News
UBQT Closes Pre-Seed Funding, Welcomes IQ Sayed As CTO
The Dubai-based AI-powered social app has secured $750,000 in investments and is now set to expand its feature set and user base.
UBQT (pronounced Ubiquity), a UAE-based AI-powered social app designed to bring people together in real life, has successfully closed its pre-seed funding round. After securing $750,000 in investments, the company will now be able to expand operations, begin new feature development, and help grow its user base.
Since its launch in January 2024, UBQT has quickly grown in popularity, amassing nearly 5,000 organic downloads and forging key partnerships with the likes of GITEX, Step Conference Dubai, The Offline Club, and Emotion Network in Milan. With fresh funding in hand, the company remains focused on its mission: helping people reduce their screen time and build more meaningful, real-world connections.
UBQT has also welcomed IQ Sayed as its third co-founder and Chief Technology Officer. A seasoned technologist with an impressive track record at Meta and Careem, Sayed brings invaluable expertise in scaling digital products and will soon become the driving force in UBQT’s next phase of expansion as it sets out to disrupt traditional social networking models.
“We are absolutely thrilled to close this funding round and to have IQ join us,” said Jonathan Hasson, Co-Founder of UBQT. “This is just the beginning. With the new funding and IQ on board, we’re ready to build an even better platform that champions meaningful, real-world interactions. We’re also looking ahead to our upcoming Seed round this spring, which will enable us to scale further and enhance the user experience”.
Also Read: Foodics Acquires Online-Ordering Specialist & Invests In 3 Startups
With Sayed on board, UBQT enters an exciting new chapter. The powerhouse team will soon begin to enhance the platform’s technological capabilities, scale its user base, and solidify UBQT’s position in the consumer tech space.
Learn more about UBQT on their website and download the app which is available for both Android and iOS.
News
Nano Banana 2 Arrives In MENA For Google Gemini Users
Google brings its latest image model to Gemini and Search, adding 4K output and tighter text control for regional users.
Google has opened access to Nano Banana 2 across the Middle East and North Africa, pushing its newest image model into everyday tools rather than keeping it inside the exclusive (and expensive) Pro tier.
The rollout spans the Google Gemini desktop and mobile apps, and extends to Google Search through Lens and AI Mode. Developers can also test it in preview via AI Studio and the Gemini API.
Nano Banana 2 runs on Gemini Flash, Google’s fast inference layer. The focus is speed, but also control. Users can export visuals from 512px up to 4K, adjusting aspect ratios for everything from vertical social posts to widescreen displays.
The model maintains character likeness across up to five figures and preserves fidelity for as many as 14 objects within a single workflow. This enables visual continuity across scenes, iterations, or edits — supporting projects like short films, storyboards, and multi-scene narratives. Text rendering has also been improved, delivering legible typography in mockups and greeting cards, with built-in translation and localization directly within images.
Also Read: RØDE Adds Direct iPhone Pairing To Wireless GO And Pro Mics
Under the hood, the system taps Gemini’s broader knowledge base and pulls in real-time information and imagery from web search to render specific subjects more accurately. Lighting and fine detail have been upgraded, without slowing output.
By embedding the model inside Gemini and Search, Google is normalizing advanced image generation for a mass audience. In MENA, where startups and marketing teams are leaning heavily on AI to scale content across languages and borders, that shift lands at a practical moment.
The move also folds creative tooling deeper into search itself, so that image generation is no longer a separate workflow. It now sits right next to the query box.
Nano Banana 2 Arrives In MENA For Google Gemini Users
GluCare Rebrands To Metabolic, Dropping Diabetes-Only Identity
Apple’s March 4 Event Rumored To Put New Macs In Play
Google Adds Arabic AI Music Creation For Ramadan
