Technology - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

technology

Technology

People sit in a cafe outside the Apple Store in Dubai on May 8, 2025.

Iran names US tech, finance firms in new Middle East threat list

Firms listed as potential targets included Oracle, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, IBM, Palantir and Nvidia, while banking giant JPMorgan and UAE-based AI firm G42 were also listed.

Traffic rolls along a main throughfare under a banner with images of past and present leaders that reads in Farsi, "Domino fall", as daily life returns to the streets following nationwide protests, in the Iranian capital Tehran on January 19, 2026. Demonstrations sparked in late December by anger over economic hardship exploded into protests widely seen as the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years. Limited internet access briefly returned in Iran before dropping again, a monitor said January

Analysis

Iran’s longest-ever internet blackout leaves 99% offline: What to know

Facing a historic internet blackout, Iranians are locked in a struggle with authorities to find loopholes to get around this communications crackdown, leading to "shutdowns within a shutdown."

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

What we know about UAE blocking X accounts accused of misinformation

Attendees take a picture of French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe as he delivers a speech during a visit to the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum on February 10, 2018, on Saadiyat island in the Emirati capital, to launch the French-Emirati "Year of Cultural Dialogue". (Photo by KARIM SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

United Arab Emirates

Interview

AI, cybersecurity high on Mideast priorities amid global tech rivalry: Tech Mahindra

A man and woman walk along a promenade overlooking the Burj al-Arab and Dubai skyline on January 4, 2025. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP) (Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

Mideast’s AI startups capture record $858M in funding during 2025, doubling share

Detailed image of Middle Eastern developer in front of desktop pc monitoring a complex network, ensuring data security and efficient computing using cloud, AI and machine learning.

United Arab Emirates

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

A picture shows the UAE's al-Badia Farms in Dubai, an indoor vertical farm using innovative hydroponic technology.

Another vertical farm comes to Saudi Arabia

Vertical farming has great potential to help alleviate rising desertification in the Middle East, which could threaten the region’s food supply in the future.

JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images

Globes, Statista publish list of fastest growing companies in Israel

Israeli tech is experiencing a downturn even as the Israeli government is working to attract new workers to the sector.

Autonomous bus

Israel launches $17m self-driving public bus project

The Transportation Ministry decided on the companies that would be authorized to launch a two-year pilot program of autonomous public transportation.

Mideast solar

Dubai’s AMEA Power advances wind, solar projects in Egypt

The project is one of many that Emirati entities have announced this year. Egypt could benefit from more renewable energy, but already has some solar and wind plants in the country.

IVAN PISARENKO/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia to build giant solar power plant

The plant, which will be partially owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, will have more output than other solar energy facilities in the region if all goes to plan.

Visitors stand in front of works by Bybit on display during the 15th edition of Art Dubai at Madinat Jumeirah in the Gulf emirate of Dubai, on March 10, 2022. - Art Dubai, the Middle East's largest annual contemporary art fair, featured for the first time digital works, as the wealthy Gulf emirate seeks to position itself as a crypto-assets hub. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP)

UAE’s cryptocurrency ambitions to continue despite FTX crash

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

A worker cleans a car near graffiti of Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 5, 2017.

Saudi electric car company Ceer to build factory near Red Sea

Ceer, which will be Saudi Arabia’s first electric vehicle-maker, is the latest Saudi project to help the oil-rich kingdom diversify.

500 Global.

American VC fund 500 Global comes to Egypt despite tech downturn

Some startups in Egypt are struggling, which is part of a wider regional trend.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia approves two new AI companies

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are both intent on growing their artificial intelligence sectors.

DIRK WAEM/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images

Abu Dhabi launches new cryptocurrency hub despite downturn

Despite a global slump, cryptocurrency is growing in the UAE in line with the government’s diversification goals.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao sits on the main stage at Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) in an interview with Mike Novogratz, the CEO of Galaxy Digital Holdings.

Binance CEO takes heat at Abu Dhabi event after FTX fall

Changpeng Zhao maintained that crypto is the future, despite cryptocurrency exchange FTX filing for bankruptcy last week.

Israel’s OurCrowd invests in a $60 million AI hub in Abu Dhabi

The Israeli investment platform will build on the UAE's efforts to become a world leader in artificial intelligence and attract more futuristic technology companies to the country.