Technology news and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
Technology News and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
Tencent Cloud plans to expand its Middle East data centre footprint over the next 12–18 months, capitalising on surging regional demand for cloud, AI, and digital infrastructure driven by government-led transformation agendas.
Primark is expanding rapidly across the Middle East, opening three stores in Dubai in 2026 and confirming new locations in Qatar and Bahrain by year-end, building on its Kuwait debut and tapping into strong regional demand for value-driven fashion.
Network International has appointed former Careem CFO Ashish Jain as Group Chief Financial Officer. Jain will lead financial strategy, capital allocation, and operational excellence as the fintech accelerates growth across the Middle East and Africa, bringing deep experience in scaling businesses and navigating complex, high-growth environments.
Over 90% of organisations in the UAE and Saudi Arabia plan to deploy AI agents, but Cisco warns security frameworks are lagging. As agentic AI gains autonomy, risks shift to the AI supply chain and enterprise tools. Cisco urges lifecycle protection through vulnerability scanning, runtime guardrails, and zero-trust controls.
ai security, middle east, cisco
Telefónica and stc have expanded their partnership into satellite communications, developing multi-orbit connectivity solutions for the Middle East. The collaboration targets aviation, maritime, emergency services, and rural coverage, supporting Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals and enabling secure, high-performance connectivity beyond terrestrial networks.
TotalEnergies and Bahrain’s Bapco Energies have launched BxT Trading, a 50-50 venture focused on trading output from the Sitra refinery. The partnership strengthens Bahrain’s downstream capabilities, expands TotalEnergies’ Middle East footprint, and aligns with refinery expansion plans exceeding 400,000 barrels per day.
Al Khan launches “Flowciti” group for smart cities management
Bahraini entrepreneur Mr. Omar Al Khan has launched the Flowciti Group, a smart cities solutions company operating across the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The group aims to transform how people interact with cities by delivering integrated solutions that generate sustainable value for real estate developers, businesses, and public institutions.
Flowciti operates as a unified ecosystem comprising four specialized companies. ParkPoint provides an integrated platform for parking management and urban mobility solutions. Rokket delivers advanced system integration and service automation solutions for smart cities, real estate, and infrastructure sectors. YooPlatform offers a modular digital suite covering access management, payments, entitlements, and user experience. Viritti delivers complementary service solutions that support and extend the overall ecosystem.
Through these entities, Flowciti delivers advanced systems, digital platforms, and managed services spanning parking, mobility, access management, and urban experience design. The group focuses on accelerating service digitalization while enhancing user experience across urban environments.
Commenting on the launch, Mr. Omar Al Khan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Flowciti Group, said the initiative is driven by a clear vision to build smarter, more connected cities where technology, operational excellence, and user experience are seamlessly integrated. He added that Flowciti’s solutions are designed to redefine urban experiences, support digital service transformation, and create measurable value for communities, businesses, and institutions across the region.
Flowciti positions itself as a regional smart cities solutions group integrating technology, operations, and user experience within a single ecosystem. Through its subsidiaries, the group aims to contribute to the development of future-ready cities across the Gulf.
Saal.ai and Nutanix have launched SovereignGPT, a UAE-built Agentic AI platform offering fully sovereign, on-premise generative AI for governments and enterprises. The solution ensures data sovereignty, government-grade security, and autonomous AI capabilities without moving sensitive data off-premise.
Chinese robotaxi companies including WeRide, Baidu and Pony.ai are rapidly expanding across the Middle East, using the UAE as a launchpad for global growth. Supported by favourable regulation and smart mobility goals, the region is becoming a key testing ground for large-scale driverless transport.
SentinelOne has partnered with Rilian Technologies to expand AI-driven, autonomous cybersecurity capabilities across the Middle East. The collaboration will support governments and critical industries with advanced security deployment, regulatory compliance, and local skills development, helping organizations move toward proactive and resilient cyber defense models.