Kuwait Gives Artificial Intelligence Its Own Licence: What Technology Businesses Should Do Now

On 30 July 2026 the Minister of Commerce and Industry signed Ministerial Decision No. 159 of 2026, adding "artificial intelligence services and solutions and related services" to the list of activities a business can be licensed for in Kuwait. The decision was published in Kuwait Al-Youm Issue 1803 on 9 August 2026 and took effect on issuance. The new activity carries international code 620106, sits in the information and communications sector of the GCC unified classification of economic activities, and is placed under the supervision of the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA).

Why this matters: until this month, "AI company" was not something you could be in Kuwait, at least not on paper. Firms building or selling AI products were licensed under general codes for software design or IT consulting. Classification is not just paperwork. It determines what a company may lawfully hold itself out as doing, which regulator watches it, and how banks and government buyers categorise it. With one short decision, the AI sector in Kuwait now has a legal identity.

What the decision actually does

The mechanics are simple. Kuwait maintains its list of licensable commercial activities in line with the GCC unified classification, and Decision 159 slots the new AI activity into that list under code 620106. A company can now apply to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to add the activity to its commercial licence and commercial register, or a founder can incorporate a new company with the activity from day one. The decision was issued after CITRA's board chairman wrote to the Ministry in mid-July requesting the addition, and it names CITRA as the supervising authority for the activity.

That last point deserves attention. A named supervising regulator means the licence is the beginning of the compliance story, not the end of it. CITRA already regulates Kuwait's telecommunications and information technology sector and has issued rules on data privacy and cloud services. Businesses licensed under the new code should expect those rules to frame how they handle customer data, where they host it, and how they contract. The decision itself attaches no special conditions to the activity; if CITRA intends to impose licensing conditions specific to AI providers, they will come in implementing circulars, and none have been published yet.

Who should act, and how

Existing providers first. A company already selling AI development, machine-learning tools, or AI consulting under a generic IT licence does not have to change anything today. But there are good reasons to add the new code: it describes the business accurately to regulators, banks, and clients; it avoids arguments about whether AI work falls within an older activity description; and government tenders tend to specify activity codes, so the right code can decide eligibility. Adding it means a licence amendment at the Ministry and, where the company's constitutional documents list its objects narrowly, a check that the articles of association cover the activity.

New ventures have the cleaner path: incorporate with code 620106 from the start. For foreign investors, the more interesting route may run through the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority. Law No. 116 of 2013 allows a licensed foreign investor up to 100 per cent ownership of a Kuwaiti company in permitted sectors, and information technology ventures have been among KDIPA's approvals. A recognised activity code makes it easier to describe an AI project in an investment licence application and to scope the incentives requested. Foreign groups weighing a Kuwait entry should compare that route with the traditional agency or reseller structure before committing.

The fee backdrop

The same gazette issue carries a second, quieter piece of the picture. Decision No. 11 of 2026 of the Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Affairs sets a new fee schedule for registration with the Central Agency for Information Technology, the body technology suppliers register with, in practice, to work with government. From 1 January 2027, company registration costs KD 200, annual renewal KD 100, each main field KD 50, and each specialty field KD 25; training institutes pay KD 250 to register and KD 100 to renew. The amounts are modest, but the schedule replaces one from 2001 and is among the first issued under Decree-Law No. 1 of 2025, the framework that lets the state reprice public services. More schedules like it should be expected.

What remains open

Kuwait has not enacted an AI law, and Decision 159 is not one. It regulates who may sell AI services, not how AI may be used. The open questions are practical: whether CITRA will attach conditions to the activity, such as hosting or data-residency requirements; whether professional uses of AI, in medicine or law for example, will draw sector rules from other regulators; and whether KDIPA will treat AI as a priority sector for incentives. Businesses do not need answers to those questions to act on the licensing point, but they should be watched.

WEFAQ advises technology businesses to review their licence scope against what they actually sell, align data and hosting practices with CITRA's existing rules before conditions arrive, and, for foreign groups, weigh the KDIPA route against agency structures early, because the choice shapes ownership, tax, and exit options for years.

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Source: Ministerial Decision No. 159 of 2026 dated 30 July 2026, Kuwait Al-Youm Issue 1803, page 15, dated 9 August 2026; Decision No. 11 of 2026 of the Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Affairs, same issue, page 28; Times Kuwait, August 2026.

This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice specific to your circumstances, please contact WEFAQ Law Firm.