The Enduring Legacy of Kate Spade’s Witty, Misunderstood Life
As the brands she founded seek to recapture her magic, the late designer’s husband and collaborators reflect on what made her special: ‘Katy was more subversive than anyone knew’
10 min
WALK INTO any Kate Spade or Frances Valentine store today, and you’d be forgiven for thinking the retailers are uncomplicatedly preppy—the kind of place where your mother might find an innocuous floral shift or clutch for a luncheon. But Katherine Noel Valentine Brosnahan Spade, the woman who co-founded those brands, was no Lilly Pulitzer during her outsize life, which was cut short by suicide in 2018.
With her partner, Andy Spade, she started Kate Spade with six boxy handbags in 1993. They weren’t married yet; she was the “Kate” and he was the “Spade.” The former fashion editor at Mademoiselle magazine and the brilliant adman made a dashing couple straight out of a Wes Anderson film: she with her chignons, heels and big jewellery, he with his Brooks Brothers—with-a-twist button-downs and jeans. They lived in pre-billionaire Tribeca; they drank martinis; everyone wanted in. Kate and Andy dreamed of a company they hoped would bridge the gap between L.L. Bean and Prada.
“We were just kids,” says Andy today from his new home in the San Francisco Bay Area. “We wanted to control our destiny so we just started a handbag company with no experience whatsoever.”
And boy, did they succeed. The household-name American brand would go on to include stationery, books, clothing, home goods, jewellery, shoes, the men’s line Jack Spade and licensing deals worldwide. Kate Spade’s nylon bags were coming-of-age talismans for girls and women at the turn of the 21st century, spawning oodles of Canal Street knockoffs. When Kate died, Vogue ’s Anna Wintour said, “There was a moment when you couldn’t walk a block in New York without seeing one of her bags, which were just like her; colourful and unpretentious.”
Yet despite the TikTok generation’s thirst for everything Y2K—from Fendi baguette bags to Juicy Couture tracksuits—Kate Spade’s brand heat under current owner Tapestry is lukewarm.
“Gen Zers and TikTok consumers are constantly looking to the ’90s and early aughts for trends,” says Casey Lewis, a consultant who writes “After School,” a youth-culture newsletter. “And so this seems like it would be prime time for a Kate Spade comeback.”
Some interest is bubbling up: Kate Spade recently reissued one small ’90s baguette bag with Urban Outfitters. Last year, it relaunched its original “Sam” bag. And prescient trendsetters are dusting off their vintage Kate Spade pieces. Yet a recent collaboration with Heinz ketchup left some consumers and analysts scratching their heads. Tapestry, which declined to comment, reported a 6% decrease in Kate Spade sales for the nine-month period ending in March 2024 compared with the previous year.
The challenge of evolving Kate’s aesthetic without her began while she was still alive, when the company she co-founded with Andy, Pamela Bell and Elyce Arons was sold to Neiman Marcus Group in 2006. The group, which had already bought 56 percent of the company in 1999, in turn sold it to Liz Claiborne. Coach, which is now Tapestry, acquired the brand in 2017 for $2.4 billion.
The enigma lies in decoding a fashion icon who was always more complex than polka dots or pink and green. Under Kate and Andy, the brand’s American joie de vivre was tempered with intellectual, offbeat references: architect Buckminster Fuller, Eames furniture, Rei Kawakubo. And along with joy and eclecticism, there was darkness. Her death at age 55 left behind a grieving husband, a 13-year-old daughter, Frances Valentine Beatrix Spade—and a towering style legacy that is often misunderstood.
After a company changes hands multiple times, and its founder dies, can its original vision endure?
“THE INTERPRETATION of [Kate’s] legacy is a little different from how she actually was,” says her co-founder Bell. “Because she was petite and so adorable, everyone associates her with the words cute or happy, and she was much more complicated and sophisticated than that.”
Andy, Kate, Bell and Arons all came from the Midwest. Their partnership coalesced at a summer share house in tony Amagansett, New York. Kate (friends called her Katy) was one of six kids from Kansas City, Missouri; Andy, the brother of comedian David Spade, was born in Birmingham, Michigan, and raised in Arizona. Kate and Andy both went to Arizona State University and met while working at the same Phoenix clothing store. Andy’s car broke down one day, and Kate offered him a ride.
“Katy was more subversive than anyone knew,” says Andy. “They just pigeonholed her as the girl next door. But she was a girl next door and a girl across the street, down the alley and across the hall.”
Kate wore avant-garde Japanese designs from Comme des Garçons and Sacai and hippie slips from Dosa. She loved dining on steaks at Raoul’s and Lucky Strike in SoHo, and hanging out with artists and weirdos. She played Bob Dylan loudly and read books by John Knowles and W. Somerset Maugham. She scoured Indian import stores in the East Village for brightly coloured silk tunics to wear with cigarette pants, pairing them with wild costume jewellery she’d picked up at the wholesalers on Sixth Avenue.
She and Andy also appreciated simplicity. As a design inspiration, the two often cited advice from The Elements of Style, Strunk and White’s manual for writers—“To achieve style, begin by affecting none.”
Kate’s niece Whitney Pozgay, a designer who worked at Kate Spade for years, describes the company culture as freewheeling and fun, with beer carts on Fridays and Phoenix and Björk on the sound system. She says Kate was bubbly and effervescent, coming down to the studio with her little dog Henry to tease, “Working hard or hardly working?”
In the early days, Kate and Andy gave each new employee a copy of Emily Post’s Etiquette. But in 2004, to put her own spin on propriety, Kate published three volumes: Manners, Style and Occasions. The advice offered was more madcap than proper: Admire the polka dots on a Wonder Bread package! Play “Electric Version” by the New Pornographers to start a party! Gift your beloved an Etch A Sketch for your iron wedding anniversary!
Writer Jill Kargman, who was Kate’s intern at Mademoiselle and stayed close with her, says the designer was a master of the written note, pairing formality with casualness and “sparkling chutzpah.” Whether in her correspondence or her style, she says, Kate had “total edge,” musing, “To think outside the box, you have to know what the box is. It’s like she studied the box, but then she flipped it a little bit and gave it a blood transfusion.”
The Spades were funny. When Kate and Andy hosted their first adult dinner party, the invitation went out with a copy of instructions for the Heimlich manoeuvre. While the brand was built on highlighting all the things Kate liked, she told Index magazine in 1998 that her customers were free to say: Who the hell cares what Kate Spade likes? (Andy says that David Spade always considered Kate to be funnier than all his comedian friends, including the late Chris Farley.)
Even the company’s signature—a small, humble black clothing label in the place of a logo—came from a place of irreverence: Kate thought the bag needed a little something, so right before the launch she put the inside label on the outside. For its first order, Barneys New York requested that the label be put back inside. But, Bell says, “Of course, after they became popular, they wanted them on the outside.”
