Charlton Boyd, Director at Affinity Partners, in conversation with Dan Ashton, Co-Founder and CEO of BrainCo, during the session 'From Silicon Valley to Doha: How Deep Partnerships Drive AI at Scale' at Web Summit Qatar 2026.
Doha, Qatar: Qatar is gaining prominence as a key player in practical artificial intelligence (AI) deployment, leveraging partnerships that combine Silicon Valley expertise with local knowledge to tackle complex challenges across government, healthcare, and private enterprise.
The approach was highlighted yesterday at Web Summit Qatar 2026 during a discussion titled ‘From Silicon Valley to Doha: How Deep Partnerships Drive AI at Scale’ between Charlton Boyd, Director at Affinity Partners, and Dan Ashton, Co-Founder and CEO of BrainCo, an applied AI company.
Highlighting the transformative potential of artificial intelligence, Ashton emphasised the importance of collaboration and real-world impact in technology implementation. “It’s not just about technology. It’s about working together at every level, from top officials to engineers on the ground, to build solutions that truly make a difference. That’s what practical AI deployment looks like, and Qatar is leading the way.”
The discussion showcased how visionary leadership, deep partnerships, and advanced AI platforms can deliver measurable impact across industries while positioning Qatar prominently in applied AI innovation. Insights from the discussion reflected that the combination of technical expertise, operational discipline, and local collaboration sets a precedent for governments and enterprises seeking to implement AI at scale.
“Construction permitting in Qatar looked very similar to how it does in the rest of the world, with months of delays, a lot of back and forth, and mountains of paperwork,” Ashton said. “Now, Qatar actually has the best system in the world for construction permitting. And this isn’t a pilot; this is actually working in production today.” The system was developed in close collaboration with the Ministry of Municipality, combining local oversight with BrainCo’s AI expertise.
The transformation was made possible by combining top-tier AI engineers, product managers, and designers from Silicon Valley with deep local expertise, including municipal officials and engineers. “The only way we can do that is by bridging these two worlds,” Ashton explained. “We co-design solutions, implement them rapidly, and continuously improve through real-time feedback. The depth of that partnership has truly been amazing, and I’d even call some of them my friends.”
BrainCo’s collaborative model has expanded beyond construction permitting to other high-impact areas. Ashton outlined initiatives in healthcare, insurance, and broader government services, emphasising how the company’s platform accelerates AI deployment. “Our platform is really a software acceleration vehicle,” he said. “It allows us to build five to ten times faster than even the best Silicon Valley engineers could on their own, while improving modular components like document AI processing, workflow automation, and rules engines continuously.”
The discussion also highlighted BrainCo’s work with private equity firms across multiple continents. “Working with private equity on AI is incredibly refining,” Ashton said. “They demand real value, revenue uplift, cost savings, operational improvements. We start with AI due diligence to identify opportunities, build rapid prototypes to validate them, and implement solutions end-to-end.”
Qatar’s ambitious ecosystem offers unique lessons for global expansion. “What travels well is AI engineering, deployment, infrastructure, reusable components,” Ashton said.
“What doesn’t travel are data landscapes, regulatory requirements, and local realities. Those require deep partnerships and an on-the-ground presence. What we’ve built here in Qatar, like construction permitting automation, is now in demand globally, from the United States to Asia.”
Attracting and developing top talent is also central to BrainCo’s model. “We bring talent from Silicon Valley to live and work here, while also investing in Qatari talent,” Ashton said.
“We run boot camps and immersion programs to build long-term capacity. If you work in AI, you either want to be at a model lab or apply AI to the world’s hardest real-world problems.
BrainCo offers that opportunity, which is why talent from companies like DeepMind, Tesla, and NVIDIA join us.”
