Economy & Business
Business news, economic analysis, fintech innovations, startup ecosystems, and market trends shaping Saudi Arabia's digital economy and Vision 2030.
SonicWall Report: Cyber-Attacks Rise in 2026 as SMBs Face Seven Preventable Security Failures
SonicWall’s 2026 Cyber Protect Report finds high and medium severity attacks surged 20.8% to 13.15 billion hits, with SMBs facing ransomware in 88% of breaches.
YORK Cooling Pod Opens at Jeddah Corniche Through June 1
The YORK Cooling Pod opened at Jeddah Corniche on April 2 and runs through June 1, 2026. The interactive installation lets visitors experience YORK cooling technology firsthand.
Saudi Satellite Shams Launches on Artemis II, Making Kingdom First Arab Nation in NASA Moon Mission
Saudi Arabia became the first Arab nation in NASA’s Artemis program after the Saudi satellite Shams launched successfully on April 4, 2026, aboard the Space Launch System as part of the Artemis II lunar mission.
NASMO Olympiad Phase Two Launches with Nearly 20,000 Students Across Saudi Arabia
The NASMO Olympiad second phase launched on April 4, 2026, with 19,489 students from 16 educational regions competing across six scientific disciplines. Mawhiba is organizing the event in partnership with the Ministry of Education.
DeepSeek V4 to Run on Huawei Chips: Can China’s AI Hardware Match Nvidia?
DeepSeek is preparing to launch its V4 model built on Huawei chips, with hundreds of thousands of units already ordered by China’s top tech firms. The move raises a critical question: can Huawei’s AI hardware truly compete with Nvidia at scale?
Anthropic Acquires Coefficient Bio for $400M: Nine People, One Giant Bet on AI Drug Discovery
Anthropic just paid $400 million for Coefficient Bio, a nine-person AI drug discovery startup that was only eight months old. The all-stock deal works out to $44 million per person.
Ad
Gradiant Wins Water Contract for UK Hyperscale Data Center in Oxfordshire
Gradiant has been awarded a contract to build a water treatment facility for a hyperscale AI data center in Didcot, Oxfordshire, covering treatment, recycling, and zero liquid discharge.
OpenAI Buys TBPN Podcast: Why Owning the AI Conversation Matters
OpenAI has acquired TBPN, the podcast network where AI industry leaders speak openly. The deal is less about content and more about controlling the narrative around artificial intelligence.
Paparuda Studio Secures Over 4 Million MDL to Build Moldova’s First Globally Targeted Video Game
Paparuda Studio has raised over 4 million MDL to develop Moldova’s first globally targeted video game, with plans to launch within 15 months on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo.
Martin Sion Takes Over as Alstom Chief Executive Officer, Succeeding Henri Poupart-Lafarge
Martin Sion takes over as Alstom’s CEO on April 1, 2026, succeeding Henri Poupart-Lafarge after a decade of leadership that grew revenues from €6 billion to €18.5 billion.
Genetec Urges Middle East Organizations to Integrate Physical Security Into IT Network Strategies
Genetec Inc. called on Middle East governments and enterprises to integrate physical security systems into their IT network strategies as cyber threats grow more sophisticated.
Incomedia to Present WebSite X5 AI Website Builder at GITEX Africa 2026
Italian software company Incomedia will showcase WebSite X5 at GITEX Africa 2026 in Marrakech from April 7 to 9. The no-code platform includes an AI assistant that builds complete websites through conversation.
Infobip Messaging Trends Report 2026: RCS Grows 3x, SMS Holds 62% of Traffic
Infobip’s Messaging Trends Report 2026 analyzes 628 billion interactions and finds RCS traffic tripled globally while single-channel use fell to 2.3%.
elm Presents Umrah Digital Solutions at Madinah Forum 2026
elm participated as a strategic sponsor of the Umrah and Ziyarah Forum 2026 in Madinah, presenting a portfolio of digital solutions covering pilgrim services, AI-powered guidance, and crowd management.
Professor Alhalees Receives 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award from American College of Cardiology
The American College of Cardiology presented Professor Zohair Alhalees of KFSH with its 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award at its Annual Scientific Session in New Orleans.
DDR5 Memory Prices Crash 30% After Google Unveils TurboQuant AI Compression Tech
Google’s TurboQuant AI compression tech has triggered a 30% crash in DDR5 memory prices and wiped nearly $450 billion from memory chip stocks. Here’s what it means for consumers and the industry.
Vertiv CoolPhase Wall Launches in EMEA as Wall-Mount Cooling System for Edge and Small IT Rooms
Vertiv has launched the CoolPhase Wall cooling system across EMEA, offering up to 60% greater airflow than comfort cooling for small IT rooms and edge environments.
Standard Chartered Foundation and Village Capital Launch 2026 Women in Tech Accelerator in UAE
Standard Chartered Foundation and Village Capital launched the eighth edition of the Women in Tech Accelerator in the UAE on March 31, 2026. UAE participants compete for USD 150,000 in equity-free prizes at Demo Day.
Think AI Startup Launches in Riyadh, Targeting GPU Efficiency and AI Infrastructure Bottlenecks
Former Sandsoft CTO Ahmed AlSharif and Ammar Enaya have launched Think, a Riyadh-based AI infrastructure startup targeting GPU efficiency, cooling, and power bottlenecks in AI deployments.
Professor Zohair Alhalees Receives 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American College of Cardiology
Professor Zohair Alhalees of King Faisal Specialist Hospital received the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American College of Cardiology. The award recognizes over 48 years of contributions to cardiac surgery locally and internationally.
Ruder Finn Atteline Launches rf.engage Internal Communications Service Across MENA
Ruder Finn Atteline has launched rf.engage, a strategic internal communications and leadership training service, targeting organizations across the Middle East and North Africa as of March 30, 2026.
National Geographic Society Partners with AWS to Digitize 15 Petabytes of Historic Media Archives
The National Geographic Society and AWS announced a partnership to migrate nearly 15 petabytes of historic media archives to a new AI-powered cloud platform, preserving 138 years of exploration content.