As the brand took off, so did the couple’s social life. Although Andy, more than Kate, became a collector of bohemian downtown characters, she was always game. Gabi Asfour, co-founder of the artistic collective As Four, who once worked for the couple as a clothing designer, remembers staying up late drinking with the Spades at the Hôtel de Crillon during a trip to Paris. “What I loved is the clash of the roughness of downtown mixing with the cleanness of uptown,” he says.
That creative clash came through in the brand’s advertising, as masterminded by Andy alongside Julia Leach, now chief creative officer at Athleta. Andy commissioned filmmakers like Mike Mills and the Safdie brothers to direct shorts for the brand. The print ads, such as those photographed by artists Larry Sultan and Tim Walker, rarely did the basic job of displaying the handbags. The goal was something else entirely: to evoke feelings.
One campaign, shot by art-world chronicler Jessica Craig-Martin, was produced as an actual party at The Explorers Club in Manhattan, with Kate and Andy hosting. “The party was very real, totally madcap, and had been set up to elegantly fall apart in just the photogenic way I desired,” remembers Craig-Martin.
Another, by artist Tierney Gearon, depicted a day in the life of an elegant New England family: loading up the car, playing hide-and-seek, getting ready in the bathroom. Gearon says that although the pictures depicted a “perfect family,” she now finds them a little eerie.
Some collaborators have suggested that with these ads Andy was chasing a vision of perfection that is hard to achieve in real life. Today he says, “It definitely reflected how we felt as people.”
“It wasn’t trying to paint the picture-perfect version of white picket fences,” says Leach, who wrote scripts for these ads. She and Andy were thinking about John Updike’s and John Cheever’s stories about the beautiful flaws of American life.
KATE AND ANDY’S lightning in a bottle was all about giving glamour an off-kilter spin. Yes, an ad showing a kid seated on a toilet was weird, but it was playful—and just pretty enough. As Craig-Martin says, “The brilliance lay in the understanding of how the esoteric or sophisticated could be used to appeal to the mass market.”
Striking that balance without Kate and Andy’s input is tricky, and gets harder as the years go by.
“They get the ingredients, but not the recipe,” says Pozgay when discussing how her aunt’s style legacy is often interpreted. Yes, she loved pink, but it had to be the right pink, and perhaps shot through with a dark poppy-red stripe.
After selling the brand in 2006, Kate and Andy Spade agreed to stay on for six months to help with the transition. In the intervening years, the company has grown incrementally but lost some of its cultural cachet. This year, the Federal Trade Commission sued to block Tapestry’s $8.5 billion acquisition of Capri Holdings, which owns Michael Kors and Versace. In the meantime, Tapestry must prove its mettle with the heritage brands it already owns.
As for Frances Valentine, where Kate was working alongside her old friend and Kate Spade co-founder Arons when she died, the brand is owned by Andy, Arons and other investors, including venture-capital fund Sweater. The company reports 200 percent growth in its wholesale business from 2023 to 2024, and will launch at Dillard’s this fall. A recent visit to its small, quiet Sag Harbor, New York, store (one of nine) revealed preppy, retro classics like beaded sandals and beachy caftans. Arons is working on a forthcoming book about her friendship with Kate.
In the weeks following Kate’s death, sales surged at both Kate Spade and Frances Valentine. When a fashion designer or an artist dies, scarcity fuels demand—Alexander McQueen’s suicide in 2010 inspired a similar frenzy. It’s what happens after that bump that determines a brand’s longevity.
“How do you do justice to the spirit of the thing, but bring it to more people?” asks the chief creative officer of luxury resale retailer TheRealReal, Kristen Naiman, who worked at Kate Spade from 2014 to 2023. “That’s the name of the game when you scale something as special as what Kate and Andy made.”
While they were running the company, Andy would quote advertising executive Jay Chiat, who asked: How big can we get before we get bad? Today, he is at peace with how they handled the sale, which he equates with getting your teen child into college and then backing off.
“There are roots in that brand—Kate Spade—that are about values and people, and that’s what I wanted to do,” Andy says. “Build roots for the brand to exist forever. And I never looked back.”
During Kate and Andy’s time at Kate Spade, the company didn’t resort to one of the fashion industry’s lesser publicized strategies for growth: making products specifically targeted for outlet stores. Today, there is an extensive outlet network, including a newly launched dedicated e-commerce site. Kate Spade pajamas produced under a license were recently sold at Costco for less than $20.
“I think they have a lot of potential,” says Casey Lewis, the youth-culture consultant. “I would be shocked if they did not successfully make a comeback in the coming years, because the brand isn’t so watered down or so irrelevant that no one knows it at this point. They can just reclaim the cool.”
HANDBAGS ASIDE, Kate’s legacy also includes opening up conversations about mental health in fashion, a notoriously punishing industry.
When she died, the Kate Spade New York Foundation contributed $1 million immediately to mental-health and suicide prevention causes. “We really have the authentic responsibility to talk about it and to try to amplify it,” says Liz Fraser, Kate Spade’s current CEO. The company says it is now one of the world’s largest corporate donors to women’s mental-health initiatives.
During Kate’s time, such things weren’t spoken of. While the designer’s friends and family maintain that she was for the most part a genuinely happy, ebullient woman who loved her life and her family, everyone has their private struggles, and she was no different.
“Everyone’s like, ‘Well, what happened?’ ” says Bell. “I don’t think any one thing happened.”
Andy and Kate Spade were separated at the time of her death, but they were still very much a family unit with their daughter, known as Bea. “We loved each other very much and simply needed a break,” he said at the time.
Bell, who is a co-founder with Kenneth Cole of the Mental Health Coalition, says that she and Kate had a euphemism for therapists: “the contractor”—as in, someone who can fix you. “I regret that, because I think that we could have just said therapist…. I think we should have talked about it more openly,” she says.
The co-founder talks about how rough menopause can be on women and says that she’s been recommending Miranda July’s novel All Fours, which deals with that very topic, to everyone she knows: “I read it and I was like, I wish I knew this then.”
Kargman remembers thinking that Kate’s drinking had gone from celebratory to solitary in the last years of her life. She says, “I think I was already looking at it through the prism of slight worry, but never in a million years did I think she would take her life, not in a million years.” In a statement at the time of her death Andy said Kate was on medication for depression and anxiety but that there were no substance-abuse issues.
When a person becomes a brand, even when they are beloved, boundaries blur. Kate talked about adding “Frances Valentine” to her many names in 2016 to differentiate herself from the namesake brand she sold. But in a panel talk with Andy the following year, she seemed unsure about it. “I get confused,” she said. She ended up adding just “Valentine.”
