Author: Mahdeehassan

As the global betting and iGaming industry descends on Malta this June, payments will take centre stage as part of SBC Summit Malta’s dedicated Payments Innovation track. The track, which takes place on Thursday, 12 June at the InterContinental Hotel, will unite payments executives, fintech specialists, and compliance leaders to explore the most pressing challenges and emerging opportunities in payment technology. With sessions on Open Banking, crypto investment, and the future of fraud prevention and KYC, this track equips professionals to navigate regulatory changes, adapt to disruptive technologies, and meet rising player expectations. Discussing the inclusion of the Payments Innovation track at SBC Summit Malta, SBC CEO and founder, Rasmus…

AUTONOMOUS A2Z secured AV approval in Singapore and proved global scalability by adapting to right-hand drive through K-City testing. Singapore, May 19, 2025 — AUTONOMOUS A2Z, South Korea’s leading autonomous driving technology firm led by CEO Ji-hyeong Han, announced today that it has successfully obtained the Milestone 1 (M1) Vehicle Safety Assessment approval from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA). This achievement marks AUTONOMOUS A2Z as the first Korean company authorized to operate autonomous vehicles (AVs) on public roads in Singapore under specific designated conditions. In Singapore, autonomous vehicles must pass rigorous Milestone 1 (M1) safety assessments administered by the Centre…

Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa (PMMAF) today announced the debut of its latest premium hair dryers, the EH-NA9N and EH-NA7M. Seen as game-changers in hair care, these dryers are engineered with advanced features and Panasonic’s signature nanoe™ technology, ensuring salon-quality finish at home minus the dryness, frizz and dandruffs. Building on Panasonic’s unwavering commitment to innovation and Japan-quality craftmanship, the EH-NA9N and EH-NA7M are more than just hair dryers – they are sophisticated hair care tools designed to nourish and enhance hair’s natural beauty. At the heart of their performance is Panasonic’s groundbreaking nanoe™ technology, which generates ultra-fine, moisture-rich…

We are proud to announce that Google is backing STV’s new AI Fund, a dedicated fund established to enable the growth of AI-native startups across the Middle East and North Africa. This commitment signals a transformative step towards enabling AI startups at their early stage and accelerates their growth beyond the region. The global momentum around artificial intelligence continues to accelerate, with state-of-the-art models and the infrastructure to train them improving at a fast pace. Closer to home, regional governments and technology companies are actively embracing the opportunity, as efforts to localise AI models and infrastructure have picked up significantly…

Las Vegas-based AI infrastructure company TensorWave has secured $100 million in new funding to accelerate the development of data centres built primarily with AMD hardware. The round was led by Magnetar Capital and AMD Ventures, with additional participation from Maverick Silicon, Nexus Venture Partners, and Prosperity7. This latest investment brings TensorWave’s total capital raised to $146.7 million, according to Crunchbase. Founded in 2023 by Darrick Horton, Jeff Tatarchuk, and Piotr Tomasik, TensorWave aims to provide more affordable and scalable cloud services by leveraging AMD’s GPU capabilities. The company has already deployed a dedicated training cluster consisting of 8,192 AMD Instinct…

Abu Dhabi, May 14, 2025 – South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) brought together their next-generation leaders to explore future cooperation in science, technology, innovation, and sustainability. A special exchange event was held at the Emirates Foundation in Abu Dhabi, hosted by the Korea Foundation (KF). The event featured participants from the KF Global Fellows program and the UAE government’s National Experts Program (NEP), marking the first formal engagement between rising STEM leaders from both countries. The gathering served as a platform for in-depth dialogue on shared national goals, including sustainability through innovation, the future of energy, talent…

Nqoodlet, the Saudi-based fintech platform revolutionising SME financial management, has announced the successful close of its $3 million seed round. The round was led by Waad Investments, with participation from OmanTel, 500 Sanabil Investment, Oqal, Seed Holding and other strategic investors. Founded by Mohamed Milyani and Yara Ghouth, Nqoodlet is optimising financial operations for small and medium businesses across Saudi Arabia and the GCC. Its platform provides smart corporate cards, real-time expense tracking, financial automation, and a hub for SME services — all in one seamless ecosystem. Nqoodlet’s mission is simple yet ambitious: to eliminate financial chaos and help businesses focus on growth, not paperwork.…

Panasonic Marketing Middle East and Africa (PMMAF) today announced a dynamic new partnership with Al Essa Industries Co., appointing them as the distributor for Panasonic’s comprehensive range of premium large home appliances, including state-of-the-art washing machines and refrigerators, across KSA. This strategic alliance fuses Panasonic’s globally recognized portfolio of cutting-edge appliance technologies with Al Essa Industries’ deep understanding of the KSA consumer landscape as well as its extensive, well-established distribution network. The core focus of this collaboration is to precisely address the evolving needs and preferences of households throughout the Kingdom. KSA remains a cornerstone market for Panasonic within…

Fayez Al-Anazi, the entrepreneur who transformed the used car market through the founding of the “Syarah” platform, announced the closing of the pre-seed investment round for his new platform “Tuba”, with a total value of 30 million Saudi Riyals (8 million USD). The round was led by Al-Waalan Investment, with participation from a group of angel investors. Tuba aims to redefine healthcare management by offering innovative technology solutions powered by artificial intelligence, with the goal of improving efficiency and enhancing the experience for both patients and healthcare providers. Tuba: Innovation Transforming the Healthcare Market After achieving notable success in transforming…

erad, the Riyadh-headquartered alternative financing platform for SMEs, has successfully raised $16 million [SAR 60 million] in a Pre-Series A round to accelerate its growth and expand its operations in Saudi Arabia and beyond. The round was backed by leading global and regional funds, including YCombinator, Nuwa Capital, Khwarizmi Ventures, Aljazira Capital, VentureSouq, Oraseya Capital, and Joa Capital. SMEs remain the backbone of the GCC economy, but access to capital remains a constant growth challenge with an estimated $250 billion credit gap. The funding will fuel erad’s mission to offer fast and flexible financing solutions to underserved small and medium-sized businesses…