News

Aramex And Regent To Develop Electric Seagliders

The UAE logistics company will team up with a US maritime transport firm to explore opportunities in the Middle East and beyond.

Published

3 years ago

December 21, 2023

Nour Nasir

Regent

Aramex, the Middle East’s largest courier company, has teamed with US maritime transport firm Regent to develop a fleet of electric seagliders to transport goods from ports to warehouses and distribution centers.

The Regent-built seagliders combine an aircraft’s speed with a boat’s practicality and convenience. Built to serve island and coastal communities, the hybrid craft will carry people and cargo up to 290 km using sustainable battery technology.

regent electric seagliders

“We are keen to enhance our capabilities to move packages efficiently and effectively over sea routes, given the expansion and development of coastal cities within our core region. [The electric seagliders] complete the trifecta of air, sea, and land for our future vehicle program development,” explained Angad Singh, global director for innovation at Aramex.

The Aramex and Regent partnership is facilitated through the UAE’s Strategic Development Fund and aims to explore opportunities in the Middle East and other important markets.

aramex and regent partnership

The two companies will identify potential “middle-mile” routes on which seagliders can move cargo from ports to nearby distribution hubs. The scheme aims to offer a cleaner and more efficient alternative to existing logistics options.

Demand for sustainable logistics is rising, with 75% of transport companies actively searching for environmentally friendly shipping options in a bid to lower carbon footprints and keep trade flowing.

Also Read: Dubai Crown Prince Takes Test Ride In Self-Driving Taxi

According to Billy Thalheimer, co-founder and chief executive of Regent, middle-mile logistics is a “large, untapped opportunity for sustainable innovation,” and the partnership will “unlock new economic potential”.

Last month, Aramex announced a massive 76% drop in third-quarter profits amid continued worldwide economic challenges, soaring interest rates, and currency fluctuations. Shares owned by equity holders for the three months to the end of September 2023 are now valued at around $2.6 million.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.