It will result in a highly personalised customer experience and also address challenges such as stringent national data privacy regulations
Technology
Darwinbox
Darwinbox secures $140mn investment to accelerate global HR tech expansion
The investment is a milestone for a firm that has seen rapid growth in the near decade since founding
Arab Energy Fund
Arab Energy Fund teams with Hartree to create $120mn cleantech investment vehicle
The platform will focus on venture capital stage companies
Du
UAE’s du climbs global telco rankings, brand value surges to $3bn
The latest rankings make the company the fastest riser in brand value across the Middle East
Connectivity
du launches new travel eSIM for transit passengers at UAE airports
The service begins with a free du eSIM, after which customers can purchase data bundles according to their travel requirements
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Central Bank bans WhatsApp for customer communications
Financial institutions in Saudi Arabia have been instructed to implement alternative secure channels
Abu Dhabi
Italian telecom giant TIM selects Abu Dhabi for regional HQ, plans IoT and AI excellence centre
Under the partnership, TIM’s regional headquarters in Abu Dhabi will introduce its expertise in secure communications, cloud, and IoT applications to enhance industrial productivity
AD Ports Group
AD Ports Group signs major deal to develop industrial zone near Pakistan’s largest ports
AD Ports Group signs MoU with Pakistan Board of Investment to boost trade and economic activity
Cyberattack
Cyberattacks expected to surge during Ramadan in UAE as online shopping peaks: Report
Qrator Labs said it detected over 200 powerful attacks exceeding 1 Gbps in the first quarter of 2024, when Ramadan takes place
AI chatbot
VFS Global launches GenAI-powered chatbot to serve UK visa applicants in 141 nations
Developed by its Dubai-based AI team, the chatbot will offer human-like conversational support and responds to voice and text inputs
cyber threats
UAE cyber threats: Over 223,000 assets still potentially exposed, report finds
The report found that the government, finance, and energy sectors are the most targeted by cyber threat actors
e&
E& reports $2.9bn profit on $16.1bn revenue
Technology company e& reports increased revenue and profit for 2024
data centre
e& to sell 40% stake in Khazna Data Center Holdings for $2.2bn
Will generate a capital gain of $1.4bn before federal royalty and corporate tax; Proceeds to be utilised to reduce the group’s debt balance
Artificial intelligence
UAE’s $100bn AI target opens investment opportunities
UAE investors urged to rethink investment strategies to make most of AI opportunities
Artificial intelligence
Qatar inks five-year AI deal with Scale AI to boost government services
Qatar is in a race to become an AI leader amid rising competition from neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the UAE
GenAI
AI data breaches set to rise due to cross-border GenAI use, Gartner reports
While these tools serve approved business purposes, they present security risks when sensitive prompts reach AI tools and APIs in undisclosed locations
Dubai Internet City
Dubai Internet City adds $27.2bn to GDP
Dubai Internet City accounts for 65 per cent of the emirate’s tech GDP
