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ADI Foundation touts 2025 as a year “from concept to execution”

Ana Mary Joseph
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ADI Foundation touts 2025 as a year “from concept to execution”
  • ADI Chain is now operating with partners in more than 20 countries and 50 institutions, alongside national‑scale pilots across sectors such as energy, real estate, and digital identity.
  • ADI Foundation outlined an ambition to onboard one billion people into the digital economy by 2030, focusing on countries and populations that lack basic financial infrastructure.
  • FutureTech 4.0 Academy aims to train more than 10,000 specialists in web3 regulation, development, operations, and policy to ensure “human infrastructure” keeps pace with digital infrastructure.

ADI Foundation, an Abu Dhabi–based organisation building sovereign‑grade blockchain infrastructure for governments and institutions, returned to Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) to showcase a year of progress since announcing its launch at the same venue last year.

CEO Andrey Lazorenko said the group moved “from concept to execution,” highlighting the rollout of ADI Chain’s Mainnet, built specifically for government and institutional use cases, and new partnerships aimed at integrating with global financial institutions to advance regulated stablecoins and institutional digital finance.

New strategic collaborations

Lazorenko said ADI Chain is now operating with partners in more than 20 countries and 50 institutions, alongside national‑scale pilots across sectors such as energy, real estate, and digital identity.

He framed the approach as “a different idea of blockchain,” emphasising auditability, compliance, and alignment with local policy priorities. New strategic collaborations announced during ADFW are intended to accelerate real‑world applications on ADI Chain in line with Abu Dhabi’s ambition to be a global hub for regulated digital assets.

He pointed to Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) as a foundational pillar for the effort, citing the jurisdiction’s dedicated rules for digital assets, currency‑referenced tokens, and DLT entities, which he said offer regulatory clarity and national‑level confidence for institutions building on blockchain.

ADI Foundation is headquartered at ADGM and positions its work as translating forward‑looking policy into scalable systems, including a Dirham‑backed stablecoin initiative with major UAE institutions to support fast, secure, low‑cost domestic and cross‑border payments while preserving monetary and regulatory sovereignty, according to Lazorenko’s remarks during ADFW.

Looking ahead, ADI Foundation outlined an ambition to onboard one billion people into the digital economy by 2030, focusing on countries and populations that lack basic financial infrastructure. The plan includes talent development: the FutureTech 4.0 Academy aims to train more than 10,000 specialists in web3 regulation, development, operations, and policy to ensure “human infrastructure” keeps pace with digital infrastructure.

Lazorenko also cited ties with Sirius International Holding and IHC, which provide access to dozens of entities that could integrate blockchain into operations, helping de‑risk government adoption, fund pilots, and scale social‑impact initiatives on ADI Chain from hundreds of millions to potentially one billion users.

Foldable smartphone market set for 10% growth in 2025

Ana Mary Joseph
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Foldable smartphone market set for 10% growth in 2025
  • IDC projects Apple will capture more than 22 per cent of unit share and roughly 34 per cent of category value in its first year.
  • While foldables will remain a niche by volume, their average selling prices—about three times standard smartphones—position the segment as a key profit driver for vendors.

Worldwide foldable smartphone shipments are forecast to rise 10 per cent year over year to 20.6 million units in 2025, with momentum accelerating into 2026 as new flagship launches expand consumer appeal, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).

“Next year will prove exciting for the foldable category with multiple launches pushing the market to 30 per cent YoY growth from just 6 per cent in the prior forecast,” said Nabila Popal, senior research director with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

Samsung is expected to catalyse demand with the Galaxy Z Trifold—building on the Galaxy Z Fold7’s 2025 performance—while Huawei’s HarmonyOS Next foldables are also set for strong gains, IDC said.

Higher value

The inflection point is expected at the end of 2026, when Apple debuts its first foldable iPhone. IDC projects Apple will capture more than 22 per cent of unit share and roughly 34 per cent of category value in its first year, buoyed by an estimated average price of around $2,400, according to Popal and Francisco Jeronimo, IDC’s vice president of client devices.

While foldables will remain a niche by volume, their average selling prices—about three times standard smartphones—position the segment as a key profit driver for vendors, IDC added.

As consumers hold onto devices longer and replacement cycles lengthen, vendors are betting on foldables and emerging tri‑fold designs to deliver meaningful innovation and higher value. IDC expects the foldables market to grow at a 17 per cent CAGR through 2029, compared with less than 1 per cent for traditional smartphones, underscoring the segment’s role in revitalising a plateaued industry.

