Author: Arabian Media staff

Image credit: Apple/Website Apple announced the launch of Digital ID, a new feature allowing users to create a secure digital identification in Apple Wallet using information from their US passport. The rollout marks a major expansion of Apple’s efforts to replace physical credentials with digital, privacy-focused alternatives integrated directly into the iPhone and Apple Watch ecosystem. At launch, Digital ID will be available in beta for identity verification at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints across more than 250 US airports, enabling travellers to verify their identity during domestic flights without showing a physical ID. Apple said that additional acceptance points…

Mirova, the French climate-focused investment firm backed by Kering and other corporate heavyweights, has invested $30.5 million (€26.4 million) in Indian climate tech startup Varaha. This investment will help to expand the startup’s regenerative farming program, supporting hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers in northern India. The deal marks Mirova’s first carbon investment in India, but its structure is unusual. Rather than taking equity, the Paris-based firm is investing cash, and will get a share of the carbon credits generated in return over time. This arrangement is part of Mirova’s carbon investment strategy, which channels corporate capital into verified emissions-reduction…

Image: Supplied  The integration of digital and e-commerce strategies in luxury retail is no longer a choice; it’s imperative for driving growth and ensuring long-term profitability in an ever-evolving industry and increasingly competitive market. At the same time, luxury brands must also navigate financial challenges such as rising interest rates and evolving consumer expectations. Strategic financial planning is no longer a back-office function but a central part to the success of retail strategies. One could argue that four years ago, e-commerce in the luxury sector was somewhat an afterthought and seen as a complementary sales channel for those unwilling or…

Image: Supplied Khazna Data Centers has committed to one of the region’s most ambitious infrastructure expansions, announcing at GITEX Global 2025 plans to add over 1 gigawatt of hyperscale capacity by 2030 across multiple countries. Backed by a $2.62bn financing facility from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE-based operator is targeting strategic markets including Saudi Arabia, Italy, Turkey, and Southeast Asia as nations race to build sovereign, AI-optimized digital infrastructure. The expansion comes as artificial intelligence workloads drive unprecedented demand for data center capacity, with governments increasingly prioritising national control over compute resources…

Image: Supplied As digital transformation reshapes financial services, Islamic finance is at a crossroads where technology, trust, and compliance must work hand in hand. In this interview, Sanjay Singh, CEO of Azentio Software, discusses how the company’s new loan origination platform is designed to fuse speed and flexibility with Shariah compliance. Singh explains how fintech is redefining lending across the GCC, the critical role of governance in AI adoption, and what trends will drive fintech innovation in 2026. How does Azentio’s new product leverage fintech to address the specific challenges and opportunities within the Islamic finance sector? Islamic finance operates…

Image: Supplied Digital readiness means having information that is trusted, visible, and actionable, so that when volatility hits, market participants can respond with speed and confidence. In the GCC today, that readiness is becoming the checkpoint for investor trust. Consider Saudi Arabia. In the second quarter of 2025, foreign investors outside the GCC accounted for a record 35 per cent of equity buying in Saudi markets, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. That reflected more than valuations alone. It suggested that reforms and greater market transparency are beginning to pay off. Capital is also flowing into younger firms. According to regional venture…

Image: Supplied As the region faces a surge in cyber threats, with tens of thousands of attacks targeting critical sectors every month, businesses are rethinking how they protect their data. In this conversation, Samer Diya, SVP of EMEA Sales at Forcepoint, explains how AI-native security, real-time analytics, and stronger public-private collaboration are reshaping the nation’s cybersecurity landscape. The UAE has seen over 33,000 cyberattacks in H1 2025 alone, with strategic sectors facing daily threats. How are organisations adapting to this escalating risk environment? Organisations in the UAE are responding to this surge in cyberattacks by shifting from reactive defences to…

Einride said Wednesday it plans to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, just six weeks after the Swedish electric and autonomous truck startup raised $100 million from investors. The SPAC merger with Legato Merger Corp. values Einride at $1.8 billion in pre-money equity, according to the companies. The deal is expected to generate about $219 million in gross proceeds, a figure that doesn’t take into account any redemption of Legato’s public shares. The company is also seeking up to $100 million in private investment in public equity (PIPE) capital. The merger is expected to close…

Matt Carey, the co-founder and CEO of Boston-based startup Teradar, loves when people tell him: “I don’t believe you.” That’s “right where we want folks,” he recently told TechCrunch. Carey has spent the last few years quietly building a solid-state sensor that sees the world using the terahertz band of the electromagnetic spectrum, which sits between microwaves and infrared. It essentially combines the best traits of radar sensors — like no moving parts and the ability to pierce rain or fog — with the higher definition afforded by laser-based lidar sensors. It’s a product that’s never been done at this…

When former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo spoke at TechCrunch Disrupt, someone from the audience asked him if HBO’s hit satire Silicon Valley would be revived. Costolo, who was a writer for the show, essentially answered no (at timestamp 38:17). While the writers talk about that regularly, he said, they don’t pursue it because today’s actual Silicon Valley is so bizarre, it can’t be parodied.   The latest case in point is a new company called Clad Labs that launched out of Y Combinator this week. Clad’s product is so outside-the-box that people thought it was an April Fool’s joke in November. …