Middle East stories

Chief executives' calls in Q1 2026 were dominated by AI, but references to Iran surged as boardrooms weighed war risks and supply chain exposure.

SLR deepens its digital climate analytics offer with the acquisitions of Planetrics and ClimSystems, targeting asset-level risk modelling.

Ecommerce in 2026: AI shoppers, social sales and returns pressure push retailers to rethink data, compliance and cross-border growth.

Westcon-Comstor broadens AWS Marketplace programme with Cato Networks, aiming to help EMEA partners tap cloud budgets and speed SASE sales.

Accordion snaps up A5 to widen Salesforce, data and AI services for private equity clients across North America, EMEA and India.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard has named OpenAI's Abu Dhabi Stargate campus as a possible target, sharpening fears over Gulf AI infrastructure amid rising tensions.

Rafay Systems has unveiled Token Factory, a platform for GPU operators and sovereign cloud providers to price, meter and control AI access by token use.

China-linked TA416 returns to spying on European diplomats and later expands attacks to Middle Eastern government targets after Iran conflict.

ServiceNow research says Irish customers lose 284 million hours a year to poor support, as fragmented systems and weak empathy blunt AI gains.

Keyloop folds Motortech.ai's AIME into Fusion as dealer web conversions surge and sales rise 101% in early use.

RugGear's TCCA membership signals broader push into broadband mission-critical devices for emergency services and public safety users.

KPMG survey shows global leaders will keep AI investment high through recession fears, as governance and workforce change separate winners from the rest.

OpenFX secures USD $94 million to scale real-time cross-border payments, after growing annual volumes to more than USD $45 billion and adding 100-plus clients.

KPMG survey finds most executives will keep pouring money into artificial intelligence through a recession, with USD $186 million planned on average next year.

Forrester says Middle East tensions will push up infrastructure costs, sharpen cloud and AI spending scrutiny, and heighten cyber risk.

Eventus Security's AI-led platform earns four Global InfoSec honours at RSAC as the firm's managed detection and response offering gains fresh momentum.

DroneShield and Origin Robotics sign defence pact to pair detection with interceptor drones as militaries seek cheaper ways to defeat Shahed-type threats.

Akamai says attack volumes in Europe, the Middle East and Africa climbed 36% year on year as APIs and automated DDoS campaigns fuel a sharp surge.

DroneShield opens Amsterdam base as Europe drives 45% of revenue and a USD $1.2 billion pipeline, boosting local support for counter-UAS demand.

Harness says its AI tools tackle the post-code bottleneck as it lands No. 24 on Fortune's 2026 innovation list, alongside rapid growth and new funding.