Author: Akin Naphtal

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia has partnered with Global Data Hub (GDH) to launch a commercial tier-III data centre. The new 27,600 square metre facility will have 8,000 square metres of white space and a minimum capacity for its customers of 14.4 MW IT load. It will be located at the KAUST Research and Technology Park and cater to the regional data centre requirements within Saudi Arabia while also providing cloud services. KAUST will be the first university in the region to have a commercial tier III data centre on its premises. This development…

Roku and Best Buy have entered into a partnership to collaborate on advertising and consumer data and to offer exclusive access to Roku-branded TVs. For Best Buy, it marks the first time that it has partnered with a TV streaming platform to share its first-party sales data. The partnership will allow Roku to leverage Best Buy’s data to target advertisements. The companies assert that combining the data will make TV advertising more performance-driven, with brands able to target, optimize and measure their ads on the streaming platform using Best Buy shopper data. Julian Mintz, co-head of U.S. brand sales for…

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has signed an appendix to its 2004 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Central Bank of Jordan to enhance cooperation in the areas of banking supervision, electronic payment systems and services and financial technology activities. The MoU aims to reinforce cooperation and explore new horizons between the two countries, reflecting the efforts of CBE to promote the transition to a society less dependent on banknotes. Gamal Negm, Deputy Governor of CBE and Khaldoun Al-Wishah, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan, signed the MoU at the headquarters of CBE in Cairo in the…

The Egyptian government is reportedly considering a collaboration with Visa, the US-based financial services corporation, to accelerate the digitalization of payments in the country. A delegation from Visa recently met with Ahmed Kamali, the Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development, to discuss potential cooperation. According to a statement from the ministry, the discussions took place within the context of Egypt’s Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) 2030. READ ALSO:Fintech Saudi hosts largest financial technology recruitment fair in the region, showcasing over 600 job opportunities Bungoma Deputy Governor Urges Women to Embrace Digital Technology for Empowerment and Equality Envisics secures over $50…

The “Fintech Saudi” initiative has successfully concluded the largest financial technology recruitment fair in the region, which was held in Riyadh from March 6 to 7, with more than 50 financial technology companies, banks and entities participating. The fair showcased more than 600 job opportunities in the field. The aim of the initiative was to support the growth of the financial technology sector in the Kingdom by qualifying and empowering national Human Resources, especially fresh graduates and those with experience seeking work, by providing them an opportunity to meet leading institutions in the field of financial technology and compete for…

Bungoma Deputy Governor Janepher Mbatiany has called on women to embrace digital technology to empower themselves economically and promote gender equality. Speaking during the International Women’s Day commemoration in Cheptais, Mt. Elgon Sub County, Mbatiany urged women to embrace technology to address Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases and insecurity in the region. She noted that only 40% of women in Bungoma County embrace technology, according to a survey by her office. “Embracing technology will enable women to do away with some vices in the society including Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases and insecurity in the region”, said Mbatiany. She added that…

Envisics, a UK-based startup that designs holographic in-car technology, has secured “over” $50m in funding from strategic investors such as Hyundai Mobis, InMotion Ventures and Stellantis. The latest funds will be used to expand the firm’s current holographic technology with existing clients, such as General Motors and continue to develop a smaller next-generation platform that will fit into all sizes of cars and price points. Envisics’ holographic technology projects navigation, safety alerts and other data onto the windscreen, known as the head-up display. According to Dr. Jamieson Christmas, founder and CEO of Envisics, the new platform will provide more enhanced…

Brussels-based electric bike startup Cowboy has announced the launch of its new feature called “AdaptivePower”, which automatically adjusts the power of the motor depending on the current slope and weather conditions. The company’s electric bikes have a minimalistic approach with no gears or +/- buttons to adjust the motor’s power, which is not enough in hilly cities like San Francisco. Instead of releasing a new bike with gears or buttons, Cowboy is leveraging the sensors in the existing models, such as the gyroscope and accelerometer, to make the bikes smarter. The new feature will be rolled out to the latest…

DuckDuckGo, the privacy-focused search engine, has joined Microsoft and Google in launching an AI-powered summarisation feature. The feature, called DuckAssist, uses natural language technology from OpenAI and Anthropic, combined with active indexing of reference sites, such as Wikipedia and the Encyclopedia Britannia, to source answers to straightforward search queries. At present, the majority of the sources are drawn from Wikipedia, but the company is “experimenting with how incorporating other sources could work and when to use them”, according to founder Gabe Weinberg. The new feature is currently only available on the company’s apps and browser extensions, but will be rolled…

Humane, a startup founded by ex-Apple design and engineering team members Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, has raised $100 million in a Series C funding round led by Kindred Ventures. The funding round also saw participation from SK Networks, LG Technology Ventures, Microsoft, Volvo Cars Tech Fund, Tiger Global, Qualcomm Ventures and OpenAI CEO and co-founder Sam Altman, among others. Humane is building an “integrated device and cloud services platform” for AI and has so far raised $230 million from existing and previous investors, including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. The company’s workforce has grown to 200 employees, with Humane promising…