Sheikh Hamdan launches create apps in dubai photo courtesy WAM

Create Apps in Dubai launches, aims to triple number of app creators by 2025

The initiative aims to support 100 new national projects for developing apps that will be made available in digital app stores over the next 24 months

Netflix

Netflix tests idea of expanding gaming service to televisions

Code hidden within Netflix’s app includes references to games played on TVs, signalling that such a plan is in motion

talabat UAE

Women in tech: Tatiana Rahal, managing director at talabat UAE

Women should appreciate their own value and emulate that belief in everything they feel, think, do or say

Twitter equity grants

Twitter offers new equity grants to employees

The company plans to offer a liquidity event in about a year when workers will be able to cash out some of their equity

Who are OpenAI's strongest competitors?

Who are OpenAI’s strongest competitors?

We look at some of the most significant companies in the running to be the next big AI success story

ByteDance

Abu Dhabi’s G42 buys ByteDance stake at $220bn valuation

G42 acquired a $100m-plus stake from existing investors in recent months through its 42XFund, Bloomberg reported

Innovation

Why diverse teams drive innovation and success

There is a growing recognition of the importance of inclusivity in the workplace

TikTok teens

TikTok adds new features for teens and families

The new features build upon the existing safety settings

Meta

Meta to form AI product team to keep up with chatbot competition

The company is trying to use the technology with text-like chats in Meta’s messaging apps WhatsApp and Messenger

Chatbot My AI

Snap debuts ‘My AI’ chatbot powered by OpenAI’s GPT technology

The chatbot is available only to Snapchat Plus members, who pay $3.99 a month to subscribe

Twitter job cut

Twitter cuts more engineering, product jobs to curb costs

Some employees learned they were laid off via an email, and others tweeted that they learned they were terminated when they could no longer log into the internal system

Netflix

Netflix lowers price of plans by up to 50% in over 100 countries

Netflix is lowering prices in countries that account for a small percentage of its subscriber base

snapchat users

Snapchat is adding more users, topping 750 million a month

For the year through April 2022, the monthly count rose 20 per cent

Meta sells Giphy to Shutterstock.

Meta launches subscription service for Facebook, Instagram

Meta is testing the subscription product first in Australia and New Zealand, starting later this week

Instagram

Instagram adds new feature to deliver posts directly to followers

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the news on his Instagram account Thursday by creating a channel of his own

Twitter

Twitter access restricted in Turkey days after massive earthquakes

Restrictions to the social-media platform started Wednesday afternoon

Nana

Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding leads $133m funding for Saudi delivery app Nana

Started in 2016, Nana raised $18m from investors including venture capital fund STV and Middle East Venture Partners

Pinterest

Pinterest joins tech giants in layoffs, slashes 150 jobs 

The company had about 4,000 employees as of the end of the third quarter

Aster pharmacy Talabat

Aster Pharmacy, talabat UAE announce partnership to deliver prescription medicines

Customers can now upload their prescriptions on talabat and have them delivered to their doorsteps in 90 minutes

Microsoft networking issues take down Outlook and Teams

Customers reported difficulties across multiple regions in accessing Microsoft 365 services, including email and videoconferencing tools

Talabat

In pics: Talabat opens new regional HQ in Dubai 

With over 100,000 square feet in space, the headquarters houses almost 2,000 employees

UAE's Edge Group invests $14m in tech company High Lander

UAE’s Edge Group invests $14m in tech company High Lander

Edge aims to utilise High Lander’s Universal UTM solution in autonomous operations management

spotify

Spotify seen cutting staff as soon as this week to cut costs

The music streaming giant has about 9,800 employees, according to its third-quarter earnings report

Botim

UAE’s Astra Tech acquires Botim in a bid to create an ‘ultra app’

Botim has 90 million registered users and 25 million active users

TikTok

TikTok celebrates the most inspiring creators and popular communities

The #ForYouParty which included an immersive event was held at Sound Stage 2, Dubai Studio City

Twitter

Twitter will restore more accounts weekly over next 30 days

Earlier this week, the social network suspended the accounts of several prominent journalists

Uber

Uber conducting probe after vendor hit with cyberattack

Teqtivity, which helps manage and track information technology equipment such as phones and computers, on Monday confirmed the cyberattack

Oversight Board

Meta’s Oversight Board criticises ‘shortcomings’ in protection of VIP accounts

The Oversight Board, which was conceived by and funded by Meta and is comprised of 20 journalists, academics and politicians, began assessing cases last year

Dubai Tabby

Two malls in Dubai introduce buy-now-pay-later option

Al-Futtaim Malls have partnered with Tabby to offer BNPL services at Dubai Festival City Mall and Festival Plaza, Jebel Ali

Meta

Meta fined $277m for leak of half a billion users

The Irish Data Protection Commission levied the fine following a probe that found the social-media company had failed to apply strict safeguards