UAE realty firms named in alleged breaches by “Coinbase Cartel” group

TCN Bureau
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UAE realty firms named in alleged breaches by “Coinbase Cartel” group

A cyber extortion outfit calling itself the “Coinbase Cartel” claims to have breached systems at multiple organisations, with a primary focus on real estate firms in the United Arab Emirates.

According to Daily Dark Web, the group published a list of alleged victims on its leak site, but the claims have not been independently verified and the affected companies have not widely commented.

The entities names:

  • Sotheby’s International Realty (UAE)
  • One Broker Group (UAE)
  • Coldwell Banker UAE
  • Hunt & Harris Real Estate (UAE)
  • Betterhomes (UAE)
  • Savills Middle East / Cluttons (UAE)
  • Harbor Real Estate (UAE)
  • Elysian Real Estate (UAE)
  • Homes 4 Life (UAE)
  • Arabian Escapes (UAE)
  • Acu Trans Solutions (US), a medical transcription and business services company based in Irvine, California

The group did not immediately provide technical indicators of compromise, sample data, or timelines tied to each organisation. It is common for extortion groups to list targets to pressure negotiations even before data exfiltration is confirmed.

What’s at risk

  • Real estate firms typically hold sensitive client PII, property transaction records, escrow details, passport and visa copies, tenancy contracts, and financial documentation—all attractive to threat actors for identity theft and fraud.
  • Cross-border exposure is possible for multinational brokerages operating shared platforms across regions.

Recommended actions for named firms

  • Incident response: Activate IR plans, isolate affected systems, and engage external forensics. Preserve logs for at least 90 days; collect EDR telemetry and VPN/firewall logs.
  • Verification: Seek indicators published by the group; monitor dark web/leak sites for samples; coordinate with national CSIRTs and Dubai/UAE cyber authorities.
  • Containment: Reset privileged credentials, rotate API keys, and enforce phishing-resistant MFA (FIDO2/WebAuthn). Review third-party access and disable unused integrations.
  • Data protection: Assess exposure of customer PII and payment/escrow data; prepare notification drafts aligned with UAE data regulations and contractual obligations.
  • Hardening: Patch internet-facing services (VPNs, email gateways, CMS/CRM), audit cloud IAM, enable geo-fencing and conditional access, and deploy immutable backups with tested restores.
  • Communication: Establish a holding statement; brief staff on phishing lures referencing the incident; coordinate with legal and insurers.

Saudi Arabia’s mobile services revenue to reach $17.4b by 2030 on 5G growth

Mohammed Fahad
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Saudi Arabia’s mobile services revenue to reach $17.4b by 2030 on 5G growth
  • Mobile voice revenue to contract at a 3.4% growth over 2025–2030 as average revenue per user declines amid users’ growing reliance on OTT and internet-based communications.
  • Average monthly mobile data usage in Saudi Arabia is expected to increase from 56.2 GB in 2025 to about 129.9 GB in 2030.
  • 4G will remain the leading network by subscriptions until 2026.
  • 5G subscriptions will surpass 4G and are projected to account for 93% of total mobile subscriptions by 2030, driven by ongoing network expansion.

Saudi Arabia’s total mobile services revenue is projected to grow at a 4.5 per cent CAGR from $13.9 billion in 2025 to $17.4 billion in 2030, fueled by rising adoption of mobile data services—particularly over 5G—according to GlobalData’s Saudi Arabia Mobile Broadband Forecast.

GlobalData expects mobile voice revenue to contract at a 3.4 per cent CAGR over 2025–2030 as average revenue per user (ARPU) declines amid users’ growing reliance on OTT and internet-based communications. In contrast, mobile data revenue is forecast to increase at a 6.6 per cent CAGR over the same period, supported by uptake of higher-ARPU 5G plans.

STC leads the way

“The average monthly mobile data usage in Saudi Arabia is expected to increase from 56.2 GB in 2025 to about 129.9 GB in 2030, as consumption of high-bandwidth online entertainment and social media content over smartphones continues to increase supported by operators’ data-centric plans,” said Kantipudi Pradeepthi, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData.

By technology, 4G will remain the leading network by subscriptions until 2026. Thereafter, 5G subscriptions will surpass 4G and are projected to account for 93 per cent of total mobile subscriptions by 2030, driven by ongoing network expansion.

