Tourism Abu Dhabi to create 178,000 new tourism jobs Abu Dhabi wants to attract 40 million visitors and generate 178,000 new jobs in its tourism sector by 2030 to help diversify its economy away from oil. The emirate wants to increase tourism’s contribution to its non-oil GDP to AED90 billion ($24 billion) a year by the end of the decade, Abu Dhabi Media Office […] March 31, 2024
Banking & Finance Network International profit shrinks while revenue grows High interest rates and currency devaluations dented profit at Middle East payments provider Network International last year, despite revenue rising by 13 percent. The company posted net profit of $67 million for 2023, a drop of 16 percent year on year. The primary impact on profit for the year came from increased financing costs as […] March 29, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Dubai startup helps AI-voice cloning take centre stage A YouTube video released in January of Novak Djokovic shows the tennis star speaking fluent Spanish at a post-match press conference. While the Serbian champion is renowned for speaking several languages, in this case his voice was created by an artificial intelligence tool developed by a Dubai-based startup, Camb.ai. The original Djokovic footage was taken […] March 29, 2024
Tech Abu Dhabi’s E7 signs international security contracts An Abu Dhabi printing and security provider has signed contracts to supply identity cards and driving licences to three countries in Africa and Latin America. E7 Group said in an ADX bourse filing on March 26 that it had signed contracts valued at AED 13 million ($3.5 million) to manufacture and supply the identification cards […] March 26, 2024
Media & Advertising MBC Group buys stake in Anghami Shares of the Abu-Dhabi-based music streaming company Anghami rose by more than 80 percent this week after the release of a regulatory filing revealed that Saudi media company MBC Group has acquired a 14 percent stake. MBC Group, through its arm MBC Ventures, purchased four million ordinary shares of the Nasdaq-listed company. The purchase was […] March 22, 2024
Analysis Cybersecurity Saudi Arabia steps up battle against AI cyberattacks Twelve years after hackers brought oil production at Saudi Aramco to a halt for more than a week, Saudi Arabia is still susceptible to cyberattacks, a study had found. A survey of 8,000 private sector companies in 30 countries by Cisco AI Readiness Index revealed that the number and impact of attacks was rising and […] March 22, 2024
Tourism Saudi Arabia plans tourist flights into the stratosphere From 2026, well-heeled tourists in Saudi Arabia will be able to book a day trip that is out of this world: a near-space flight priced at $164,000 per person. Halo Space, a Madrid-based company that is developing a craft for flights into the Earth’s stratosphere, has chosen the kingdom as one of its departure bases […] March 21, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Saudi Arabia to create $40bn AI fund Saudi Arabia plans to create a $40 billion fund to invest in artificial intelligence, The New York Times reported on March 19, citing three sources briefed on the plans. Officials of the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund – the Public Investment Fund – have discussed a potential partnership with US venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and […] March 20, 2024
Analysis Tech Saudi Arabia ‘leads GCC’ in adoption of robotics The rising number of robotics companies in Saudi Arabia has helped the kingdom become a regional leader in the adoption and development of the technology, experts have told AGBI. The number of robotics companies registered in the country surged to 2,344 in the second quarter of 2023, up from 1,537 a year earlier, according to […] March 14, 2024
Infrastructure Infrastructure projects to lift UAE construction sector While the residential segment continues to dominate the $94 billion UAE construction sector, investments in transport and renewable energy infrastructure will help propel future growth, a new report says. Government transport projects such as rail and road infrastructure, energy ventures and sewerage and water infrastructure projects, will fuel the construction sector’s expansion, according to the […] March 12, 2024
Video length: 05:25 VIDEO Infrastructure Saudi data centre sector attracts global investment Saudi Arabia has emerged as one of the most attractive destinations for global players looking to build and operate data centre facilities in the region. This was one of the prominent trends evident at Leap, the technology event taking place this week in Riyadh, where numerous tech companies revealed plans to enter the market to […] March 7, 2024