One day, while shopping with Bea at a Kate Spade store after she had left the company, she was tickled when a sales associate asked if she was on the mailing list. She would have never cried, “I am Kate Spade.” When she appeared on her brother-in-law David’s sitcom Just Shoot Me in 2002, her only request was that her part become smaller.
While some might see a contradiction between a brand built on colour and optimism and the spectre of mental-health issues, Naiman thinks that makes the message behind Kate’s legacy all the more potent. She says, “I think that the deepest truth is that there’s something so powerful and incredible about saying that this person who made this incredibly joyous brand struggles.”
Today, Andy runs his Partners & Spade creative agency in California, and is still a partner in Frances Valentine as well as his pajama company, Sleepy Jones. He’s working on a sculpture show about Kate called Uncommon Flowers. He is, as ever, brimming with ideas, and very much still processing the death of the person he calls “the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
He chose the Bay Area, for one, to be off the grid: “It was purposeful to be disconnected, because my daughter and I didn’t want to be around the mayhem.”
In the early Kate Spade days, Andy would use the word mercury to describe a certain undefinable je ne sais quoi, a taste, a feeling. Recalling an old thermometer, he notes how you can’t put your finger on the quicksilver—it jumps at the merest touch. “I always thought we were mercury,” he says. “Just when they think they know who we are, it changes.”
Or as Kate herself put it, in 1998: “I mean, shit, we’re just doing what we like.”
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Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual
QNB aims to streamline its operations and enhance collaboration between its subsidiaries
2 min
QNB Group has announced a major rebranding effort in both Egypt and Turkey. The initiative will see its subsidiaries, QNB Alahli in Egypt and QNB Finansbank in Turkey, operating under the unified brand name “QNB.”
This strategic move is intended to streamline the group’s operations and reinforce its position within the banking sector. By consolidating its brand, QNB aims to offer a more cohesive and seamless banking experience for customers, while fostering closer collaboration between its subsidiaries in these important markets.
Mr. Abdullah Mubarak Al Khalifa, Group Chief Executive Officer of QNB, stated: “We are excited to unveil our unified brand identity in Egypt and Turkey. This strategic step underscores our commitment to making our brand stronger and more organized, embedding it in the minds of our customers worldwide. By consolidating our operations under the QNB banner, we are better positioned to drive innovation, expand our reach, and deliver greater value to our shareholders.
With this rebranding, QNB looks forward to continuing its success and growth in the coming years, maintaining its core values of integrity, excellence, and customer focus.
QNB Group currently ranks as the most valuable bank brand in the Middle East and Africa, with a brand value of USD8.4 billion. Through its subsidiaries and associate companies, the Group extends to 28 countries across three continents providing a comprehensive range of advance products and services. The total number of employees is 31,000 operating from approximately 900 locations, with an ATM network of more than 5000 machines.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual
The ambitious Hafeet Rail project represents a strategic collaboration between the UAE and the Sultanate of Oman
2 min
Bank Nizwa has reaffirmed its role in advancing the country’s growth by signing a financing agreement for the Hafeet Rail project, committing USD 45 million to the initiative. The signing ceremony took place in Abu Dhabi, underscoring the bank’s support for this major infrastructure development. The Hafeet Rail project, which will connect Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with Sohar Port in Oman, represents a significant step in enhancing regional collaboration and infrastructure progress.
The ambitious Hafeet Rail project represents a strategic collaboration between the UAE and the Sultanate of Oman, designed to enhance the existing tourism infrastructure and offer residents and travelers the unique experience of cross-country rail travel throughout the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This railway system will provide passengers with breathtaking views of the mountains, highlands, and vast deserts of both nations. In its initial phase, the transformative project will involve the construction of a 303 km high-speed railway line, with 163 km situated within Oman. The rail line will incorporate two tunnels, 60 bridges, and two passenger stations in Sohar and Al Ain, significantly reducing travel time while ensuring enhanced safety, comfort, and luxury for all travelers.
On this milestone, Mr. Khalid Al Kayed, Chief Executive Officer of Bank Nizwa, stated, “We take great pride in extending our financing to the pioneering Hafeet Rail project, which has the potential to revolutionize travel and goods transportation across the GCC. At Bank Nizwa, we are committed to advancing national and regional priorities that enhance infrastructure and development, aligning our countries with international standards. We are honored to contribute to a project that will generate numerous direct and indirect employment opportunities while significantly reducing logistics costs and the carbon footprint associated with cross-border transportation.”
Bank Nizwa’s participation in this landmark project, marked by a financial commitment of USD 45 million, underscores the trust and confidence the bank has cultivated within the regional community. As a leading Islamic financial institution, Bank Nizwa is dedicated to supporting initiatives that promote sustainable development and infrastructural advancement across Oman and the GCC. The Hafeet Rail Project exemplifies this commitment, illustrating the bank’s strategic role in fostering economic growth and enhancing trade capabilities between neighbouring nations.
By playing a pivotal role in this regionally significant project, Bank Nizwa solidifies its position as the most-trusted and preferred financial partner, not only for individuals seeking exceptional Sharia-compliant banking solutions but also for organizations, corporations, and government entities alike.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Interior designer Thomas Hamel on where it goes wrong in so many homes.
Board of Directors held its fourth meeting of 2024 on Sunday, 13 October, under the chairmanship of Mr. Hassan Khalifa Al Jalahma.
3 min
The Central Bank of Bahrain’s (CBB) Board of Directors held for its fourth meeting of 2024 on Sunday, 13 October, under the chairmanship of Mr. Hassan Khalifa Al Jalahma.
During the meeting, the Board reviewed several key topics, including the CBB’s performance report and recent developments in the financial sector for the third quarter of 2024, as well as the CBB’s financial performance report.
The Board also reviewed key monetary and banking indicators for the year including the money supply, which increased by BD 0.6 million to reach BD 16.4 billion at the end of August 2024, compared to the same period in 2023. As for retail banks, total private deposits increased to BD14.3billion at the end of August 2024, an increase of 2.9% compared to the end of August 2023. The outstanding balance of total loans and credit facilities extended to resident economic sectors increased to BD12.2 billion at the end of August 2024, an increase of 5.2% compared to the end of 2023, with the Business Sector accounting for 42.3% and the Personal Sector at 48.8% of total loans and credit facilities. The balance sheet of the banking system (retail banks and wholesale sector banks) increased to $243.1 billion at the end of August 2024, an increase of 8.2% compared to the end August of 2023.
Point of Sales (POS) data for August 2024 totaled 18.2 million transactions (77.2% of which were contactless), an increase of 18.1% compared to the same period in 2023. The total value of POS transactions for August 2024 totaled BD 387.7 million (52.2% of which were contactless), an increase of 15.7% compared to the same period in 2023.
