Author: Art Ryan

Egypt is stepping up its push to become a regional hub for high-value technology exports with a new seven-year incentive scheme aimed at semiconductor design, embedded systems, electronics design, and advanced digital services. The initiative was launched through an agreement between Egypt’s Export Development Fund and the Information Technology Industry Development Agency, known as ITIDA. The programme will provide financial support to companies based on measurable export growth and job creation, rather than relying only on broad tax incentives. Egypt Targets Semiconductor Design and High-Value Tech Exports The new funding plan is designed to strengthen Egypt’s position in advanced engineering…

Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming more than a tool for productivity. Across the Gulf, governments are beginning to treat AI as a core part of national infrastructure, placing new emphasis on sovereign AI in Gulf states as cyber threats become faster, more automated, and more difficult to contain. According to a Gulf News report, countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are shifting from simply adopting AI systems to building AI capabilities that they can control, secure, and govern at a national level. This reflects a broader regional strategy: AI is no longer just about innovation. It…

Avaya and avatarin are taking AI-powered customer experience into a new phase, moving beyond traditional contact centers and into real-world environments such as retail stores, airports, service counters, public facilities, and operational sites. The companies announced the next stage of their collaboration, combining Avaya Infinity with avatarin’s AI, robotics, and real-time interaction technologies. The goal is to connect AI agents, physical AI interfaces, and human experts across multiple customer touchpoints, including voice, chat, web, kiosks, signage, robots, and in-person support. AI Customer Experience Moves Into Physical Spaces Many businesses already use AI agents in digital workflows. However, Avaya and avatarin…

42Crunch has introduced a new integration with Claude Code designed to help enterprises secure AI-generated software at the same speed it is being created. The announcement marks a major step toward what the company calls “agentic DevSecOps,” where security checks, fixes, and validation happen continuously inside AI-driven development workflows. As AI coding agents become more common in enterprise software teams, applications and APIs are being generated and modified faster than traditional security processes can review them. 42Crunch says its new AI coding plugin addresses this challenge by embedding API security directly into the development lifecycle. Real-Time Security for AI-Generated APIs…

Amazon Web Services is bringing agentic AI deeper into its partner ecosystem with the launch of AWS Partner Central AI agents, a new set of AI-powered tools designed to reduce administrative work, simplify funding access, and improve co-selling workflows for channel partners. The new capabilities are built into AWS Partner Central and powered by Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, giving partners automated support for sales pipeline management, funding recommendations, deal tracking, and opportunity guidance. AWS says the goal is to help partner teams spend less time searching through documentation and more time selling, supporting customers, and moving deals forward. AI Agents Aim…

Qualcomm has reportedly secured a major artificial intelligence chip deal with ByteDance, the Chinese technology giant best known as the owner of TikTok. The agreement could become one of Qualcomm’s most important moves yet as it tries to expand beyond smartphone processors and compete in the fast-growing AI infrastructure market. According to a Bloomberg report, ByteDance is expected to buy millions of Qualcomm application-specific integrated circuits, or ASICs, designed to support AI data center workloads. These chips are expected to help power ByteDance’s AI agent software and broader artificial intelligence services. The reported deal is significant because Qualcomm has been…

Alipay has introduced a next-generation AI payment infrastructure designed to support the rise of AI agents and agent-driven commerce. The company debuted two new services, AI Wallet and Token Pay, as part of its broader push to make payments more secure, automated, and deeply integrated into AI-powered experiences. The launch marks a major step toward what Alipay and Ant Group describe as the agentic economy, where AI agents can help users search, shop, order services, manage transactions, and complete payments with greater autonomy. Alipay Expands Its AI Payment Infrastructure According to Alipay, the new services build on its existing AI…

India is fast becoming the world’s proving ground for voice-first AI travel apps, changing the way millions of users discover, book and experience travel online. Skift says that India’s unique blend of linguistic diversity, mobile-first internet adoption and growing AI ecosystem are setting the stage for the next generation of travel tech. The emergence of generative AI and conversational interfaces is revolutionizing travel platforms across the globe, but India is one-of-its-kind with the seamless integration of voice into the daily digital routine. Why India Is an Ideal Market for Voice-First Travel Tech There are many reasons India has become a…

The hospitality industry is on the brink of a revolution as artificial intelligence (AI) changes the way travelers find and book hotels online. Shiji Horizon Distribution and Kismet have announced a strategic partnership to help hotels improve AI-powered hotel discovery. This partnership will also help increase direct bookings and reduce reliance on traditional online travel agencies (OTAs). The partnership will combine Kismet’s AI-powered direct booking platform with Shiji Horizon Distribution’s global hotel distribution technology. Consequently, this will create a more integrated and personalized booking experience for travelers. It will also provide hotels with more control over their customer relationships and…

NVIDIA and Google Cloud are accelerating the future of artificial intelligence development with their rapidly growing AI developer community, which has now surpassed 100,000 members worldwide. The initiative, first launched during Google I/O last year, is designed to help developers, data scientists, and machine learning engineers build and scale AI applications using NVIDIA’s full-stack AI platform on Google Cloud. The news comes as adoption of AI continues to grow across industries, with developers focusing more on agentic AI, large language models (LLMs), inference optimization and scalable cloud infrastructure. New AI Learning Paths and Tools for Developers As part of the…

