Daily Briefing
Friday, 13 November 2026
63 stories published on this day, grouped by section.
The day in brief
- Microsoft 365 Outage Knocks Out Outlook, Teams and Copilot as Servers Go Offline: Microsoft first linked the failure to Exchange Online in the Americas, then warned it could hit users in any region, and gave no time for full restoration.
- Security Firm Finds 35,578 Grok-Built Apps Open to Anyone, Some Exposing Passwords: Claroc says Grok's app builder preselected "Anyone with the link" at publishing.
- Saudi Arabia Joins AWS's 'Accelerating' Tier as 13% of Its Startups Build Physical AI: The kingdom ranks alongside Canada and Australia in an AWS survey of 4,420 startups, but builders worldwide say customers are slow to buy.
- Saudi Arabia Reschedules Postponed FII Investment Summit for October 25-28, 2027: The 10th Future Investment Initiative was called off this year after Houthi attacks disrupted flights at Riyadh's main airport.
- Ousted Nvidia CEO Huang Had a Relationship With a Second Employee, Sources Say: Nvidia plans to keep investigating whether its former chief was targeted by foreign intelligence, as analysts cut targets and Congress seeks his testimony before Thanksgiving.
AI
Security Firm Finds 35,578 Grok-Built Apps Open to Anyone, Some Exposing Passwords
Claroc says Grok's app builder preselected "Anyone with the link" at publishing. SpaceXSI took 24 staff apps offline but did not commit to contacting other affected owners.
Saudi Arabia Joins AWS's 'Accelerating' Tier as 13% of Its Startups Build Physical AI
The kingdom ranks alongside Canada and Australia in an AWS survey of 4,420 startups, but builders worldwide say customers are slow to buy.
KAUST Researcher Says AI Berth Planning Offers Saudi Ports the Quickest Gains
Container volumes at Mawani-run ports rose 10.58% last year, and a KAUST engineer says predicting ship arrivals and assigning berths is where AI can help first.
HUMAIN Opens HUMAIN+ AI Training Centre in Riyadh for 1,500 Learners a Year
The PIF-backed company's applied AI programme starts in early 2027, with sector labs where participants build prototypes on HUMAIN's own models and infrastructure.
Anthropic Seeks a Natural Gas Chief for Data Centres That Generate Their Own Power
A job listing offering up to $405,000 a year shows the AI lab is building in-house expertise to fuel gas-fired, behind-the-meter campuses in the US and Canada.
Business
Saudi Arabia Reschedules Postponed FII Investment Summit for October 25-28, 2027
The 10th Future Investment Initiative was called off this year after Houthi attacks disrupted flights at Riyadh's main airport.
Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah Reopen Beaches as Greenpeace Maps 540 Oil Slicks in the Gulf
Resort beaches are open again after a three-week closure, but satellite data show slicks across about 20,000 sq km of sea since the Iran war began.
Houthis Say They Struck Saudi Pipeline That Carries Oil Around the Strait of Hormuz
The group also claimed attacks on a Yanbu oil facility and an Aramco building in Riyadh. Saudi forces said they shot down two drones but gave no word on damage.
LangChain Raises $300 Million at $3 Billion Valuation in Round Led by CapitalG
The AI agent tooling startup's valuation is 2.4 times its level of a year ago, and it plans to nearly double its staff to 850 by the end of 2027.
Kalshi in Talks to Raise Money at $65 Billion Valuation, Weeks After a $40 Billion Round
The prediction market operator would put the new money into a platform for trading compute futures, setting up competition with CME Group and ICE.
DIFC Courts' Arbitration Claims Reach AED 3.2 Billion in First Half of 2026
Thirty-seven claims filed in six months already equal about 65% of the value recorded in all of 2025, the Dubai court said during Dubai Arbitration Week.
Damac's Sajwani Says Anthropic Stake Earned Him as Much as 30 Years in Business
The Dubai billionaire says he invested at an $18 billion valuation, ahead of Anthropic's November 19 Nasdaq listing, and is now negotiating for data centre land in the UK and Australia.
