UAE’s Equiti Group kickstarts Bengaluru AI hub to lead India tech push

UAE-based fintech firm Equiti Group launched a tech hub in Bengaluru as part of its strategy to accelerate AI-led product development and strengthen its global engineering capabilities, according to a press release.

“The India technology hub will play a critical role in supporting Equiti’s innovation across client platforms, AI, data, cybersecurity, and cloud technologies,” said Akshit Jain, MD-India and group head of client platforms at Equiti. The Bengaluru center will tap into India’s deep tech talent pool and innovation ecosystem, creating prospects for engineers, data scientists, and tech professionals, helping the firm build scalable financial products for clients worldwide.

Why it matters: The launch reinforces the case for a growing UAE-India fintech corridor. While Dubai and the wider GCC continue to serve as preferred regional headquarters for fintech firms, India is increasingly emerging as the engineering backbone — tech firms are placing high-value AI, cloud, cybersecurity, and software functions in India while retaining customer-facing and commercial operations in the Gulf.

Maersk Suez transit

Danish shipping firm Maersk will restore Suez Canal transits on its India-Middle East-US East Coast (MECL) service, according to a statement, cutting shipping time for Indian exporters to the US East Coast by up to two weeks.

Faster shipments: The MECL service connects India’s major container ports including Mundra, Pipavav, and Nhava Sheva along the western coast to MENA ports of Salalah, Jeddah, Tangiers, and onwards to the US East Coast.

By returning to the Suez Canal to reach the US instead of sailing around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, Maersk hopes to improve westbound transit time by up to seven days and eastbound voyages by up to 14 days. The changes will take effect from August.

Why it matters: Shorter sailing times could ease logistics costs and improve delivery schedules for Indian exporters shipping goods to the MENA region and the US East Coast, while also signalling growing confidence among global carriers that security risks in the Red Sea are easing. Maersk said it would continue monitoring the regional security situation and could revert to the Cape route if conditions deteriorate.