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Logistics (MENA) 
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MGX now backs Anthropic, xAI, and OpenAI
XRG in Argentina | Presight’s M&A plans | AD Ports lands in Cameroon | AI venture funding up in MENA in 2025
Friday, 13 February 2026
Good morning, everyone.
AI is a big theme in today’s issue, as Abu Dhabi investor MGX backs Anthropic, meaning it has completed a hattrick of sorts with investments in all three major AI players: OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic. Plus: MENA’s AI startup funding climbed to USD 858 mn last year.
Today at a glance
Editor’s choice
M&A Watch
FINANCE
Culture, lifestyle, and capital: Philip Khinda on the pulls bringing wealth managers and their advisors to the capital
In the UAE, it’s like you had a clean sheet…
AD Ports goes long in Jordan, more funding and support for Shorooq and proptech startups, and Maerki Baumann lands in ADGM
Shorooq Partners secured more Qatari backing, while Dubai’s Vara greenlit SmartCrowd’s tokenization platform
Newsmakers
How Google keeps AI in check in the age of deepfakes
From a global signals exchange to the importance of provenance, Google’s director of trust and safety breaks down how it’s battling…
My morning routine
EFG Hermes tops MENA ECM league tables again in 2025
The investment bank led 12 ECM transactions during the year
Moves
Regulation
Legislation Watch
New year, new rules: 2026 edition
The UAE’s 2026 rule changes span tax, invoicing, hiring, digital…
Regulation Watch
Circle follows up stablecoins greenlight with ADGM approval
Plus: Tabadulat gets FSRA license for shariah-compliant trading platform
Cabinet Watch
Cabinet approves AED 36.7 bn national investment fund
The fund aims to help increase FDI inflows to AED…
CBUAE
Several acquisitions in the works, a new BlueFive subsidiary, CBUAE and Hong Kong link up, and RAK gets a new AED 25 bn development
BlueFive is targeting USD 1 bn for its investment vehicle…
Startup watch
Masdar to develop wind power plant in Jordan, Smart Bricks raises USD 5 mn
Plus: Smart Bricks secures USD 5 mn in a pre-seed round
My Morning Routine: Ghada Abdelkader, senior VP at Crescent Enterprises
[After four years in investment banking], it was a natural progression where I wanted…
UAE venture funding up 188% in 9M amid foreign capital surge
The number of transactions also rose 5% to 164 in total