PureHealth to Hire 250 Emirati Graduates Under Nafis Healthcare Programme
The Abu Dhabi health group will recruit the graduates across eight specialties from nursing to emergency medicine between 2026 and 2028 through its Emirati Development Center.
Companies
Microsoft 365 Outage Knocks Out Outlook, Teams and Copilot as Servers Go Offline
Microsoft first linked the failure to Exchange Online in the Americas, then warned it could hit users in any region, and gave no time for full restoration.
Ousted Nvidia CEO Huang Had a Relationship With a Second Employee, Sources Say
Nvidia plans to keep investigating whether its former chief was targeted by foreign intelligence, as analysts cut targets and Congress seeks his testimony before Thanksgiving.
SpaceX and Tesla Merger Talks Advance, With a Deal Possible as Soon as December
A combination of the $1.9 trillion rocket maker and the $1.5 trillion carmaker would be the largest takeover on record, but terms, Tesla's China business and approvals remain open.
Cisco Raises Full-Year Outlook as AI Networking Lifts Quarterly Revenue 24%
Networking sales jumped 43% to $11.1 billion, and the company now expects about $9 billion of AI infrastructure revenue from hyperscalers this fiscal year.
Nebius Revenue Rises 571% to $981 Million as It Forecasts $12-13 Billion for 2027
The AI cloud provider beat estimates but moved 2026 guidance to the low end because third-party data centre space slipped into next year.
Cerebras Shares Rise 17% After Hours on Revenue Beat and New Microsoft Deal
The AI chipmaker raised its outlook, said it expects to triple revenue in 2027 and disclosed a Microsoft agreement signed in October, though its quarterly loss widened sharply.
Samsung in Talks to Buy Data Centre Cooling Maker Modine
A deal could come together within weeks, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg, a year after Samsung completed its €1.5 billion purchase of FläktGroup.
Presight Takes a Stake in South Korean Smart City AI Company Dtonic
The Abu Dhabi AI firm did not disclose the size of its position in the pre-IPO company, which already works with it on smart city and data projects.
Nvidia Dropped Singapore From Its Revenue Disclosures After Blocking Megaspeed
Singapore-billed sales were $10.2 billion, or 22% of revenue, in the quarter before the change, which followed Nvidia's June 2025 ban on sales to the now-investigated buyer.
Wynn to Open Room Sales at Al Marjan Resort Soon as September 2027 Opening Holds
Chief executive Craig Billings expects demand to exceed the Ras Al Khaimah resort's roughly 1,500 keys under every conflict scenario, and Wynn will choose an opening format around February.
Arada Wins Approval for Dh1.6 Billion Wattle Green Housing Project in Sydney's Castle Hill
It is the Sharjah developer's second major Sydney planning approval in a matter of weeks, adding 445 homes to an Australian pipeline of more than 6,000.
Masdar Marks Completion of $950 Million Lockhart Solar and Storage Complex in California
The 538.7MW complex built by Terra-Gen, which Masdar co-owns with Igneo, supports the Abu Dhabi firm's plan to reach 25GW of US capacity by 2030.
Salik's Nine-Month Profit Falls 8.6% as Fewer Trips Pass Its Dubai Toll Gates
Traffic began recovering in the third quarter, and the toll operator expects revenue to grow 6-8% in 2027 after a 6.9% drop so far this year.
Tabreed Earns Dh320 Million in Nine Months as Financing Costs Rise After PAL Cooling Deal
The district cooling company's revenue rose 3% and connected capacity 15%, but EBITDA slipped 2% and net debt stands at 4.6 times EBITDA.
Air Arabia's Nine-Month Profit Nearly Halves as Iran War Cuts Passenger Numbers
The Sharjah budget carrier earned AED757 million and flew 10% fewer passengers, but says its liquidity is intact as cash holdings rose 89%.
Microsoft 365 Outage Runs Into a Second Day as Fixes Fail to Hold
Outlook, Teams scheduling and Copilot were still disrupted on Friday in 74 countries, and Microsoft warned that restored servers could become unresponsive again.
