Iran internet blackout estimated to cost $37M+ daily, crippling businesses and society The ongoing digital disconnection is severely stalling commerce, draining millions of dollars daily and pushing many businesses toward collapse. Iran
Interview Qualcomm sees growing demand for edge AI in the Middle East The Middle East's young population is increasingly adopting AI through mobile devices rather than data center-based solutions, Wassim Chourbaji, Qualcomm's president for the Middle East and Africa, told Al-Monitor. Wassim Chourbaji Qualcomm president for the Middle East & Africa
Iran plans to create closed internet network offering tiered access: Report The shift heralds a new era in which internet access is no longer a right but a government-granted privilege, according to FilterWatch, a US-based group that monitors internet freedom in the Middle East. Iran
Tehran jams Starlink as Iranians take risks to skirt internet blackout Iranians have turned to the US internet provider to get online amid a government-imposed network blackout that began Jan. 8. Iran
Interview Youth, strong AI adoption make MENA leading region for smartphones: OPPO Lay Ren President of OPPO MENA
In water-starved Middle East, large ChatGPT data centers are a threat The UAE announced its record-breaking green data center in February of this year. The Moro Hub, created by the digital arm of DEWA, became the largest solar-powered data center, according to Guinness World Records. Legacy: Gulf
Saudi Arabia opens four special economic zones with eye on foreign investment The special economic zones offer incentives such as competitive corporate tax rates, 100% ownership of companies and flexibility in employing foreign labor. Legacy: Gulf
Analysis Middle East unlikely to slow down on AI, ChatGPT rollout Astra Tech, backed by Abu Dhabi AI company G42, said it created the first Arabic language ChatGPT last Wednesday. Also this week, the number of signatories of the open letter increased more than sixfold since last Monday’s 3,000, highlighting the growing concern about unregulated AI. By Salim A. Essaid
Bahrain launches 'Golden License' to attract major investment, jobs Only companies with major investment and project portfolios will be eligible for the license, with either a $50 million value or a plan to create 500 jobs in the country, according to the Bahrain Economic Development Board. Legacy: Gulf
Saudi firms face 6.7% higher Twitter verification fees than US Syria, Sudan, Iran, the West Bank and Gaza Strip are not on the price list and appear to be unable to purchase this subscription. Legacy: Gulf
Report: Israel tech sector still among world’s strongest Judicial fallout and layoffs have not hurt the industry's world standing, according to a report from Dealroom.co and Tel Aviv Tech. Israel
UAE, India to boost cooperation via digital currency The Emirati Central Bank has begun implementing its digital dirham strategy following a financial cooperation agreement with India and the UAE's cryptocurrency push. Legacy: Gulf
Elon Musk denies report that Saudi Arabia, UAE intend to invest in SpaceX An arm of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and an Abu Dhabi-based company were reported to be looking to invest in Elon Musk’s SpaceX, according to The Information, which cited people familiar with investor discussions. Legacy: Gulf
UAE, Oman call for bids on $3 billion transnational railway project The move aims to expand the role of the private sector in the state-owned project and promote regional integration, with the project connecting Oman’s Sohar Port with the UAE's National Rail Network. Legacy: Gulf
UAE center unveils Falcon LLM, 'better, faster' ChatGPT rival The model claims to use only 75 percent of GPT-3’s training compute time, and 40 and 80 percent of DeepMind’s Chinchilla NLP and Google’s PaLM-62B compute times, respectively. Legacy: Gulf
UAE unblocks several Qatar news sites as ties between two nations warm Several Qatari-owned news websites had been inaccessible to UAE residents since relations worsened in 2016 over Doha's support for the Muslim Brotherhood, but at least four are now unblocked. Legacy: Gulf
Turkey fines Elon Musk over Twitter purchase The decision follows the implementation of a controversial social media law in Turkey that prompted Twitter to open an office in the country. Turkey
