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Cobi raises USD 1 mn to turn customer data into real-time decisions
UAE-based AI startup Cobi has raised a USD 1 mn pre-seed round led by Lunara Partners, with Plug and Play, Annex Investments, and Spring also participating, according to a press release (pdf). The funding will help Cobi expand enterprise deployments across the Middle East and internationally, while strengthening its AI-powered recommendations and decision-making capabilities.
What it does: Cobi is building an intelligence layer that connects fragmented customer, transaction, and product data together to automate businesses’ workflows, with Mastercard, Emirates Flight Catering, Presight AI, and Lari Exchange among its clients.
ARP Digital secures Vara broker-dealer license
ARP Digital has picked up a broker-dealer license from Dubai's Vara — a regulated route for corporates and qualified investors to convert crypto and stablecoins into AED, according to a company statement (pdf). The license lets ARP formally bridge crypto holdings and fiat for institutional clients — a gap that's mattered more as digital-asset volumes into the UAE have scaled. ARP runs a USD 3.5 bn trading desk.
Coinbase gets ADGM approval to build tokenization hub
ADGM’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority just handed crypto exchange Coinbase a Financial Services Permission, allowing it to arrange investment agreements and provide custody for tokenized securities, according to a statement.
REMEMBER- Coinbase is already involved in a tokenized private market fund launched by Mubadala and blockchain infrastructure provider Kaio last month.
