A UAE-based feeder fund has announced plans to provide Rs 1,000 crore in funding to support startups in Kerala, strengthening cross-border investment ties between the Gulf region and India’s innovation ecosystem. The fund is designed to channel capital into high-potential startups emerging from Kerala, with a focus on enabling early- and growth-stage companies to scale

Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) 2025 featured the Fintech Abu Dhabi festival, the MENA region’s largest fintech gathering. The session focused on how innovation and disruption are reshaping financial services, with discussions centred on AI, tokenisation, digital banking, stablecoins and the institutional adoption of digital assets. The discussions reinforced Abu Dhabi’s positioning as a launchpad

Dubai-based startup Halo AI has been named one of the winners of L’Oréal’s 2025 SAPMENA Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program, the region’s largest competition for beauty technology.

Strataphy has raised $6m in seed funding to scale its next-generation cooling technology for AI and industrial infrastructure.

The first UAE-Russia Business Forum will introduce a joint startup accelerator programme and explore the creation of a mutual investment platform aimed at strengthening economic cooperation.

FAST Ventures has unveiled FAST Foundry, a venture studio and investment arm backed by a $3m fund to accelerate early-stage startups across the MENA region. The initiative targets companies developing the next generation of adtech, retail, and marketing products with global scalability. The new platform aims to strengthen homegrown innovation by moving the region away

JetBrains has entered a strategic collaboration with the DMCC AI Centre to support AI-driven innovation and strengthen Dubai’s fast-growing technology ecosystem.

The UAE’s app economy is moving into a more stable and profit-focused phase, according to new data presented at the inaugural MAMA Dubai event.

DataCamp has acquired Dubai-based Optima in a $15m deal, strengthening its position in data and AI-focused online learning. The move expands DataCamp’s global reach and accelerates its push into AI-driven education technology.

The global business school Tetr College has secured $18m in a funding round co-led by Owl Ventures and Bertelsmann India Investments.