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The headquarters of SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, with a Falcon 9 booster in March 2024.

Explainer

Saudi investors could emerge as key winners from SpaceX’s historic IPO

A new disclosure from Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding ahead of SpaceX’s Nasdaq debut shows just how valuable Elon Musk's relationship with Gulf investors has become.

Latest News

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

David Rosenberg

In Tel Aviv, reporting on business and tech

The Mukaab plan

Saudi Arabia plans for ‘world’s largest downtown’ in Riyadh

The project's centerpiece, a 400-meter cube, will feature both traditional Arabic design elements and futuristic technology.

Doosan Mobility Innovation's DS30W hydrogen fuel cell drone is displayed at CES 2022 at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 6, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

How Israel’s HevenDrones latest hydrogen-powered drone can help UAE

The lightweight aerial vehicle for defense or commercial use is the latest fruit of diplomatic normalization between the two countries, and will be featured at IDEX next week.

Bahrain hotel to accept cryptocurrency payments

Crypto continues to grow in Bahrain despite the global crash.

A visitor takes an images with a smartphone at the Designer Showcase during the Vogue Fashion Dubai Experience 2015 at The Dubai Mall on October 29, 2015 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jacopo Raule/Getty Images for Vogue and The Dubai Mall)

Investors bank on Middle East super apps, from Algeria to the UAE

"Super apps" are starting to attract super-sized investments in the region.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

In this photo illustration, the welcome screen for the OpenAI "ChatGPT" app is displayed on a laptop screen on February 03, 2023 in London, England. OpenAI, whose online chatbot ChatGPT made waves when it was debuted in December, announced this week that a commercial version of the service, called ChatGPT Plus, would soon be available to users in the United States. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Analysis

Dubai’s DEWA will be first to use ChatGPT in UAE, but is the tech ready?

ChatGPT often makes wrong statements and calculations, yet companies are eager to start using the revolutionary technology.

By Salim A. Essaid

Cryptocurrency

Analysis

Dubai's cryptocurrency regulator issues new rules for metaverse, virtual assets

New laws in Dubai define the rules for trading virtual assets and operating in the metaverse, including explain how to lend/borrow and remit virtual assets — as well as fines for some violations.

By Salim A. Essaid

Egypt finance

Egypt venture capital funding tops $500M in 2022: Report

Egypt led the Middle East and North Africa in the number of venture capital deals last year, according to a report by MAGNiTT. Egypt’s overall economy continues to struggle.

Israeli protesters hold placards reading in Hebrew "Israeli students fighting for democracy"(L) and "There is no academy as tool of democracy(R) during a demonstration against controversial government plans to give lawmakers more control of the judicial system, in Tel Aviv on January 26, 2023. - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies, who have formed the most right-wing government in Israel's history, say the reforms are necessary to correct an imbalance that has given judges too much power over e

Pressure from business, tech sectors likely to push Israel's government to compromise on judicial reforms

Pro: A proposal by Israel's new Netanyahu-led government to overhaul the judiciary risks harming the Israeli business environment. Here's what is at stake.

David Rosenberg

David Rosenberg

In Tel Aviv, reporting on business and tech

Kraken

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken closes Abu Dhabi office

Emirati officials are still bullish about the future of cryptocurrency, but the crash in the market has hit the UAE hard.

ERIC PIERMONT/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia announces vertical farming venture with US AeroFarms

Vertical farming is on the rise in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

High-tech company workers block a road and hold signs as they strike for an hour to protest the Israeli government's controversial plans to overhaul the judicial system, Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 24, 2023.

Israeli tech sector has big problem with Netanyahu’s judicial reform

It is not only political activists who are demonstrating against the judicial overhaul pushed by the Netanyahu government — high-tech companies and people have also joined the protest movement.

Participants attend a session of the Abu Dhabi Space Debate, a two-day conference organised by the UAE Space Agency for stakeholders of the space sector, in the Emirati capital, on December 5, 2022. (Photo by Mumen KHATIB / AFP) (Photo by MUMEN KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

From spaceports to startups, Gulf countries race to boost space sector

As the global space race accelerates, the Middle East is becoming a rising hub of activity with ample opportunities to carve out an impactful role in the space economy. (PRO subscribers only, access with free trial)

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech