Technology

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.

An Iranian woman walks past a mobile phone shop at the Valiasr Square in Tehran on April 19, 2026.

Iran partially restores internet after 88-day blackout: What to know

The move comes after a nearly three-month internet blackout, marking it as one of the longest outages ever.

Haitham AL-SHUKAIRI / AFP via Getty Images

Oman enters Gulf AI race with new special economic zone in Muscat

Oman will create an AI-focused special economic zone in Muscat governorate.

Flag of Iran on a computer binary codes falling from the top and fading away.

Who is Handala, the hacktivist group US ties to Iranian intelligence?

Handala Hack Team portrays itself as a pro-Palestinian group but is widely believed to be linked to Iranian intelligence.

Latest News

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

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

Gulf AI deals continues to lure investors despite US-Iran war

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

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

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

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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

Yasser Hassan

Exclusive

'Cloud First' policies give Saudi Arabia, UAE edge in AI race: Amazon exec

In March 2024, AWS announced plans to invest $5.3 billion in Saudi Arabia to launch a cloud infrastructure region in the kingdom by 2026.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

chip

How UAE AI firm's past China links stalled this US chipmaker's IPO

Cerebras Systems executives had been hoping that the Trump administration would fast-track the national security review that has left the chipmaker’s initial public offering in limbo for five months, Reuters reported Tuesday.

United Arab Emirates

Sheikh tahnoon

UAE seals cloud deal with Microsoft, Core42 as Sheikh Tahnoon visits US

The deal follows Microsoft's $1.5 billion investment last year in G42 to accelerate AI development.

United Arab Emirates

KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images

UAE’s Sheikh Tahnoon makes first US visit since Trump reelection: What to know

The UAE's influential national security advisor, who chairs some of the country's most important funds and firms, will reportedly meet with White House officials and business leaders including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

United Arab Emirates

NYSE

Analysis

US stock plunge poses dilemmas for Gulf investors while exposing PIF, Mubadala risks

Middle East investors are bracing for steep losses and questioning about their long-term investments in America amid a drop in the US stock market.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Saudi digital economy expert Deemah Al-Yahya speaks onstage during the 2024 Concordia Annual Summit at Sheraton New York Times Square, New York, Sept. 24, 2024.

Interview

As AI superpowers clash, Saudi tech diplomat pushes collaboration over competition

Deemah AlYahya

Secretary General, Digital Cooperation Organization

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, accompanied by his son, X Musk, speaks to the press as President Donald Trump looks on in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington, DC, Feb. 11, 2025.

Elon Musk's Boring Co. to build Dubai Loop network of tunnels

The loop is a network of underground tunnels, similar to one being developed in Las Vegas, that allows passengers to be transported nonstop, in electric vehicles, to 11 stations.

United Arab Emirates

An unidentified man speaks at the preliminary meeting for the fourth edition of the LEAP technology conference, set for Feb. 9-12, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 4, 2025.

Billions invested in AI, data centers at Saudi's LEAP summit: What to know

The four-day event saw billions of dollars worth of investment poured into artificial intelligence projects — many of them in Saudi Arabia.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron talk as they attend an agreement signing ceremony as part of Zayed al-Nahyan's visit to France at the presidential Elysee palace in Paris, on Feb. 6, 2025.

After Rafale jets, UAE's MBZ inks $50B AI deal with France in landmark visit

Only a week after the delivery of the first batch of Rafale F4 fighter jets to Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates will invest billions of dollars in a new AI center in France.

United Arab Emirates

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

Amid DeepSeek competition, Altman visits UAE seeking OpenAI investment

Gulf investors are betting big on AI, with sovereign wealth funds in the UAE and Saudi Arabia making the booming tech sector a core component of their portfolios.

United Arab Emirates

Analysis

China’s DeepSeek triumph sparks billion-dollar AI dilemmas for Gulf investors

Middle Eastern countries could benefit from new cost-effective AI systems such as those created by DeepSeek in lieu of US AI companies.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

President-elect Donald Trump listens as DAMAC Properties CEO Hussain Sajwani speaks to members of the media during a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago Club on Jan. 7, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida.

UAE’s Damac founder praises Trump after $20B US data center pledge

Joining Trump for a rally in Florida on Tuesday, Sajwani, the president-elect’s self-styled right-hand man in the Middle East, announced that his company would invest at least $20 billion in new US data centers from Arizona to Ohio.

United Arab Emirates