The banking sector maintained a high level of capital adequacy and liquidity, as the capital adequacy ratio of the banking sector reached 20.0% in Q2 2024 compared with 19.3% in Q2 2023. The capital adequacy ratio for the various banking sectors was 32.9% for conventional retail banks, 16.7% for conventional wholesale banks, 19.6% for Islamic retail banks, and 20.8% for Islamic wholesale banks in Q2 2024.
The total number of registered Collective Investment Undertakings (CIUs) as of August 2024 stood at 1715 CIUs, compared to 1673 funds as of August 2023. The net asset value (NAV) of the CIUs increased from US$ 10.651 billion in Q2 2023 to US$ 11.178 billion in Q2 2024, reflecting an increase of 4.95%. Moreover, the NAV of Bahrain domiciled CIUs increased from US$ 4.390 billion in Q2 2023 to US$ 4.428 billion in Q2 2024, reflecting an increase of 0.87%. Furthermore, the NAV of overseas domiciled CIUs increased from US$ 6.261 billion in Q2 2023 to US$ 6.750 billion in Q2 2024, reflecting an increase of 7.81%. Additionally, the NAV of Shari’a-compliant CIUs increased from US$ 1.412 billion in Q2 2023 to US$ 1.812 billion in Q2 2024, reflecting an increase of 28.33%.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Following the devastation of recent flooding, experts are urging government intervention to drive the cessation of building in areas at risk.
This collaboration enables the Saudi EXIM Bank to provide financing to DL Hudson Limited for the acquisition of Saudi products.
2 min
The Saudi EXIM Bank has entered into a USD 50 million credit facility agreement with DL Hudson Limited, aimed at fostering the expansion of Saudi non-oil exports by linking local exporters to international buyers across more than 22 global markets.
This collaboration enables the Saudi EXIM Bank, through its International Buyer Finance Product, to provide financing to DL Hudson Limited for the acquisition of Saudi products, which will then be distributed to customers worldwide. DL Hudson Limited, a UK-based firm, focuses on trading in ferrous and nonferrous metals as well as energy.
The agreement was signed by the Director General of the Finance Department at the Saudi EXIM Bank, Eng. Abdulatif Al-Ghaith, and the Chief Operating Officer of DL Hudson Limited, Mr. Moises Portillo, in London, UK.
Regarding the agreement, Eng. Abdulatif Al-Ghaith said: “This agreement comes within the framework of the bank’s endeavor to provide financing solutions that contribute to the development of Saudi non-oil exports and enhance their competitiveness in global markets, highlighting the agreement’s role in promoting exports across several key national economic sectors and create new trade opportunities for local exporters by linking them to many global markets.” Al-Ghaith also praised DL Hudson expertise in trading metals, expressing his appreciation for this cooperation, and looking forward to future cooperation opportunities.
The Saudi EXIM Bank, a development bank under the National Development Fund, plays a key role in diversifying the Kingdom’s economic base. It strengthens the export system for national non-oil products and services by addressing financing gaps and minimizing export risks. These efforts support the growth of the non-oil economy in alignment with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
This collaboration aims to expand Utimaco’s footprint and impact across the Middle Eastern markets.
2 min
AmiViz, the leading cybersecurity-focused value-added distributor headquartered in the Middle East, has announced a strategic partnership with Utimaco, a global platform provider of IT security solutions. This collaboration aims to expand Utimaco’s footprint and impact across the Middle Eastern markets, offering organizations access to advanced data protection, key management, secure payments and Trust as a Service offering through AmiViz’s comprehensive network and robust channel partner ecosystem.
As cyber threats continue to escalate globally and regionally, organizations in the Middle East are facing increased pressure to protect their critical data and communication networks. By partnering with AmiViz, Utimaco can reach a broader range of customers, helping enterprises safeguard sensitive information while ensuring compliance with local and international regulations.
Utimaco’s comprehensive security solutions, including Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), key management, and data encryption technologies, form the foundation of digital trust across diverse industries. By safeguarding data, identities, and communications, Utimaco enables secure operations for critical sectors such as financial services, telecommunications, and government entities.
“Partnering with Utimaco represents a significant step forward in our mission to deliver unparalleled value and advanced security solutions to our customers,” said Ilyas Mohammed, COO at AmiViz. “Utimaco’s reputation for reliability and innovation in cybersecurity aligns perfectly with our commitment to providing top-quality, robust security infrastructures for businesses across the Middle East.”
AmiViz will offer comprehensive support, from pre-sales consultancy to post-sales implementation, ensuring that Utimaco’s solutions are seamlessly integrated into customers’ cybersecurity ecosystems. The AmiViz Partner Program will also play a key role in helping Utimaco build and nurture relationships with local partners, thereby increasing its market share and footprint in the region.
Scott Kemish, global vice president channel sales & partnerships, Utimaco, commented on the partnership, “We are delighted to join forces with AmiViz to expand our presence in the Middle East. AmiViz’s deep understanding of the regional market, coupled with its vast partner network, makes it the ideal partner to help us deliver our cybersecurity and compliance solutions to organizations throughout the region. Together, we can empower businesses to protect their data, identities, and communications in an increasingly complex digital landscape.”
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
This partnership spotlights the combined efforts of Binance and TOKEN2049 to foster deeper connections within the blockchain community
2 min
Binance has announced a strategic partnership with TOKEN2049, the premier global events platform for digital asset professionals and enthusiasts. TOKEN2049 is known for hosting the largest global events focused on cryptocurrency, blockchain, and decentralized technologies in Dubai and Singapore, where founders and executives of leading Web3 companies share their insights on the industry’s past, present, and future.
Set to take place in Dubai from 30 April to 1 May 2025, TOKEN2049 is returning to Dubai to feature high-profile speakers and unparalleled networking opportunities designed to unite the Web3 community and professionals in the space. This partnership underscores Binance’s and TOKEN2049’s leadership in the blockchain space, particularly within the MENA region, as Dubai continues to solidify its status as a global hub for cryptocurrency and blockchain innovation.
“We are thrilled to join forces with TOKEN2049 for their Dubai event in 2025, bringing back our much-loved Binance Clubhouse. This strategic collaboration enhances our shared vision of empowering the next chapter of Web3 while reinforcing our commitment to building trust and fostering engagement among the community. We look forward to collaborating with TOKEN2049 in creating a vibrant and inspired Clubhouse space for 2025.” – Rachel Conlan, CMO at Binance.
“TOKEN2049 Dubai is set to be a landmark event, bringing together the global crypto ecosystem for a spectacular new experience. With 15,000 attendees and over 500 side events, Dubai will be the industry’s focal point on 30 April – 1 May 2025. Our partnership with Binance underscores TOKEN2049’s position as the premier global platform for showcasing the latest industry developments and driving technological innovation.” – Alex Fiskum, Co-Founder of TOKEN2049.