Tech Saudi Arabia backs tech startup sector with $888m Saudi Arabia has announced investments worth $888 million to support the local tech startup and venture capital sector. The funds will support industries such as digital payments, e-gaming and artificial intelligence (AI). The announcement was made on the second day of the Leap international technology conference taking place this week in Riyadh. NewsletterGet the Best […] March 6, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Aramco launches world’s first industrial AI model Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, has launched a generative artificial intelligence model. The Aramco Metabrain AI, a first for the industrial sector, has 250 billion parameters, or learnable variables, which it adjusts during training to make predictions or generate outputs. It was trained on 7 trillion data points gathered over the company’s 90-year […] March 6, 2024
Tech Amazon to invest $5.3bn in data centres in Saudi Arabia Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud division of Amazon, is to invest $5.3 billion (SAR20 billion) in establishing data centres in Saudi Arabia. The move will allow customers to run workloads and securely store customer content within the kingdom, as well as offer high-speed access to users. “Today’s announcement supports Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation with the […] March 5, 2024
Aviation Aviation spends billions on IT to improve experience The aviation sector invested billions into IT in 2023, as companies sought to improve passenger experience, according to a new industry report. Global airports increased their IT spending by 23 percent year on year to almost $11 billion last year, while airlines upped spending by 15 percent to $34 billion, according to the 2023 Air […] March 4, 2024
Banking & Finance Abu Dhabi courts celebrity investors to make its mark Abu Dhabi is increasingly turning to celebrities, from actors and comedians to boxers and writers, to increase its presence on the world stage. The UAE’s capital has attracted entrepreneurs from around the world who are investing and expanding their businesses in the emirate. Among the latest to announce plans to invest in Abu Dhabi are […] March 1, 2024
Tech Ericsson and Turkcell to lead 6G research in Turkey Swedish telecom company Ericsson and Turkish operator Turkcell will begin advancements on research and development of 6G in Turkey. The sixth-generation wireless network will use higher frequencies than its predecessor 5G and provide substantially higher capacity and much lower latency. The advent of 6G networks holds promise of faster connectivity in various sectors including wireless […] February 28, 2024
Infrastructure Ooredoo to spend $1bn upgrading overseas networks Qatari telecoms group Ooredoo is to spend $1.1 billion upgrading its mobile coverage and quality of servies in a number of key overseas markets. Over the period 2024-26, the company will allocate substantial sums to improve connectivity in Algeria, Tunisia, Gaza and the West Bank, Iraq and the Maldives. Ooredoo’s operations in Gaza have been […] February 27, 2024
Analysis Banking & Finance VC firms ready for Mena investment rebound Venture capital companies expect investment activity in the Middle East and North Africa to rebound this year after a slump in 2023, with startups in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates likely again to dominate dealmaking. In 2023 there were 517 VC deals in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey. They raised a […] February 26, 2024
Cybersecurity UAE authority issues security alert for Google Chrome users The UAE Cyber Security Council has issued a high-risk alert for those using the desktop version of Google Chrome browser. Google released Google Chrome security updates last week to patch several high-risk vulnerabilities that could allow attackers to remotely execute code on affected systems or compromise sensitive data. The UAE’s council recommended updating to the […] February 26, 2024
Tech Yahsat introduces smartphone to satellite connectivity Al Yah Satellite Communications Company – Yahsat – has launched a “direct-to-device” strategy aiming to connect smartphones and internet of things devices to satellites, irrespective of their location. UAE-based Yahsat plans to introduce voice and messaging services before expanding to texting and internet of things capabilities on smartphones by 2025, it said in a statement. […] February 19, 2024
Cybersecurity Mena cybersecurity spend grows to $3.3bn to fight AI crime Spending on cybersecurity and risk management in the Middle East and North Africa will rise 12 percent in 2024 to $3.3 billion, the research group Gartner is forecasting. The rise in spending is a reaction to the growing use of generative AI to create fake information and fake images for use in cybercrime. Shailendra Upadhyay, […] February 19, 2024
