News

Startup Funding At Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 Reaches $871M

According to the deputy chief executive, companies within the organization have generated over $680 million and created hundreds of direct jobs.

Published

4 years ago

October 14, 2022

Nour Nasir

startup funding at abu dhabi's hub71 reaches $871m

Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global technology ecosystem, has raised more than $871 million in funding for startups and created 800 jobs since its creation in 2019, until September of this year, according to the latest figures. The organization now boasts around 200 members, and is contributing significantly to the region’s economy, intending to grow 20 startups into companies worth over $1 billion.

“There was a resurgence in investor interest at Hub71 after the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic wore off. The momentum has been helping the ecosystem and partner network to support Abu Dhabi, which is increasingly positioning itself as one of the global epicenters of technology. There was a huge thirst to get out there to engage with partners to identify opportunities, and that momentum continues to this day,” says Ahmad Alwan, Hub71 deputy chief executive.

Abu Dhabi has invested heavily in initiatives that contribute to technology and innovation, and Hub71, in particular, is helping the country to promote entrepreneurship as the UAE government aims to become “the entrepreneurial nation by 2031“.

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Globally, the money generated by startups is close to $3 trillion — a staggering figure that almost matches the output of the G7 economy — Mr. Alwan said Hub71 had “several initiatives in the pipeline that are being planned with its partners”, which are rumored to include wealthy venture capital companies and funds, with the hope that one day, a local Abu Dhabi startup will become a global technology corporation.

Hub71 is open to the idea of expanding its “bilateral relationships” with partners in different regions, though right now, the ecosystem is focused on helping to develop its member companies by taking advantage of its existing partnerships.

In August, Hub71 welcomed 16 new startups to its platform and recently joined forces with Siemens Energy to support Abu Dhabi’s fight against climate change.

News

Instagram Redraws Its Wordmark And The Internet Reads “Instagzam”

Instagram’s first wordmark refresh in a decade arrives with new fonts, a restrained gradient — and a Reddit verdict of sidegrade.

Published

4 days ago

August 14, 2026

Nour Nasir

Instagram

Although Instagram’s famous camera icon hasn’t changed, the company has refreshed the handwritten wordmark at the top of its app. This is the first redesign we’ve seen in ten years, and one the internet promptly set about renaming.

“The wordmark at the top of the app hasn’t changed in 10 years, so it was time for a refresh,” Instagram head Adam Mosseri wrote in a post on August 13, describing the new version as “cleaner and more modern” while keeping references to the original design.

Instagram says its team explored hundreds of options — all-caps lettering, camera-inspired concepts, even literal handwriting — before returning to script. “Script reflects individuality, so referencing that felt right,” Instagram director of product design Jasmine Probst said in Meta’s announcement. “The new wordmark is bolder and simpler, with touches of unexpectedness. It cues individual expression, a personal voice, both of which have always been core to Instagram”.

The wordmark is part of a broader brand overhaul: an updated Instagram Sans typeface, two new fonts — the hand-drawn Instagram Pen and Instagram Mono — plus refreshed motion and layouts, and more restrained use of the signature gradient. The wordmark is rolling out globally now, with the rest arriving throughout 2026 and beyond.

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The design mixes cursive and print lettering, some characters connected and others floating free. That hybrid approach, combined with unusually shaped “s” and “r” characters, led some users to conclude the logo actually reads “Instagzam”. On the r/logodesign subreddit, one user said the wordmark looked “fan-made,” like something built in Canva; another called it “an unsettling mix of manuscript and cursive”; a third summarized it as a “sidegrade” — or, inevitably, a “zidegrade”.

Not everyone was hostile to the new look. Some found the half-cursive design stylish and surprisingly readable, while others called it an improvement on its predecessor, and one commenter argued Instagram was simply adopting minimalist branding later than everyone else. Either way, the platform now has a refreshed identity, three updated fonts, and an unofficial new pronunciation.