In line with TOKEN2049’s dedication to celebrating and unifying the blockchain industry, Binance Blockchain Week is also returning to Dubai this year. Under the theme ‘Momentum,’ the event will highlight the Middle East’s crucial role in the global digital economy and explore how decentralized finance has continued to evolve. Binance Blockchain Week will feature some of the most influential and educational leaders within the industry and is an opportunity to network with some of the most fast paced networks and ecosystems in the word, paving the way for newcomers and opening more doors for developers and enthusiasts alike.
This partnership spotlights the combined efforts of Binance and TOKEN2049 to foster deeper connections within the blockchain community, empowering developers, enthusiasts, and newcomers to collaborate with industry leaders. By uniting these key players, the partnership aims to accelerate innovation and shape the future of decentralized finance globally.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Blackstone and TikTok’s parent are among those investing in data centers in Malaysia’s Johor, known for palm-oil plantations
4 min
ISKANDAR PUTERI, Malaysia— Gary Goh was the chief executive of a publicly listed property developer three years ago when prospective clients started asking whether his company had land for data centres.
Goh was vaguely aware that technology companies needed computer centres to manage heaps of data, but he had never seen such a building. “I didn’t know whether it was round, was it a rectangle, was it a triangle?” he said.
But after the 10th inquiry, Goh realised the tech industry was about to spend billions of dollars on data centres in his sleepy corner of Malaysia. So he quit his job to cash in.
Nowhere else on Earth has been physically reshaped by artificial intelligence as quickly as the Malaysian state of Johor. Three years ago, this region next to Singapore was a tech-industry backwater. Palm-oil plantations dotted the wetlands. Now rising next to those tropical trees 100 miles from the equator are cavernous rectangular buildings that, all together, make up one of the world’s biggest AI construction projects.
TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance , is spending $350 million on data centres in Johor. Microsoft just bought a 123-acre plot not far away for $95 million. Asset manager Blackstone recently paid $16 billion to buy AirTrunk , a data-centre operator with Asia-wide locations including a Johor facility spanning an area the size of 19 football fields. Oracle last week announced a $6.5 billion investment in Malaysia’s data-centre sector, though it didn’t specify where.
In all, investments in data centres in Johor, which can be used for both AI and more conventional cloud computing, will reach $3.8 billion this year, estimates regional bank Maybank.
“At first glance, Johor seems unlikely, but once you double click on it, it makes a lot of sense,” said Peng Wei Tan, a Blackstone senior managing director who helped lead its acquisition of AirTrunk.
To understand how one of the first boomtowns of the AI era sprouted at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, consider the infrastructure behind AI.
Tech giants want to train chatbots, driverless cars and other AI technology as quickly as possible. They do so in data centres with thousands of computer chips, which require a lot of power, as well as water for cooling.
Northern Virginia became the world’s biggest data-centre market because of available power, water and land. But supply is running low. Tech companies can’t build data centres fast enough in the U.S. alone.
Enter Johor. It has plentiful land and power—largely from coal—and enough water. Malaysia enjoys generally friendly relations with the U.S. and China, reducing political risk for companies from the rival nations.
The other important factor: location. Across the border is Singapore, which has one of the world’s densest intersections of undersea internet cables. Those are modern-age highways, enabling tech companies to sling mountains of data around the world.
“This Johor development isn’t for serving just Malaysia,” said Rangu Salgame , chief executive of Princeton Digital Group, a data-centre operator that counts some of the world’s biggest tech companies as clients. “This is AI being deployed globally.”
Working with government
Salgame said companies previously built data centres in Singapore because of its interconnectivity. But in 2019, the tiny and densely populated island nation put a moratorium on new centres because of energy constraints. So data-centre operators did the next best thing, which was to go an hour across the bridge.
While Amazon , Google, Meta and other tech giants run their own data centres, they also rely on third-party data-centre operators for 30% of their needs in the U.S. and about 90% of their needs internationally, Salgame said.
The third parties construct data centres, which cost $1 billion to $2 billion each. Tech companies act as tenants, installing their own hardware inside. Most Johor data centres are run by third parties, which don’t necessarily have agreements with tech clients before starting projects.
“We’re going in speculatively,” Salgame said.
Salgame said he gets insights from big tech companies before beginning projects, so he has a sense of what they want. And the sense now is they want Johor.
Salgame predicts that the Malaysian state will become the world’s second-biggest data-center market within five years. “I’ve never seen anywhere in the world come up at this speed,” he said.
The industry measures data-centre markets by the electricity they use. Northern Virginia has about 4.2 gigawatts active and an additional 11.4 gigawatts under construction, committed or in early stages, said Vivian Wong , an analyst at research firm DC Byte.
Johor, after having less than 10 megawatts—or 0.01 gigawatts—three years ago, now has 0.34 gigawatt active and an additional 2.6 gigawatts under construction, committed or in early stages.
Help from government
Government officials have mostly encouraged the investments, streamlining the permitting process. Salgame said his company’s Johor center was proposed, constructed and operating within 15 months.
But the mayor of Johor Bahru, the state capital, said the government must balance economic benefits with local needs. He said it should consider building desalination plants, among other things, to ensure locals have enough water. The area has faced shortages.
“We know that people are too hyped about data centres,” said the mayor, Mohd Noorazam Osman, at a recent conference.
After quitting his property-development job, the 40-year-old Goh started consulting for potential land buyers and sellers. His specialty was knowing which sites among the plantations and swamps could be easily converted into data centres.
He found success in the Johor city of Iskandar Puteri, where telecom carriers recently broke ground on a 42-acre lot across the street from a McDonald’s. The site isn’t perfect. A hill needs to be flattened before further construction occurs.
But on a recent sweltering day, Goh pointed at the power lines and light-blue water pipes running through the lot, signifying easy access to electricity and water. “These conditions are hard to come by,” he said.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Geoffrey Hinton hopes the prize will add credibility to his claims about the dangers of AI technology he pioneered
4 min
The newly minted Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton has a message about the artificial-intelligence systems he helped create: get more serious about safety or they could endanger humanity.
“I think we’re at a kind of bifurcation point in history where, in the next few years, we need to figure out if there’s a way to deal with that threat,” Hinton said in an interview Tuesday with a Nobel Prize official that mixed pride in his life’s work with warnings about the growing danger it poses.
The 76-year-old Hinton resigned from Google last year in part so he could talk more about the possibility that AI systems could escape human control and influence elections or power dangerous robots. Along with other experienced AI researchers, he has called on such companies as OpenAI, Meta Platforms and Alphabet -owned Google to devote more resources to the safety of the advanced systems that they are competing against each other to develop as quickly as possible.