Al Ansari Financial Services' Q3 Profit Falls 12.3% as Spending on Growth Rises
The UAE remittance and exchange group kept quarterly operating income almost flat at AED 326 million, while higher costs for staff, branches and technology cut margins.
Binghatti's Nine-Month Profit Rises 65% to AED 4.4 Billion, More Than in All of 2025
The Dubai developer's revenue rose 66% to AED 14.9 billion as construction advanced, and it has AED 16.4 billion of contracted sales still to book.
Mubadala Bio Signs Deal to Distribute Baynounah's AI-Designed Diagnostic Kits
Al Ittihad Drug Store will take the Abu Dhabi biotech's locally made molecular test kits to healthcare providers in the UAE and the wider region.
Markets
Anthropic's IPO Could Draw a Record $250 Million in Retail Buying, Vanda Estimates
The research firm based its forecast on pre-IPO perpetual futures trading, and the estimate is more than double the record SpaceX set in June.
Anthropic's IPO Draws About Six Times More Orders Than Shares on Offer
Bankers have told investors that existing backers will be served first, so some buyers could get less stock than they wanted before the Nasdaq debut on November 19.
Nvidia Closes Down 4% After Retail Buyers Cut a 14% Plunge on Huang's Exit
Individual investors bought a record $111 million of the stock in the first half-hour, while AMD and Broadcom rose more than 5% and CoreWeave fell nearly 7%.
Six UAE-Listed Companies Turn to Share Buybacks After War-Driven Sell-Off
IHC, Alpha Dhabi, Space42, Borouge, Waha Capital and Talabat are buying back stock as UAE valuations fall to 11 times earnings from 15 since the Iran war began.
Dubai Keeps Top Spot for $10 Million-Plus Home Sales as Hong Kong Leads on Value
Knight Frank counted 86 super-prime sales in Dubai in the third quarter, down 34% from the second, and Hong Kong edged ahead on value for the first time since 2022.
Dubai Rents Fall Up to 14% in Some Areas as Tenants Switch Homes, Betterhomes Says
Downtown and Marina rents dropped sharply while off-plan sales halved in October, yet 91% of surveyed residents plan to stay in Dubai at least five more years.
AMD and Broadcom Rally This Week as Investors Rotate Out of Nvidia After Huang's Exit
AMD is up 30% and Broadcom 24% since Monday while Nvidia has lost 11%, and a SemiAnalysis chief warns that Nvidia's grip on supply could weaken without Huang.
Jane Street More Than Doubled Its Nvidia Holding in the Third Quarter, Filing Shows
The trading firm held 23.8 million shares worth about $5.44 billion at the end of September, though its 13F leaves out short positions and any later trades.
Asian Chip Stocks Split as Markets Weigh Huang's Exit From Nvidia
Taiwan's Taiex rose 1.7% and Tokyo Electron gained, while SoftBank Group fell 5.2% and SK Hynix 2% in Friday's first Asian trade after Wall Street's reaction.
Abu Dhabi Property Deals Rise 76% to AED171 Billion in Nine Months, Official Data Show
Foreign money drove the jump in Abu Dhabi's investment zones, while Dubai recorded about AED625 billion in transactions in ten months and Sharjah grew 5.6%.
Oil Heads for Second Weekly Loss as Trump Keeps the Iran Blockade in Place
Brent hovered near $95 on Friday as traders bet on no return to full-scale war, while US stockpiles rose and tanker attacks around Hormuz went on.
Dubai Has 15,067 Hotel Rooms in Development as Middle East Pipeline Hits a Record
Lodging Econometrics counts 26,800 rooms in development across the UAE, and the regional pipeline has grown to 771 projects, up 17% in a year.
Moody's Forecasts 8.2% UAE Growth in 2027, Twice the Average for Big Emerging Markets
The agency keeps the UAE at Aa2 with a stable outlook and sees growth easing to 4.4% in 2028, as data centre investment spreads to new markets.
Policy
Wyden and Neal Open Inquiry Into How Trump Officials Approved Nvidia Chip Sales to China
The senior Democrats on Congress's tax committees call the tariff on Nvidia's China-bound H200 chips a disguised export tax and ask Commerce to preserve its records.
