DEFENSE-

Edge and Leonardo to launch a JV: Edge Group and Italian multinational company Leonardo, which specializes in aerospace, defence and security, inked an MoU to establish a joint venture to build a tech center in Abu Dhabi, Edge announced in a press release (pdf). The advanced tech center will serve as a global hub for advanced defense technologies.

The details: The tie-up will focus on systems for naval, air, missile, and counter-drone platforms, and integrate technologies such as naval C2 and BMD systems, C-UAS, maritime airborne capabilities, optronics, and high-performance computing for missile applications.

Background: Edge and Leonardo signed a collaboration agreement at IDEX 2025 in February, targeting joint development across air, naval, cyber, and counter-drone systems.

TECH-

#1- TII’s Falcon-HI available with Nvidia NIM: Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute (TII) is rolling out its Falcon-H1 model as a production-ready Nvidia NIM, unlocking fast deployment for enterprises building agentic systems and multilingual assistants, according to a press release. TII launched Falcon-H1 in May along with Falcon Arabic, a large language model trained on native datasets spanning Modern Standard Arabic and regional dialects.

SOUND SMART- What is Nvidia NIM? Short for Nvidia inference microservice, Nvidia NIM is a containerized deployment format that lets developers plug large AI models directly into production on Nvidia-related infrastructure. It handles heavy lifting tasks like auto-scaling, hardware optimization, and latency management, and can expedite weeks of development work into minutes.

#2- Dubai’s Yango taps Serbia’s data center for servers: Dubai-based tech company YangoGroup has signed an MoU to host its own server infrastructure at Serbia’s State Data Center in Kragujevac, with the site expected to go live later this year, Arabian Business reports. The center will be Yango’s main infrastructure site, and its service will go online through a single-tenant framework — meaning that Yango’s servers will be isolated from others in the facility.

Why Serbia? The group cited Serbia’s geographic location, energy and cost efficiency, and data center-friendly regulatory environment as main factors in selecting Kragujevac.

#3- EasyLease forms AI mobility partnership with BigBear.ai and Vigilix: International Holding Company’s mobility solutions subsidiary EasyLease partnered up with NYSE-listed AI solutions company BigBear.ai and UAE-based firm Vigilix to develop AI-powered solutions for mobility, asset management, logistics, and smart infrastructure, according to a press release (pdf).

The details: BigBear.ai will customize and localize its AI solutions for the sectors, whilst Vigilix will head up the regional expertise and strategy, and ADX-listed EasyLease will provide operational leadership.

HEALTHCARE-

Dubai to see emirates’ first proton therapy center by 2028: The Dubai Health Authority approved Yas Healthcare’s plan to establish the country’s first dedicated proton therapy center in the emirate, according to a Dubai Media Office statement. Yas Healthcare, a subsidiary of Das Holding, will lead the project, and the National Cancer Centre Singapore will be a technical and clinical consultant.

More details: Construction on the facility is set to begin in 2026 and wrap up by late 2028. It will offer advanced, low-toxicity cancer treatment that spares healthy cells, and is particularly good for treating children and complex tumor cases.

M&A WATCH-

#1- Hoko acquires Everdome to boost AI-content venture: UAE-based creative agency Hoko has acquired Emirati metaverse company Everdome to support the rollout of HumAIn Assets, its new platform combining AI, human creativity, and Web3 tools for content production, according to a statement (pdf). Under the agreement, Everdome’s token and leadership team will integrate into the venture, which is currently in its testing phase. The transaction value wasn’t disclosed.

#2- Harish Fabiani secures Dubai business center for AED 115 mn: Spanish-Indian entrepreneur Harish Fabiani acquired Richman House Business Center and 20k sq ft of commercial space in Dubai’s Business Bay for AED 115 mn, according to a press release.

The next steps: The acquisition marks Fabiani’s entry into business center operations, and the entrepreneur is set to launch his flexible workspace platform under the Richman House brand. The building contains 60 office spaces and adds to Fabiani’s Emirati portfolio, which includes the Thuraya Telecom Tower in Dubai — currently undergoing expansion upgrades following its December acquisition. Fabiani previously said he was aiming to double his portfolio to AED 1 bn over the next year and was looking to a commercial REIT listing.

#3- Lottery.com to acquire UAE-based Nook for USD 2.5 mn: US-based Lottery.com has signed an amended stock purchase agreement to acquire 90% of Dubai-based Nook Holdings for USD 2.5 mn, according to a press release. The transaction is expected to close by 30 June. The move will see Nook, which offers business support services for sports-focused firms, rebranded under the sports.com platform and serve as the group’s launchpad for the Middle East.

AI-

UAE’s Cntxt + Actualize to launch Arabic-speaking voice agent: UAE-based AI infrastructure and data governance firm Cntxt AI and voice automation platform Actualize have partnered to roll out an Arabic-language voice agent that understands and interacts in regional dialects in real time, according to a press release. The product is already live for public testing.

How it works: The voice agent combines Cntxt’s Munsit Arabic speech-to-text engine with Actualize’s automation backend, and will put to use in situations like auto-confirming bookings, call routing, order and payment follow-ups, government portals, and real-time transcription.

ICYMI- Cntxt AI also signed an MoU with autonomous AI agent platform Beam AI in late May to provide AI agent solutions for GCC governments and corporations.

CAPITAL MARKETS-

China’s Haitong initiates coverage on Adnoc listed firms: China-based financial institution Haitong International has initiated coverage of all six Adnoc-affiliated companies on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, and rated each one “outperform,” state news agency Wam reports. The UAE’s energy system growth, AI adoption, robust domestic consumption, and decarbonization momentum, and strong company assets, were cited as reasons behind the rating.

The six firms covered: Haitong expects Adnoc Distribution, Adnoc Drilling, Adnoc Gas, Adnoc Logistics and Services, Borouge, and Fertiglobe to outperform industry peers over the next 12-18 months, and assigned an average price upside of 26% from current levels.

REAL ESTATE-

UEM Edgenta forms Dubai property management JV: Malaysia’s UEM Edgenta Berhad’s subsidiary has established a joint venture with Dubai’s 21 Estates Group to provide property management services in the UAE, according to a press release. The new company, named DuaSatu, will focus on master developments in Dubai, including Expo City Dubai properties.

The details: UEM’s Dubai-based property management subsidiary, Kaizen, signed the agreement with 21 Estates, an Expo City Dubai subsidiary. Services will include owners’ association management, leasing, and real estate advisory for Dubai projects with potential global expansion.

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