Hinton’s Nobel win has provided a new platform for his doomsday warnings at the same time it celebrates his critical role in advancing the technologies fueling them. Hinton has argued that advanced AI systems are capable of understanding their outputs, a controversial view in research circles.
“Hopefully, it will make me more credible when I say these things really do understand what they’re saying,” he said of the prize.
Hinton’s views have pitted him against factions of the AI community that believe dwelling on doomsday scenarios needlessly slows technological progress or distracts from more immediate harms, such as discrimination against minority groups .
“I think that he’s a smart guy, but I think a lot of people have way overhyped the risk of these things, and that’s really convinced a lot of the general public that this is what we should be focusing on, not the more immediate harms of AI,” said Melanie Mitchell, a professor at the Santa Fe Institute, during a panel last year.
Hinton visited Google’s Silicon Valley headquarters Tuesday for an informal celebration, and some of the company’s top AI executives congratulated him on social media.
On Wednesday, other prominent Googlers specialising in AI were also awarded a Nobel Prize. Demis Hassabis, chief executive of Google DeepMind, and John M. Jumper, director at the AI lab, were part of a group of three scientists who won the chemistry prize for their work on predicting the shape of proteins.
Thinking like people
Hinton is sharing the Nobel Prize in physics with John Hopfield of Princeton University for their work since the 1980s on neural networks that process information in ways inspired by the human brain. That work is the basis for many of the AI technologies in use today, from ChatGPT’s humanlike conversations to Google Photos’ ability to recognise who is in every picture you take.
“Their contributions to connect fundamental concepts in physics with concepts in biology, not just AI—these concepts are still with us today,” said Yoshua Bengio , an AI researcher at the University of Montreal.
In 2012, Hinton worked with two of his University of Toronto graduate students, Alex Krizhevsky and Ilya Sutskever, on a neural network called AlexNet programmed to recognise images in photos. Until that point, computer algorithms had often been unable to tell that a picture of a dog was really a dog and not a cat or a car.
AlexNet’s blowout victory at a 2012 contest for image-recognition technology was a pivotal moment in the development of the modern AI boom, as it proved the power of neural nets over other approaches.
That same year, Hinton started a company with Krizhevsky and Sutskever that turned out to be short-lived. Google acquired it in 2013 in an auction against competitors including Baidu and Microsoft, paying $44 million essentially to hire the three men, according to the book “Genius Makers.” Hinton began splitting time between the University of Toronto and Google, where he continued research on neural networks.
Hinton is widely revered as a mentor for the current generation of top AI researchers including Sutskever, who co-founded OpenAI before leaving this spring to start a company called Safe Superintelligence.
Hinton received the 2018 Turing Award, a computer-science prize, for his work on neural networks alongside Bengio and a fellow AI researcher, Yann LeCun . The three are often referred to as the modern “godfathers of AI.”
Warnings of disaster
By 2023, Hinton had become alarmed about the consequences of building more powerful artificial intelligence. He began talking about the possibility that AI systems could escape the control of their creators and cause catastrophic harm to humanity. In doing so, he aligned himself with a vocal movement of people concerned about the existential risks of the technology.
“We’re in a situation that most people can’t even conceive of, which is that these digital intelligences are going to be a lot smarter than us, and if they want to get stuff done, they’re going to want to take control,” Hinton said in an interview last year.
Hinton announced he was leaving Google in spring 2023, saying he wanted to be able to freely discuss the dangers of AI without worrying about consequences for the company. Google had acted “very responsibly,” he said in an X post.
In the subsequent months, Hinton has spent much of his time speaking to policymakers and tech executives, including Elon Musk , about AI risks.
Hinton cosigned a paper last year saying companies doing AI work should allocate at least one-third of their research and development resources to ensuring the safety and ethical use of their systems.
“One thing governments can do is force the big companies to spend a lot more of their resources on safety research, so that for example companies like OpenAI can’t just put safety research on the back burner,” Hinton said in the Nobel interview.
An OpenAI spokeswoman said the company is proud of its safety work.
With Bengio and other researchers, Hinton supported an artificial-intelligence safety bill passed by the California Legislature this summer that would have required developers of large AI systems to take a number of steps to ensure they can’t cause catastrophic damage. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently vetoed the bill , which was opposed by most big tech companies including Google.
Hinton’s increased activism has put him in opposition to other respected researchers who believe his warnings are fantastical because AI is far from having the capability to cause serious harm.
“Their complete lack of understanding of the physical world and lack of planning abilities put them way below cat-level intelligence, never mind human-level,” LeCun wrote in a response to Hinton on X last year.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
China is Australia’s largest trading partner, but Australia’s growing security ties with the U.S. has added complexity to its relationship with Beijing
< 1 min
SYDNEY—China will lift a ban on Australian rock lobster imports by the end of the year, Australia’s prime minister said Thursday, as ties between the two major trading partners continue to stabilise.
The announcement, following months of speculation, comes after China previously lifted trade barriers on various other Australian goods including barley, wine and beef. Beijing imposed the restrictions in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, during a diplomatic spat with Australia’s previous government.
Many of Australia’s live lobsters were sent to China prior to the ban, which sent prices spiralling downward.
“With our patient, calibrated and deliberate approach, we’ve restored Australian trade with our largest export market,” Australian Prime Minster Anthony Albanese said Thursday after meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang alongside an Asean summit in Laos. “We’ve worked for the removal of trade impediments one by one.”
Albanese said the lifting of the ban would support Australian jobs, and noted the ban will be lifted in time for Lunar New Year in early 2025.
China is Australia’s largest trading partner, but Australia’s growing security ties with the U.S. has added complexity to its relationship with Beijing. Ahead of the meeting with Li, Albanese said his message would be that “we’ll cooperate where we can, we’ll disagree where we must.”
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
By 2026, the initiative seeks to ensure that 90% of transactions within the city are cashless.
2 min
Dubai has introduced the “Dubai Cashless Strategy,” an initiative from Digital Dubai a forward-thinking initiative designed to accelerate the adoption of secure digital payment solutions across both the public and private sectors. This strategy is a key move in reinforcing the city’s position as a global leader in the digital economy.
The strategy supports Dubai’s broader economic ambitions outlined in the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) and Digital Dubai’s goal to integrate digital solutions into all aspects of daily life. By 2026, the initiative seeks to ensure that 90% of transactions within the city are cashless. This shift is anticipated to contribute more than AED 8 billion to the economy annually, largely driven by fintech advancements.
Abdulrahman Saleh Al Saleh, Director-General of the Department of Finance, highlighted that Dubai’s financial infrastructure meets international standards, making the city a frontrunner in cashless transactions. He noted that almost all government transactions were conducted digitally in 2023, showcasing Dubai’s advanced digital capabilities. Al Saleh also emphasized how this initiative aligns with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s vision to enhance Dubai’s global business status.
Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General of the Department of Economy and Tourism, reiterated the strategy’s alignment with the D33 agenda, which focuses on transitioning the majority of transactions to digital formats by 2026.
Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, Director-General of Digital Dubai, stressed the growing importance of cashless payments in everyday life and the city’s goal of becoming a global digital hub. The strategy promotes innovation through AI-driven solutions and contactless technology, aiming to simplify digital transactions for both consumers and merchants while reducing payment processing fees.
Fintech is seen as a key player in realizing the Dubai Cashless Strategy, supporting the emirate’s standing as a leader in digital innovation. By encouraging digital payments, the strategy aims to offer a more secure and efficient way for businesses, government entities, and consumers to manage transactions across the city.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
To be part of the GMCI Indices, a coin must be actively traded on at least one of eight major centralized exchanges (CEXs).
3 min
Bitget has introduced the GMCI indices to its futures market, offering traders secure access to a diverse range of assets. The GMCI indices are meticulously curated to provide a reliable snapshot of the market, based on strict inclusion criteria.
To be part of the GMCI Indices, a coin must be actively traded on at least one of eight major centralized exchanges (CEXs) and meet minimum trading volume requirements. Additionally, each coin must be backed by at least one of three custodians, ensuring asset security and integrity. The indices prioritize coins with transparent circulating market capitalizations, with data sourced from CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko, and live pricing provided by Coin Metrics, which also acts as the third-party index calculation agent for GMCI.
The GMCI 30 index stands out by featuring the top 30 coins within the GMCI asset universe, excluding stablecoins, wrapped assets, and staked assets such as USDC, WBTC, and stETH. This index provides traders with exposure to a comprehensive set of the leading digital assets, capturing the broader market’s movements while maintaining diversification and reducing over-concentration in any single asset.
“At Bitget we prioritize the security of our users while delivering world-class innovation. This aligns with Bitget’s broader strategy of accelerating utility and mass adoption of crypto within a safe and secure ecosystem,” said Gracy Chen, CEO at Bitget. “By providing a curated set of assets backed by trusted custodians, we aim to empower traders with informed, diversified options to enhance the ease of managing wealth,” she added.
Rebalancing occurs monthly, on the last Friday of each month, with adjustments made according to the circulating market capitalization of the coins. This process ensures the indices remain up to date with market fluctuations, allowing them to reflect current trends and price movements accurately. While individual token positions are capped at 25% during rebalancing, they can float based on price performance, offering a dynamic representation of the market’s momentum throughout the month.
The GMCI Meme index, caters to the growing interest in meme coins, a segment that has garnered significant attention and trading volume within the crypto community. This index includes the top meme coins traded across selected exchanges, allowing users to hop on emerging memecoin trends securely.
“Our collaboration with Bitget to launch a perpetual contract on the GMCI 30 index is a significant step in expanding the accessibility of our index solutions to a broader market. As a leading crypto exchange in terms of trading volume and innovation, Bitget shares our vision of delivering cutting-edge, reliable products to the trading community. This marks the beginning of further partnerships that will see GMCI indices used as the benchmark of choice for innovative trading products across leading platforms,” said Maarten Botman, CEO at GMCI.
Offering exposure to a range of assets, GMCI indices help traders navigate diverse market segments. GMCI indices provide the robustness and transparency investors are accustomed to on the traditional financial markets while tapping into expertise in crypto much like Bitget. With this, Bitget users can now access GMCI indices including memecoins indices on the platform.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
This partnership aims to utilize Facilio’s advanced Connected CaFM platform to optimize Berkeley FM’s service offerings and boost operational efficiency across the UAE region.
2 min
Facilio has announced a major new deployment with Berkeley Services Group, a well-established integrated facilities management (IFM) company based in Dubai. This partnership aims to utilize Facilio’s advanced Connected CaFM platform to optimize Berkeley FM’s service offerings and boost operational efficiency across the UAE.
Founded in Dubai in 1984, Berkeley Services Group (BSG) has been a leader in the industry, offering a wide range of services such as building maintenance, soft services, smart solutions, landscaping, and security. Known for its strategic collaborations and technology-driven approach, BSG has become a trusted leader in IFM, setting new standards for client-focused and people-centric management solutions.
Speaking about the deployment, Fayaz Mohammad, Head of Facilities Management, Berkeley Services said, “Facilio’s platform-led approach to operations & maintenance aligns perfectly with our needs. Its scalable infrastructure, robust automation and real-time KPI reporting capabilities stand out – it not just improves our operational capabilities but also helps boost growth and profitability across verticals. By leveraging this innovative technology, we can position ourselves at the forefront of technology-driven integrated facilities management, delivering exceptional experiences to our clients across diverse industries.
“Our Connected CaFM solution will enable Berkeley to deploy services swiftly while meeting demands for high-quality service, rapid response times, and zero downtime. It is a solution that is purpose-built to solve for IFM firms such as Berkeley. Being a no-code/low-code adaptable self-serve platform, it allows them to onboard customers and expand usage to cover everything from asset management to audit and compliance management seamlessly. It not only elevates their operational capabilities but also enhances customer satisfaction and retention, drives business expansion across verticals and ensures they continue to stay at the forefront of innovation,” said Prabhu Ramachandran, CEO of Facilio.
With Facilio‘s Connected CaFM platform, Berkeley Services can now streamline their operations through a single, centralized platform, allowing them to manage all facilities and operational tasks efficiently. The platform enables cost optimization by tracking expenses and identifying potential savings, while providing 360-degree visibility into operations, allowing the team to monitor tickets raised and resolved to improve service response times and overall efficiency.
Compliance is assured with automated reporting and health, safety, and environmental (HSE) management, ensuring regulatory standards are consistently met. Additionally, the platform accelerates deployment by templatizing onboarding workflows, leading to a faster return on investment. It also holds vendors accountable by monitoring their adherence to service level agreements (SLAs), ensuring high performance and reliability. The platform’s scalable infrastructure further allows Berkeley Services to easily add new service lines through customizable modules without the need for coding or extensive IT efforts.
This deployment echoes Facilio’s success stories with other prominent FM Service providers such as Musanadah and CIT Group in Saudi Arabia, Quality FM in the UAE, and Q3 Services in the UK.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Alexandre de Betak and his wife are focusing on their most personal project yet.
These investments span various regions overseen by OPAZ.
2 min
Oman achieved significant growth in investments across its special economic zones, free zones, and industrial cities during the first half of 2024, with a 20% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
A report published early October 2024 by the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ), revealed that total investments reached over RO20.1 billion, an increase of RO3.4 billion from the previous year.