FAA Expands AI Traffic Tool to All 22 US En Route Centers Despite Lawmakers' Questions
The SMART planning system rerouted 180 flights in a Washington-area trial, but the agency has not answered lawmakers' requests for its safety testing and training.
White House Officials Weigh Pushing Out Lutnick Over Nvidia China Export Oversight
Lawmakers from both parties say the commerce secretary left export loopholes open, while a White House official says Trump still has complete confidence in him.
Lutnick to Testify Before Senate Commerce Committee as Republicans Split Over Nvidia
Some Republican senators blame the commerce secretary for chip sales to Megaspeed, while others want the facts first, and the White House says Trump has full confidence in him.
Nonprofits Sue OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta and SpaceXSI to Freeze Frontier AI Work
Four advocacy groups want a San Francisco court to use California's unfair competition law to halt advanced model development until the companies can show it is under human control.
Tim Scott Asks Huang and Lutnick to Testify as Congress Widens Nvidia Inquiry
The Senate Banking chairman raised the prospect of a subpoena for Nvidia's former chief, who House committees want for a closed-door interview on December 1.
UAE Falls to 15th in IMD's Digital and AI Ranking but Still Leads MENA
IMD's renamed ranking of 70 economies puts Saudi Arabia 20th and Qatar 30th, with the United States and Singapore at the top.
Singapore Charges Fifth Person in Nvidia Server Fraud Case With 41 Offences
Shi Bingzhe, 34, is the latest to be charged in a case over servers that may contain Nvidia chips, after four Aperia-linked defendants and four companies.
Malaysia Checks Whether Megaspeed Unit Re-Exported AI Chips, Says It Never Cleared Firm
The trade ministry and customs are examining chips imported by Speedmatrix, Megaspeed's local affiliate, as officials draft rules to track every GPU entering Malaysian data centres.
Iran's Guards Say They Hit US Radar in Bahrain and Warn Firms Over Hormuz Oil Trade
It is the first Iranian claim of an attack on US military assets in a Gulf state since early September. Neither Washington nor Manama has commented.
EU Leaders Hold Their First Summit Devoted to AI in Dublin, Hearing From Mensch and Hinton
The 27 leaders will discuss competitiveness, AI sovereignty and security, and an EU official said Nvidia's leadership crisis is likely to come up even though it is not on the agenda.
Chinese AI Stocks Fall as Congress Builds Support for Tighter Nvidia Chip Curbs
Z.ai and MiniMax led losses while domestic chipmakers rallied, after House Speaker Mike Johnson said lawmakers were converging on limits to China's access to advanced chips.
Chinese AI Projects Worth $3.2 Billion Are Built Around Restricted Nvidia Chips
A Reuters review of more than 150 Chinese documents found data centre plans tied to H100, H200 and H800 processors, which Huang's exit and congressional pressure now put at risk.
Oman Opens a Hydrogen Auction Built Around Data Centres and Awards Two Duqm Projects
Hydrom's fourth round makes data centres in Dhofar the anchor customers for renewable power and green hydrogen, after third-round awards totalling about 121,000 tonnes a year.
Banned Nvidia Chips Reached a Shanghai Data Centre Through a Firm Alice Huang Founded
Loan filings list 74 servers with H800, H100 and H200 processors, some first sold to Nvidia cloud partner Aperia, pledged by a subsidiary of Shanghai Longteng.
Products
Google Releases Gemini 4 Hydrogen, a Cheaper Model That Edges Past Its Flagship Argon
Priced at $1.50 per million input tokens, the fast model scored 51 to Argon's 50 on an independent index and goes straight to the Gemini app and Search.
Saudi Firm OmniOps Launches Bunyan Inference Hub for AI Models Hosted in the Kingdom
The platform sells token bundles and dedicated GPUs for open-source models, keeping data and workloads in Saudi Arabia, but OmniOps named no customers, models or prices.
Grok Bot for Mac Can Now Use Apple's Messages, Mail, Notes and Four Other Apps
The AI agent can send messages and draft emails for users, with a separate permission for each app, as the Mac version moves to 1.0 and leaves beta.
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