Huawei eKit is making waves across Dubai with a massive out-of-home (OOH) advertising campaign. This campaign is aimed at showcasing the future of AI-enabled workspaces and intelligent office transformation. Moreover, the campaign underscores Huawei’s growing focus on smart enterprise infrastructure and AI-enabled collaboration solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). The campaign is running across major roads and business districts in Dubai. It also promotes Huawei eKit’s “Intelligent Office Solution,” which brings AI-powered networking, smart collaboration tools, high-speed connectivity, and intelligent meeting systems into one workspace ecosystem. Meanwhile, Huawei’s latest push comes as businesses across the Middle East accelerate digital…

Google has officially launched a new climate-focused AI accelerator program in the Asia-Pacific region. This program aims to help startups, researchers and nonprofits leverage artificial intelligence to solve pressing environmental problems. The new initiative, called “AI for the Planet,” is a three-month accelerator created by Google DeepMind and Google’s regional teams. The program will support organizations working on climate technology, agriculture, energy, biodiversity, and environmental risk management across APAC. Google Expands AI Beyond Productivity Tools As competition in the AI industry intensifies, major tech companies are increasingly positioning AI as a solution for real-world global challenges. It is becoming more…

Oman has entered a new phase of infrastructure modernization with the deployment of autonomous AI-powered asphalt paving technology in Dhofar. The advanced paving system was inaugurated during Phase 4 of the Sultan Said bin Taimur Road dualization project in the Wilayat of Muqshin. To support the initiative, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) partnered with Galfar Engineering and Contracting. As a result, Oman introduced intelligent road construction technology designed to improve paving accuracy and road durability. In addition, officials said the innovation will help reduce construction defects and speed up project completion timelines. Oman Launches First AI…

Abu Dhabi has announced the launch of the world’s first AI-enabled intelligent surgical network, a significant milestone in healthcare innovation and surgical artificial intelligence. The project, introduced by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH) in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson MedTech, seeks to revolutionize surgical procedures through cutting-edge AI-powered technologies and interconnected operating rooms. The ambitious project aims to put Abu Dhabi at the forefront of surgical AI innovation globally, while enhancing patient care, surgical precision and clinical efficiency within the emirate’s healthcare system. AI and Smart Healthcare in Focus The smart surgical network will connect operating rooms…

Fujitsu announced a major breakthrough in enterprise artificial intelligence with the launch of a new self-evolving multi-AI agent technology that continually learns, adapts, and improves based on actual business operations. The new system enables multiple AI agents to work as a team, collaborating to safely evolve through human feedback, operational results, and changing business environments. The technology was announced on May 25, 2026, as part of Fujitsu’s wider push into advanced enterprise AI and autonomous business systems. AI Agents That Learn and Improve Continuously Fujitsu says traditional AI agents often fail to independently adapt when business requirements, regulations or operational…

Pope Leo XIV has thrown artificial intelligence into the heart of global ethical debate with a powerful new Vatican manifesto calling for strict AI regulation and stronger protections for humanity in the digital age. The document, entitled Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”), is one of the Catholic Church’s strongest statements to date on the rapid rise of AI technologies. In an 83-page manifesto, Pope Leo XIV warns that unchecked artificial intelligence could deepen inequality, fuel misinformation, automate warfare and weaken human relationships. He described AI as one of humanity’s greatest modern challenges and called on governments, technology companies and civil society…

Zoom’s $51 million bet on AI startup Anthropic has paid off handsomely, becoming one of the most successful corporate AI bets in recent memory. The video conferencing giant reportedly turned a $51 million investment into a stake now worth about $1.27 billion, showing just how quickly the artificial intelligence sector is growing. The investment was first made in 2023 via Zoom Ventures as part of a wider partnership around bringing Anthropic’s Claude AI models into Zoom’s growing AI ecosystem. The move wasn’t noticed much at the time. Fast forward to 2026, and it’s turned into a big financial win for…

The online travel space in India is seeing a new era with artificial intelligence becoming a significant competitive differentiator. EaseMyTrip, the leading online travel platform in India, is rapidly growing its AI-enabled features. This comes amidst slowdown in travel demand in the country. The company is placing itself at the center of next-generation travel technology by integrating conversational AI tools. These tools enable users to more easily search, discover and book trips. AI-Powered Travel Discovery Takes Center Stage EaseMyTrip recently announced its integration with the ChatGPT app marketplace. This makes it the first Indian online travel company listed on the…

Ferrari is accelerating its digital transformation by using artificial intelligence to deepen fan engagement. The company is also using AI to create a new generation of Formula 1 “superfans.” The luxury automaker and Formula 1 powerhouse has expanded its partnership with IBM to launch new AI-powered experiences inside the Scuderia Ferrari app. The goal is simple: make millions of Ferrari fans feel closer to the action than ever before. Ferrari and IBM Bring AI to Formula 1 Fans Powered by IBM’s watsonx AI platform, the updated Ferrari app delivers personalized race insights, AI-generated summaries, interactive games, and real-time telemetry analysis.…

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has confirmed that China remains part of the company’s projected $200 billion CPU market opportunity. This signals the tech giant’s continued commitment to one of the world’s largest AI markets. It does so despite ongoing U.S.-China semiconductor restrictions. Speaking during a media and investor briefing at Computex 2026 in Taiwan, Huang emphasized that Nvidia sees massive growth potential in CPUs. These CPUs are designed for the next wave of “agentic AI” systems. In fact, these are AI models capable of acting autonomously rather than simply responding to prompts. The announcement comes as Nvidia rapidly expands beyond…