Zoom has opened a new data center in Saudi Arabia as part of a $75 million effort to improve its video platform in the kingdom and expand its presence in the Middle East.

The new facility targets business customers and government agencies, providing faster and more connections by keeping the operation within Saudi Arabia, Mohannad AlKalash, Zoom Vice President for the Middle East, Turkey, Africa, and Pakistan, said in a statement. 

“Saudi Arabia is one of the most forward‑looking digital markets in the region, and we’re seeing remarkable momentum here,” he said at a launch ceremony attended by Ahmed Alsuwaiyan, Governor of the Digital Government Authority, as well as representatives of the Communications Ministry and the Saudi Aramco oil company.

Zoom’s new data center is located in center3, a Saudi‑based provider of data centers and subsea cable systems connecting Europe, Asia, and Africa. Its existing regional data center was established in 2023.

Saudi Arabia’s new national airline just received its first aircraft.

Riyadh Air took delivery of two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, marking a key step as the carrier prepares to launch commercial service next month.

The jets are the first arrivals from an order book that includes up to 72 Dreamliners and will be used on the airline’s inaugural route between Riyadh and London Heathrow starting July 1, according to the airline.

Backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Riyadh Air is central to the kingdom’s effort to transform Riyadh into a global aviation hub and attract a projected 150 million annual visitors by 2030.

The delivery is also a boost for Boeing, whose Gulf customers remain among its largest buyers as the manufacturer works to increase production and recover from years of operational setbacks.

Uber is looking to bring autonomous vehicles, air taxis and drones to the Gulf, betting that governments there will move faster than many Western markets to approve the technology.

“So the Middle East, especially if you look at Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, they are on it.” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an interview with the “Invest Like the Best” podcast. “The regulators are very entrepreneurial, you know.”

Khosrowshahi said autonomous vehicle services are already operating in parts of the UAE and suggested broader deployment across the region could come sooner than in cities such as New York and Boston, where regulatory approval is expected to take longer.

The Middle East push comes as Uber expands its autonomous transportation business globally, with commercial robotaxi operations now underway in Europe and pilot programs expected in London soon.

Iran’s chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz is providing a bounty for Libya’s oil and gas industry.

As Gulf producers scramble to find alternative channels for export, international oil companies have turned to Libya, which has the largest reserves in Africa, and can deliver to Europe and North America from its unobstructed Mediterranean ports, Arabian Gulf Business Insight reports.

Most recently, Oman’s state-run oil company, OQEP, signed a deal to explore the country’s energy resources.

Several other oil companies have returned to Libya after a 15-year hiatus stemming from political instability, including Eni, BP, TotalEnergies, Repsol, OMV, and Chevron.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told a gathering of oil and gas executives in Russia that the world needs “every molecule of energy” that can be produced amid the current geopolitical upheaval.

“There are so many moving parts, there are so many unknowns, there are things that you think have become a reality, but then you wake up the next morning, and the reality is no longer a reality,” Prince Abdulaziz said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

The comments come as the Iran war threatens oil exports and shipping routes across the Gulf while the Ukraine conflict continues to disrupt Russian energy flows, presenting unprecedented challenges for global energy markets, Reuters reports.

OPEC Secretary General, Haitham Al Ghais, meanwhile, told the conference he expects robust oil demand growth and is not changing its estimates, which are at the higher end of the industry’s range. “We need to invest well ahead of time to be prepared for the demand that we see in the future,” he said.

On the sidelines of the conference, Prince Abdulaziz met Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who said the pair agreed that uncertainty over global oil demand is making it harder for producers to plan long-term investments. “Estimates made just a few years ago now need to be fundamentally revised,” Novak said.

Abu Dhabi’s G42 and Santander signed a draft agreement to develop artificial intelligence tools together and improve how the Madrid-based lender serves customers across its world operations. 

The deal pairs G42’s AI technology with Santander’s global customer base, banking expertise and regulatory know-how. Two G42 subsidiaries – Inception and Presight – will develop AI tools that can help customers with financial advice, savings plans and personalized banking services.

‘’This agreement reflects Santander’s conviction that artificial intelligence will be foundational to the future of banking, not a feature layered on top of it,” Santander Chief Data & AI Officer Ricardo Martín Manjón said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The technology, the talent and the discipline we bring to this partnership reflect a decade of delivering sovereign AI exactly where the stakes are highest – across governments, healthcare and now banking at global scale,” said Ali Al Amine, Chief Commercial Officer at G42 International.

G42 is a technology holding company primarily owned by Abu Dhabi state-linked entities and Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the UAE’s National Security Advisor. Among its investors are the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, Microsoft and private equity firm Silver Lake.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is shaking up its portfolio companies to put a local stamp on their leadership ranks.

The sovereign wealth fund has begun replacing a number of foreign CEOs with Saudi nationals at more than 100 startups founded over the past decade, the Financial Times reports. 

Among them is electronics manufacter Alat, which named the PIF’s Saudi chief of industrials and mining, Muhammad Aldawood, as acting CEO in place of the departing Amit Midha.

Neo Space Group is substituting Haithem AlFaraj for Martijn Blanken of the Netherlands.

The changes come after the fund conducted a review of all its companies, including how they will reallocate spending in the coming years, the newspaper said, citing an adviser to the Saudi government.

They reflect a wider restructuring of Saudi business after a decade of heavy spending by the PIF, which Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has used to reduce the kingdom’s reliance on oil revenues. 

The changes also point to tensions caused by the government’s Vision 2030 economic reform plans, which aim to create more jobs for citizens but often employ highly paid foreign executives.

Saudi-based companies now account for about 80% of the fund’s portfolio, up from roughly 70% in 2020.

Hadi Badri, CEO of the Dubai Economic Development Corp., said the UAE business center and Hong Kong should act more as partners than rivals.

“Dubai and Hong Kong are often framed as competitors,” Badri said in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday after visiting the city, which acts a financial gateway to China.

 “Yet, families and institutions I met are no longer asking, “’Which hub do I choose?’” They are asking, “’How do these two hubs work together?’’ Badri said. “For a growing number, the answer now includes both,” Badri said.

Speaking on a panel at last week’s UBS Asian Investment Conference Wealth Forum in Hong Kong, Badri said that the cities are complementary by design – Hong Kong bringing decades of deep capital markets and institutional trust, while Dubai serves as the gateway to the Middle East, India, Africa, and Eastern Europe.