Tevel, the start-up behind the flying autonomous robots, has worked for four and a half years developing the hardware and software to make the flying fruit pickers a reality
technology investment
business funding
Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala invests $350m in pan-Asian data centre firm Princeton Digital Group
PDG has a portfolio of 20 data centres with over 600MW of secured capacity and spanning five countries
cloud services
Global IT spending to hit $4.5 trillion, cloud development in focus
The cloud is responsible for nearly all of the 11% spending growth within the enterprise software segment in 2022
Baly
Three-month-old start-up scores largest funding in Iraq’s history
Baly, which describes itself as Iraq’s first super-app and is backed by German tech incubator Rocket Internet SE, offers ride-hailing in Baghdad
acquisition
KKR to invite Saudi wealth fund to back telecom Italia bid
KKR made a preliminary takeover proposal for Telecom Italia in November valued at about $12.2 billion
digital innovation
Time for CFOs and CIOs to learn each other’s language to capitalise on digital transformation
How the CFO and CIO work together will play a critical role in the success of any future IT strategy
customer experience
Mubadala announces investment in US-based enterprise software company
Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor has backed Medallia, a customer and employee experience management software
Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange
Abu Dhabi’s IHC unit raises $13.1bn from direct listing
Offering marks the latest stage in a drive by IHC, among the most valuable firms in the Middle East, to expand its clout on local exchanges
Education
UAE university launches new company to turn innovation into profits
Khalifa University of Science and Technology unveils KUEC which will act as its business and investment arm
data centre
Mubadala mulling investment in Singapore-based Princeton Digital
Abu Dhabi sovereign fund is likely to become the anchor investor of the round, according to sources
Blockchain
Why now is the right time to invest in the ‘metaverse’
NFTs are the future of businesses with applications across art, communications and retail, panelists at Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival agreed
Impact46
Dubai-headquartered engagement solutions provider raises $5m in Series A round
Investment in Merit Incentives was led by Riyadh-based venture capital fund Impact 46 and attracted GCC and international VC firms
-800x600.jpg)
Amazon Web Services
AWS continues expansion with Kuwait office opening
Office was licensed through the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA), under the country’s Direct Investment Law
Activision Blizzard
Saudi Activision Blizzard stake rises again amid controversy
Public Investment Fund raised its holding in the maker of popular games like World of Warcraft by 13% to 37.9 million shares in the last quarter
acquisitions
Bahrain’s Investcorp acquires Italian digital sales platform CloudCare
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and CloudCare’s founder and CEO Andrea Conte will maintain ‘meaningful stake’ in the company and will continue to lead the group
digital innovation
IT could hold back digital innovation at UAE organisations
Empowering ‘citizen developers’ to lead innovation will enable UAE organisations to effectively overcome technical skills shortages and reduce time to market for new digital services
online classifieds platform
Saudi wealth fund, early Alibaba investor back Jordanian start-up
The Saudi Jordanian Investment Fund, a $3 billion entity created by the Saudi wealth fund and a group of Jordanian banks, is backing OpenSooq along with existing investors iMENA Group and FJLabs
