Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Tech

Technology news from the Middle East. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis

Tech overview

Tech news

Juan Carlos and Felipe of Spain

Juan Carlos to visit Spain after two years in UAE exile

The former king of Spain, Juan Carlos, will travel to his country this weekend for the first time since he left under a cloud of scandal in August 2020, making his home in the United Arab Emirates. Juan Carlos, 84, is visiting the northern region of Galicia for a boating event, according to the mayor […]

Mobile Phone, Cell Phone, Phone

Open all hours: inside the Gulf’s banking revolution

The UAE’s first open banking platform is helping fintech and banks bring personalised services to customers, and is accelerating the regional growth of this progressive sector The Gulf has the potential to leapfrog other regions of the world, including Europe, with its adoption of open banking as bricks and mortar branches “slowly disappear”, according to […]

Etisalat launched its e& identity in February

$4.4bn sounds a lot but e& has made the right call on Vodafone

Vodafone and e&, formerly known as Etisalat, will look to launch new products globally while working together to make greater efficiencies following the UAE telco’s deal to buy a $4.4 billion stake. Following the announcement that the UAE’s biggest telecoms operator has acquired a 9.8 percent stake in British mobile operator Vodafone Group, AGBI spoke […]

Person, Human, Face

Timeline: Elon Musk hits pause on Twitter deal

Elon Musk on Friday put his $44-billion Twitter offer on temporary hold, sending the shares of the social media company into a tailspin. And on Saturday, Musk tweeted that the Twitter legal team told him he violated a nondisclosure agreement by revealing that the sample size for the social media platform’s checks on automated users […]

Optibus develop software to prepare transit systems for smart cities

Mobility tech firm Optibus valued at $1.3bn after raising $100m

US-Israeli mobility technology company Optibus has raised $100 million in a private funding round that values the company at $1.3 billion. The funding came from new and existing investors including Insight Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Verizon Ventures, Pitango First & Pitango Growth, Tencent, SOMV Momentum, and others, said Optibus, which has raised $260 million to […]

A worker displays grains of wheat at a mill in Lebanon, where the cost of a loaf of bread rose 70 percent in March

Ukraine war drives Gulf to double down on food security

As the war in Ukraine has pushed up food prices and disrupted supply chains, hard-hit Mena countries explore ways to protect themselves In Abu Dhabi clusters of fresh tomatoes are growing inside rows of climate-controlled greenhouses in the middle of the desert – just one example of the lengths the arid region must go to […]

Suit, Clothing, Coat

Why London-Dubai tech tie-up hits investment ‘sweet spot’

The London Technology Club (LTC), a community in Europe for investment opportunities in the technology sector, has announced the launch of LTC Dubai, its first international investment hub. The hub is supported by Global Ventures, the international venture capital firm focused on investing in emerging market founders. Konstantin Sidorov, founder, CEO and general partner of […]

Apple's market capitalisation was over $10bn less than Saudi Aramco's

Aramco takes bite out of Apple as world’s most valuable company

Saudi Aramco overtook US tech giant Apple as the world’s most valuable company yesterday, fuelled by a rise in oil prices   The same global economic drivers that are buoying the energy company’s profits are adding to an inflation surge, dampening demand for technology stocks. Aramco traded near its highest level on record, with a market capitalisation […]

Emirates aims to start repaying Dubai $4.1bn in Covid aid

Dubai’s Emirates hopes that it will soon start paying back the 15 billion dirhams ($4.1 billion) in state assistance it receive from the government during the pandemic, its chairman said on Monday. The Dubai government injected billions of dollars into its flagship airline via equity injections over the course of the pandemic that had at […]

Japan’s Nikkei hits two-month low after Wall Street slides

Japan’s Nikkei fell to its lowest in almost two months today as technology heavyweights tracked a sharp decline on Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei share average fell 1.77 percent to 25,748.72, the lowest since March 15. The broader Topix fell 1.19 percent to 1,829.18. “It was hard to bet on Japanese stocks after the Nasdaq’s […]

Burj Al Arab

Indian media giant signs Dubai blockchain deal

Eros Investments, run by India’s Lulla family, plans to develop Web 3.0 and blockchain businesses out of Dubai as part of a partnership deal to operate under Dubai’s new virtual assets regulator, the company said on Tuesday. The deal is part of a push by the United Arab Emirates to become a global hub for […]

Will Abu Dhabi’s new tourism vision drive international influx?

Saadiyat Island, the cultural centrepiece of Abu Dhabi’s tourism offering, has unveiled a new vision which seeks to attract 19 million visitors and contribute AED 4.2 billion ($1.1 billion) in direct revenue by 2025. The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) and developer Miral unveiled the new strategy to support […]

Wio appoints execs to drive digital banking push

Wio Bank, a new digital banking platform established in the UAE, today announced senior leadership appointments following its licence approval by the UAE Central Bank. Salem Al Nuaimi has been named chairman of the board and Jayesh Patel has been appointed as CEO. Wio is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi Holding Company (ADQ), Alpha Dhabi, […]

In the race to be the global hub of Web3, there is significant opportunity

Will Dubai win the Web3 race?

The co-founder of Tahseen Consulting, one of the MENA’s top tech policy firms, rates Dubai’s chances of becoming a hub for the decentralised web and crypto exchange

UK-Gulf deal will be ‘tough nut to crack,’ says top Johnson ally

The co-chairman of the UAE-UK Business Council and former chief strategic adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the upcoming UK-Gulf trade agreements could be delayed but bilateral opportunities remain immense Lord Udny-Lister, co-chairman of the UAE-UK Business Council and one of Boris Johnson’s closest political allies, cuts a distinguished figure amid the sumptuous surroundings […]

Mashreq's operating profit surged 70% year on year to AED4.4 billion in 2023

Mashreq puts $10m into Cashew, buy now, pay later start-up

United Arab Emirates buy now, pay later platform Cashew announced on Monday it had secured up to $10 million in debt and equity financing from local lender Mashreqbank PSC which would now help it expand faster. The deal is the latest investment in the Gulf’s growing buy now, pay later sector that has drawn interest […]

Could crowdfunding seed the Gulf’s next Unicorn?

Democratised funding is set to breed a new generation of innovative regional businesses, say experts Crowdfunding, the alternative funding concept, represents an exciting reality in the Gulf region following a flurry of regulatory reforms. This innovative practice of funding a venture by raising smaller amounts of money from a large number of people is a […]

‘Savvy’ investors snap up DEWA shares

Plenty of mystery surrounds the listing of Dubai utilities giant DEWA, the Middle East’s largest IPO since the floating of Saudi Aramco in late 2019. When CNBC’s Dan Murphy organised an interview with DEWA’s CEO, he hoped to extricate some details from the infamously secretive boss.  Amid surging shares following news of the float, Saeed […]