UAE-based Pulsar Group participates in a $300M PIPE deal for Solmate, establishing the region’s first major Solana infrastructure hub and strengthening the Middle East’s position in blockchain innovation and digital asset adoption.

Unive secures €410K in funding to scale its AI-driven college and career counseling platform, combining AI guidance with expert tutors to make admissions support efficient, equitable, and accessible to students worldwide.

Pre-change narratives align stakeholders before digital transformation begins, helping incumbents and scale-ups alike drive cultural adoption, preserve agility, and embed purpose—proving that people follow stories, not spreadsheets, in times of change.

Qatar is fast becoming a regional gaming and innovation hub, attracting global brands like Tencent, supporting local studios, and offering infrastructure, funding, and talent programs to drive growth in the MENA gaming ecosystem.

Accor and BinDawood Investment collaborate to develop over 3,000 hotel keys in Saudi Arabia, including landmark properties in Makkah, Madinah, and Jeddah, supporting the Kingdom’s tourism growth and Vision 2030 hospitality transformation.

FIVE Holdings strengthens its global hospitality footprint with a $460M credit facility, blending high-energy electronic music, immersive dining, and luxury experiences across Dubai and Ibiza, driving revenue growth and redefining experiential tourism worldwide.

In the latest episode of Born to Disrupt, hosts Simon Hardie and Grant Niven sit down with Nicholas Bingham, Founding Partner at Taranis Capital, to explore how biotechnology and data infrastructure are shaping the Gulf’s next chapter of innovation. Having lived and worked across Europe, the US, and Asia since 2001, Bingham has watched the Middle East’s transformation first-hand. What keeps drawing him back, he says, is the region’s ambition, “an air of passion and enthusiasm for success” that he finds unmatched anywhere else.

M2M/IoT connections in APAC are set to hit 1.3 billion by 2030, fueled by 5G expansion, smart city initiatives, and industry-specific IoT solutions, creating new revenue opportunities for telecom operators across manufacturing, healthcare, and digital infrastructure.

Visit Qatar launches its unified 2025–2026 events calendar, showcasing sports, culture, entertainment, and family activities. The initiative highlights collaboration between government and private sectors, reinforcing Qatar’s position as a year-round global tourism destination.

During Blood Cancer Awareness Month, The Royal Marsden becomes the first UK centre to treat multiple myeloma patients with CAR-T therapy outside clinical trials, offering renewed hope and long-term remission for those with relapsed or difficult-to-treat disease.

H.E. Dr. Majid Alfayyadh urges viewing healthcare as a driver of security, prosperity, and innovation. Saudi Arabia’s KFSHRC leads with AI, robotics, and precision medicine, supporting Vision 2030 and global collaboration in sustainable healthcare systems.

Bill Liao explains why authentic storytelling drives startup success, how scientific founders can reframe complex ideas, and why AI may speed stories but cannot replace the conviction and emotional alignment essential to leadership.

Discover how Hub71’s new Life Sciences vertical is transforming Abu Dhabi into a global hub for biotechnology, digital health, and medical innovation — with startups like Bio Sapien and Epi Bone leading the way.

HSBC and IBM show how quantum computing can improve corporate bond trading, achieving a 34% better prediction of trade fills compared to classical methods, marking a world-first application of quantum technology in financial services.

On its 95th National Day, Saudi Arabia reflects on how media—from early radio to AI-powered platforms—has shaped national identity, connected generations, and evolved into a digital, AI-driven storytelling ecosystem supporting Vision 2030.

PayPal pledges $100 million across the Middle East and Africa to fuel innovation, support startups, and expand digital commerce. The investment leverages PayPal Ventures, technology, and partnerships to help businesses scale and access global markets.

British Airways’ new partnership with Apple lets passengers spend Avios on Apple products. Christine Bourdon of Designit says it signals a shift—frequent flyer programmes are evolving into lifestyle ecosystems, blending travel, tech, and everyday value.

Revolut unveils its new London global HQ, pledging £3B investment and 1,000 UK jobs. Part of a £10B global growth plan, the fintech giant targets 100M customers by 2027 and expansion into 30+ new markets by 2030.

From NVIDIA’s AI revolution to Adobe’s creative reinvention and Patagonia’s purpose-driven governance, leading companies are proving that storytelling isn’t soft power—it’s strategic infrastructure for shaping markets, inspiring trust, and future-proofing organisations.

Prosper AI secures $5M seed funding to scale its healthcare-specialized voice AI agents, automating patient and payer calls, reducing costs, and improving efficiency for hospitals, billing companies, and health systems.

In this episode of Born to Disrupt, hosts Simon Hardie and Grant Niven are joined by Darko Atijas, Chief Operating Officer at Tech Universal and a senior figure in the family office and private equity space. With a career spanning two decades across Australia, the UK and now the Middle East, Darko offers a candid and insightful view into the region’s evolving investment landscape, the challenges facing SMEs, and the opportunities emerging from the intersection of technology, AI and finance.

Bybit partners with QNB and DMZ Finance to introduce QCDT, the first DFSA-approved tokenised money market fund, unlocking $1B institutional borrowing capacity and bridging traditional finance with digital assets in the Middle East.

dLocal teams up with Bolt to streamline local payments across Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The partnership uses dLocal’s single API to enable cost-efficient, reliable payment solutions, supporting drivers, riders, and Bolt’s expansion into emerging markets.

Oxford Quantum Circuits and Digital Realty unveil the first Quantum-AI Data Centre in NYC, integrating OQC’s GENESIS quantum computer with NVIDIA superchips to power secure, scalable breakthroughs in finance, security, and AI under the UK–US tech alliance.

A practical guide to crafting your organisation’s story through the Narrative Canvas—aligning leaders, engaging employees, and driving transformation with clarity, purpose, and collaboration. Includes real-world examples from global enterprise and financial services transformations.

AI-powered customer-experience platform Clarity, formerly Anecdote, secures $12M led by Prosus Ventures. With rapid growth and expansion to New York, London, and Riyadh, Clarity aims to modernize customer operations in regulated industries through secure, compliant, and scalable AI.

Anthemis and Cambridge AI Venture Partners unveil CommonAI, a collaborative platform providing AI start-ups with shared IP, affordable GPU resources, and strategic investment, aiming to strengthen UK and European competitiveness against Big Tech dominance.

Nothing secures $200M in Series C funding to scale its AI-native hardware and software ecosystem, moving beyond smartphones into wearables and future devices, aiming to create hyper-personalised operating systems across consumer tech.