Toku is expanding its AI-powered customer experience platform in the Middle East through an agreement with Core42 to host the platform on Core42 Sovereign Enabled Public Cloud in the UAE. The arrangement, signed in Abu Dhabi on October 2, 2026, is aimed at public-sector bodies and regulated enterprises that require customer interaction data, recordings and platform information to remain inside the country. The deployment combines Microsoft Azure infrastructure with Core42’s sovereign controls and governance capabilities.
Data residency is becoming a defining requirement for AI-powered customer experience platforms as governments and regulated industries move more services onto cloud infrastructure.
Singapore-headquartered Toku is addressing that requirement in the United Arab Emirates through an agreement with Core42, a G42 company focused on sovereign-enabled cloud and AI infrastructure.
Under the agreement, Toku Technology L.L.C., Toku’s UAE subsidiary, will host the company’s customer experience platform on Core42 Sovereign Enabled Public Cloud in the UAE. The agreement was formally signed in Abu Dhabi on October 2, 2026.
The deployment is designed for UAE public-sector organizations and regulated enterprises that need customer interactions, recordings and platform data to remain in-country and subject to local jurisdiction.
Sovereign infrastructure for AI-powered CX
Toku is onboarding its platform onto Core42’s sovereign-enabled environment, which combines Microsoft Azure infrastructure deployed within the UAE with Core42’s sovereignty controls, governance mechanisms and compliance monitoring.
The environment also uses sovereign landing-zone architectures and centralized oversight through Core42 Insight.
For customer experience platforms, those capabilities are becoming increasingly important.
Contact centers process large volumes of potentially sensitive information, including customer conversations, recordings and personally identifiable data. Adding AI transcription, summarization and other AI capabilities can increase the value of that data while also creating additional governance requirements.
A sovereign cloud environment allows organizations to use hyperscale cloud technologies while maintaining tighter controls over where data is processed and stored.
The approach is particularly relevant for governments and regulated industries where data residency can be a prerequisite for deploying cloud-based AI applications.
Toku brings public-sector experience from Singapore
Toku is positioning the UAE deployment as an extension of its experience with sovereign-controlled cloud environments.
In Singapore, the company delivered what it describes as the first large-scale contact center on the country’s Government on Commercial Cloud platform for the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS).
The system serves Singapore’s national taxpayer base, with AI transcription and summarization supporting contact-center agents and supervisors.
That experience provides Toku with a reference architecture for operating AI-enabled customer service in a government environment where data governance and operational controls are critical.
The company is now applying that experience to the UAE through Core42’s infrastructure.
The two markets are taking similar approaches to sovereign cloud: allowing public-sector organizations to access hyperscale cloud capabilities while retaining controls over sensitive data and infrastructure.
Abu Dhabi builds its sovereign AI foundation
The partnership also fits into Abu Dhabi’s broader government technology strategy.
In March 2025, the Department of Government Enablement announced an agreement with Microsoft and Core42 to implement a sovereign-enabled cloud system for the Abu Dhabi Government.
Core42 says its cloud environment currently supports more than 47 Abu Dhabi government entities, as the government works toward its ambition of becoming the world’s first fully AI-native government by 2027.
The underlying infrastructure is powered by Microsoft Azure, with Core42 providing the sovereign-enabled environment.
For Toku, that creates an established infrastructure layer on which it can deploy its AI-powered CX technology rather than building a separate cloud architecture for UAE public-sector customers.
Data sovereignty becomes part of AI deployment
The agreement highlights a broader shift in enterprise AI architecture.
Early cloud deployments often prioritized scalability, availability and access to software services. For AI systems handling sensitive government or financial information, organizations increasingly have to consider jurisdiction, data residency, identity, governance and auditability at the infrastructure level.
That is driving demand for sovereign cloud models from hyperscalers and specialist providers.
Microsoft, Google and other cloud companies are developing sovereign cloud offerings, while regional infrastructure providers are building environments tailored to local regulatory requirements.
For AI customer experience platforms, the implication is significant. AI models may need access to conversation transcripts and customer records to provide useful assistance, but those same data sets can be subject to strict restrictions.
Toku’s deployment with Core42 effectively makes infrastructure location and governance part of the product’s enterprise value proposition.
Middle East expansion broadens the opportunity
The agreement also supports Toku’s regional expansion.
The company says its Middle East coverage has grown from two markets to eight since December 2025, making the region one of its principal growth areas. Toku is also participating in several public-sector tenders with regional partners.
The company’s broader “infrastructure without boundaries” strategy is intended to allow customers to deploy its platform across commercial cloud, government and sovereign-enabled cloud, private data centers or hybrid environments.
That flexibility could become increasingly important as organizations adopt AI while facing different data and infrastructure requirements across jurisdictions.
Toku also announced an Arabic-language AI partnership with SESTEK in September, adding another layer of regional localization to its strategy.
The larger opportunity is not simply selling an AI contact center in the UAE. It is demonstrating that AI-powered customer experience can operate across fragmented regulatory environments without forcing organizations into a single infrastructure model.
For governments and regulated businesses, that combination of AI capabilities, local data residency and deployment flexibility could become a key requirement as cloud-based customer service becomes increasingly intelligent.
Market Landscape
The AI-powered customer experience market is increasingly intersecting with sovereign cloud, data residency and regulated-industry infrastructure. Governments, financial institutions and other regulated organizations want the benefits of AI-powered contact centers while retaining control over sensitive customer information.
Microsoft, Google, Amazon and regional cloud providers are expanding sovereign cloud capabilities, while CX vendors are adapting their platforms to operate within those environments.
Toku’s Core42 agreement reflects this convergence. Rather than treating sovereignty as an external infrastructure issue, AI CX platforms increasingly need to account for jurisdiction, governance, compliance monitoring and deployment flexibility as part of enterprise architecture.
Top Insights
- Toku is deploying its AI-powered CX platform on Core42’s UAE sovereign cloud, targeting public-sector and regulated customers requiring local data residency.
- Core42 combines Microsoft Azure with sovereign controls, governance and compliance monitoring designed for sensitive government and regulated workloads.
- Toku brings Singapore government experience, including an AI-enabled contact center deployed for the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.
- Core42’s environment supports more than 47 Abu Dhabi government entities, strengthening the infrastructure base available to Toku’s UAE customers.
- Toku’s multi-environment strategy supports commercial, sovereign, private and hybrid deployments, addressing different regulatory and infrastructure requirements.
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