the middle, changes both the speed and the accuracy of a project.
At Hendez, Turkish, English and Arabic are one team's languages. The specification is read in Arabic, the technical documentation is delivered in Arabic, the training is given in Arabic.
That is why every service, guide and tool page on this site is published in three languages — not as a shop window, but because it is how we work.
The question a Gulf institution asks — two different answers
| The institution asks | The typical large vendor | Hendez |
|---|---|---|
| Where will our data sit? | A regional cloud region; administration abroad | On your server or air-gapped; topology declared in writing |
| What if your model shuts down? | Trust our roadmap | Architecture is model-independent; the model changes, the system runs |
| What is left if the contract ends? | Your subscription ends | 30 days: source code, documentation, model weights, data in open formats |
| Can our team run the system? | We have a support package | Weekly knowledge transfer; your team runs it before we leave |
| Could an export restriction hit us? | — | Supply chain is not tied to one country; components can be swapped |
| Can you deliver the specification in Arabic? | Translation will be arranged | Specification, documentation and training in Arabic; same team |