News

Aramex Completes Testing Dubai Drone & Bot Delivery Service

The program is part of the company’s future logistics service, which aims to enhance the efficiency of last-mile deliveries.

Published

4 years ago

February 17, 2023

Nour Nasir

Aramex

Aramex, the Middle East’s largest courier company, has announced the successful completion of tests into a robot and drone delivery service in Dubai. The 16,000-employee company is currently researching emerging delivery technologies in a bid to boost sustainability and reduce its overall carbon footprint.

The initiative is part of the logistics company’s “future delivery program,” which aims to improve last-mile shipping by employing smart solutions for “quicker, sustainable and cost-effective deliveries”.

Initial tests took place at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York in partnership with Barq EV, a commercial drone delivery company based in the Emirates, and Kiwibot, a Colombia-based business specializing in delivery robotics.

“[The project] enables Aramex to further contribute to UAE’s sustainability ambitions as we embark on our mission to transition our fleet to emission-free vehicles and achieve our climate pledge to reach carbon neutrality by 2030,” says Alaa Saoudi, Aramex Chief Operating Officer.

Also Read: A First Glimpse Of Dubai’s Air Taxis Flying Past Local Landmarks

Aramex has already revealed plans to scale delivery services further to reach more customers across the MENA region, though there’s no firm timeline at the moment.

aramex delivery bots dubai

The drones and delivery robots used in Dubai will be equipped with multidirectional sensors. At the same time, fleet management software will help to synchronize and plan order placements, dispatch management, flight and road routing, and more.

According to data from research company Markets and Markets, the drone delivery market is estimated to be worth $228 million — a figure that will climb to $5.6 billion by 2030. e-Commerce giant Amazon has already started delivering some California and Texas packages by drone, and Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, already offers autonomous delivery in some areas.

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.