These investments span various regions overseen by OPAZ. The Special Economic Zone at Duqm (SEZAD) saw a notable surge, with a 55% increase in cumulative investment compared to last year. New investments in SEZAD amounted to RO2.1 billion, bringing total investments there to over RO6 billion.
In Oman’s industrial cities, total investments reached RO7.5 billion, while the Salalah Free Zone secured RO4.6 billion by mid-2024. Investments in the Sohar Free Zone stood at RO1.3 billion, and the Al Mazyunah Free Zone surpassed RO139 million. Additionally, Khazaen Economic City reported a cumulative committed investment of RO459.5 million.
The report also noted a rise in new business registrations, with 1,885 registered within OPAZ-supervised areas in the first half of 2024. During this time, OPAZ issued 735 public service licenses, 740 activity licenses, 156 building permits, and 5,466 work and investor licenses, while conducting over 15,000 inspection and supervision visits. A total of 191 environmental permits were also granted.
Employment in these economic zones, free zones, and industrial cities grew to 71,684 by the middle of 2024. The Omanisation rate reached 35%, with industrial cities leading with an Omanisation rate of 38%.
To encourage further strategic investments, OPAZ introduced a project tracking system through Odoo, which streamlines project monitoring and documentation. By mid-2024, there were 160 projects under execution registered in the system. OPAZ also launched an awareness initiative, with 145 companies applying and 20 following up.
Currently, OPAZ oversees 15 established zones, which include two economic zones, three free zones (Sohar, Salalah, and Al Mazyunah), and 10 industrial cities. There are also eight new zones under development, such as the integrated economic zone in Ibri, Dhahirah Governorate; an economic zone in Al Rawda, Buraimi Governorate; a free zone at Muscat International Airport; and five more industrial cities. This brings the total number of operational and developing areas under OPAZ to 23.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Sydney’s prestige market is looking up, here’s three of the best on the market right now.
This includes Dell’s IT infrastructure and workload migration solutions, the Dell AI Factory models and frameworks, cybersecurity enhancements, as well as client, edge, and multicloud solutions.
2 min
Dell Technologies and Alinma Bank today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate the Saudi-based bank’s digital transformation initiatives.
The MoU signed during the 24 Fintech Summit in Riyadh by Mohammed Talaat, VP, KSA & Egypt at Dell Technologies and Yaser Alofi, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Alinma bank marks a significant step forward in the Shariah-compliant bank’s digital transformation strategy.
The agreement outlines a collaborative framework for both parties to jointly develop and deliver innovative data center transformation solutions. This includes Dell’s IT infrastructure and workload migration solutions, the Dell AI Factory models and frameworks, cybersecurity enhancements, as well as client, edge, and multicloud solutions delivered with flexibility through Dell APEX.
Dell APEX is an end-to-end portfolio of as-a-Service and subscription services where customers pay only for the services consumed. It helps customers scale resources based on their needs and simplifies IT management through consistent performance, predictable costs, and on-demand access to Dell’s infrastructure and services.
Alinma Bank, established in 2006, has earned a reputation for its innovative offerings, customer-focused approach, and pioneering efforts in digital banking.
Mohammed Talaat, VP, KSA & Egypt at Dell Technologies said: “The Saudi banking sector is at a pivotal stage of growth spurred by technological advancements and an increased focus on innovation. We are happy to contribute to this evolution and support Alinma Bank in its digital transformation journey. By combining our strengths, we can deliver innovative and scalable solutions that address the evolving needs of the bank while delivering even greater value to their customers.”
Yaser Alofi, Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Alinma Bank said:“We are excited to deepen our relationship with Dell and leverage their expertise in delivering cutting-edge technology solutions. This collaboration aligns perfectly with our long-term growth strategy and our commitment to raising benchmarks and setting new standards for the financial industry.”
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
The collaboration enables a near-seamless integration, empowering employers on Oracle Fusion Cloud Recruiting to reach millions of qualified candidates.
2 min
Bayt.com announced its collaboration with Oracle to elevate the experience for both employers and job seekers. Bayt.com‘s integration with Oracle enables employers to quickly and easily publish their job openings – created with Oracle Fusion Cloud Recruiting – on the Bayt.com platform to access to a broader pool of talent and help ensure they reach a diverse and highly qualified audience.
Employers using Oracle Recruiting now benefit from a streamlined recruitment process that eliminates the need for repetitive data entry and minimizes the risk of application drop-offs by job seekers. Candidates can use their existing Bayt.com CVs to apply for opportunities directly, without needing to re-enter information or leave the platform, saving valuable time in the application process. With Bayt.com’s reach and Oracle’s robust infrastructure, organizations can efficiently connect with candidates, enhancing the speed and success of their hiring efforts.
Another key feature of this collaboration is the integration of Bayt.com’s Evalufy, an advanced applicant video assessment tool with AI-powered transcription and translation capabilities. This tool is now available to Oracle Recruiting users, enabling employers to assess candidates more effectively, reduce time-to-hire, and help ensure a better match between candidates and job requirements.
Akram Assaf, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Bayt.com, said, “Our collaboration with Oracle underscores our commitment to enhancing the recruitment ecosystem in the Middle East. Leveraging Oracle Recruiting not only amplifies our capacity to connect employers with their ideal candidates, but reaffirms our commitment to stand at the forefront of recruitment innovation. This collaboration ultimately underscores a shared dedication to leveraging technology in fostering more efficient, accessible, and engaging recruitment experiences.”
The collaboration between Bayt.com and Oracle introduces a series of benefits aimed at streamlining the recruitment process for both job seekers and employers. Job seekers can now enjoy a near-seamless application process through Bayt.com, enhancing the efficiency of application completion due to its simplicity and ease of use. This highlights Bayt.com’s commitment to enhancing the job seeker experience and providing tools that empower them to build a lifestyle of their choice. Employers, on the other hand, are poised to benefit from unparalleled access to an extensive database of over 52 million professionals across the Middle East. This access not only expands their talent pools, but it also increases the visibility and diversity of potential candidates.
“Our collaboration with Bayt.com further highlights the commitment of both entities to deliver cutting-edge solutions tailored to meet the dynamic needs of the global workforce. Employers can now benefit from a near-seamless job posting process and automatic status updates, helping ensure a smooth experience for both recruiters and candidates,” said Nagaraj Nadendla, senior vice president of HCM product development at Oracle. “The easy apply application process enriches the job seeker experience, helping them remain engaged and well-informed throughout their application journey.”
Bayt.com’s collaboration with Oracle Recruiting exemplifies a shared vision of leveraging technology to simplify the hiring process, expand access to quality talent, and elevate the overall candidate experience. As this partnership continues to evolve, Bayt.com and Oracle are set to redefine talent acquisition dynamics, setting new benchmarks for efficiency and engagement in the competitive job market.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Self-tracking has moved beyond professional athletes and data geeks.