In October 2025, STC launched a national initiative under Vision 2030 to extend 5G coverage to more than 2,000 sites, prioritising less densely populated regions.

STC leads the market by subscription share in 2025, followed by Mobily and Zain. GlobalData expects STC to maintain its lead through 2030 on continued 5G rollout and growth opportunities in machine-to-machine and IoT services.

US to allow Nvidia’s H200 chip exports to China with 25% fee

Ana Mary Joseph
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US to allow Nvidia’s H200 chip exports to China with 25% fee
  • Policy does not cover Nvidia’s newest Blackwell or upcoming Rubin chips, which would remain outside the deal for China-bound exports.

The United States will permit exports of Nvidia’s H200 processors—its second-tier AI chips—to “approved” buyers in China and collect a 25 per cent fee on such sales, President Donald Trump announced, framing the move as a balance between national security and maintaining US leadership in AI.

Trump said he informed China’s President Xi Jinping of the decision and received a positive response, while noting the Commerce Department will finalise details and apply a similar approach to other US chipmakers, including AMD and Intel.

He emphasised the policy does not cover Nvidia’s newest Blackwell or upcoming Rubin chips, which he said remain outside the deal for China-bound exports.

Administration officials view the policy as a compromise intended to prevent a vacuum that could strengthen Huawei’s domestic AI chips, while still restricting access to Nvidia’s most advanced products. Nvidia called the plan to offer H200 to vetted commercial customers “a thoughtful balance,” as lawmakers on both sides voiced concerns over national security implications and potential boosts to China’s military capabilities. Trump’s announcement followed market chatter earlier in the day, and Nvidia shares moved after-hours on the news.

A White House official said the 25 per cent fee would be collected as an import tax in the US after chips fabricated in Taiwan arrive for security review, before any re-export to China.

Analysts noted H200 performance sits between Nvidia’s downgraded China-market H20 and the latest Blackwell generation used by US firms, underscoring the administration’s attempt to thread the needle between economic and security priorities amid ongoing US–China tech tensions.

Microsoft to invest $17.5b in India over next four years

Naushad K. Cherrayil
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Microsoft to invest $17.5b in India over next four years
  • Plan includes a new hyperscale data centre region in Hyderabad set to go live in mid-2026, alongside expansions of existing regions in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune.
  • Microsoft also doubles its January pledge to train 20m Indians in essential AI skills by 2030.
  • Nadella says the investment will help build the infrastructure, skills, and sovereign capabilities needed for India’s AI-first future.

Microsoft announced $23 billion in new artificial intelligence investments, with the bulk targeted at India as the company accelerates its buildout of global data centre capacity and AI infrastructure.

CEO Satya Nadella said Microsoft will invest $17.5 billion in India over four years starting in 2026, expanding on a prior $3 billion commitment and positioning the company to operate the country’s largest cloud-computing footprint.

The plan includes a new hyperscale data centre region in Hyderabad set to go live in mid-2026, alongside expansions of existing regions in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune. Microsoft also doubled its January pledge to train 20 million Indians in essential AI skills by 2030.

Canada investment

“With around a billion internet users and deep tech talent, India is central to the AI future,” Nadella said, adding the investment will “help build the infrastructure, skills, and sovereign capabilities needed for India’s AI-first future.” Nadella is in India for a three-day swing tied to Microsoft’s AI conferences, with events in New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai beginning Wednesday.

The move comes as US tech giants pour billions into AI infrastructure in the world’s most populous nation, where limited chip manufacturing has shifted the near-term focus to data centre growth. In October, Google said it would invest $15 billion over five years to build an AI data centre in Andhra Pradesh, its largest commitment in India.

Microsoft also detailed plans to invest more than CA7.5 billion ($5.42 billion) in Canada over the next two years as part of a broader CA$19 billion outlay from 2023 to 2027. The investment, including a partnership with Toronto-based AI startup Cohere to offer its models on Azure, will expand Azure Local cloud capacity, with new infrastructure expected online in the second half of 2026.

Big cloud providers are on pace to collectively spend more than $400 billion this year to build data centers to power services like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini. The surge has sparked debate over an emerging AI bubble amid soaring valuations, intertwined investment relationships, and still-limited evidence of broad-based productivity gains.

India’s total data centre capacity is projected to more than triple to roughly 4.5 gigawatts by 2030, according to Colliers, underscoring a rapid scale-up of digital infrastructure to support AI adoption across the economy. One gigawatt of computing power is approximately enough to supply about 750,000 US homes.

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