Hyderabad-based RNIT AI Solutions has signed a USD 3 mn partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Ajnihat Alnajah Group, marking its first major step into the Gulf region’s technology market, as per a disclosure to the bourse. While the company has not disclosed product details, Ajnihat Alnajah’s local networks are expected to support market access as RNIT AI targets enterprise and government clients across Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf states. The GCC, particularly Saudi Arabia, has emerged as a major AI investment hub, giving Indian tech firms a growing runway for cross-border partnerships.

TECH-

Bengaluru-based CloudSEK has inked a USD 3 mn strategic tie-up with the UAE’s SeedGroup to strengthen the UAE’s cyber-risk infrastructure, it said in a press release. CloudSEK’s AI-driven threat-intelligence platform, used for external-surface monitoring, brand protection, and supply-chain security, will be offered to GCC clients amid rising regional cyberattacks.

REAL ESTATE-

UAE-based Damac Group has launched its new global services arm, Damac Shared Services India, and opened a global capability center in Noida as part of a wider India expansion, Economic Times writes. The Noida center will scale to more than 250 employees, with a second center planned in Pune by 2026 with over 100 staff. Damac aims to build “high-performing teams” in India to support its global operations and services.

TELECOM-

US tech giants push back against Indian telcos: Apple, Amazon, Cisco, Meta, HP, and Intel have jointly opposed Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea’s demand to earmark the 6 GHz band for mobile services, urging India’s telecom regulator to reserve the entire band for Wi-Fi instead, Press Trust of India reports. The companies argued that the 6 GHz ecosystem is not technically or commercially ready for mobile use.

AI-

Google and venture-capital firm Accel are launching their first joint investment program in India, with plans to co-invest in at least 10 early-stage AI startups, Reuters reports. The two firms will invest up to INR 167 mn (USD 2 mn) per startup, targeting founders building AI products in entertainment, creativity, workplace tools, and coding.

REMEMBER- Google is planning to invest INR 1.25 tn (USD 15 bn) over the next five years to build an AI data center in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, its largest India investment to date.

AVIATION-

Tata Group-backed Air India will push through a significant service and fleet upgrade in 2026, Hindu Businessline reports, quoting CEO Campbell Wilson. The upgrade follows the refurbishment of 81% of the airline’s A320 narrow-body fleet. The wider transformation, focused on the Boeing 787s, will see the first fully refurbished 787-8s come in by February 2026. Two-thirds of the fleet will be modernized by end-2026 and the rest by mid-2027.

Service revamp: The airline is adding improved inflight entertainment, enhanced Wi-Fi, expanded premium economy, and refreshed F&B offerings, alongside new lounges in Delhi and upgrades in San Francisco and New York.

FINANCE-

Citigroup’s India unit has more than doubled its asset-backed securities portfolio to nearly USD 1 bn over two years — hitting its internal target ahead of schedule — as it steps up purchases of pass-through certificates to increase market liquidity, Bloomberg reports. The bank expects more growth in 2026 amid a surge in securitization driven by non-bank lenders and rising demand from banks and mutual funds, CEO K. Balasubramanian told the business information service

LOGISTICS-

A joint venture between Indian warehouse developer IndoSpace and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has acquired six industrial and logistics parks for INR 30 bn (USD 336.26 mn), Reuters reports. CPPIB, which established the venture in 2017 and is the majority owner, committed INR 14 bn to fund the acquisition of these assets, which are strategically located across key Indian logistics hubs including Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune.

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