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- PIF Eyes EA-Savvy Deal; UAE Backs Boring Company; UAE AI Megaproject Gets Rethink
PIF Eyes EA-Savvy Deal; UAE Backs Boring Company; UAE AI Megaproject Gets Rethink
AI, tech, startup and business stories from the Arab world. For the driven, the dreamers and the doers
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Saturday, September 12, 2026
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Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is weighing a combination of Electronic Arts and Savvy Games, potentially bringing a huge portfolio of gaming franchises under one roof. In the UAE, Elon Musk’s Boring Company has raised $3 billion at a $23 billion valuation, with plans for more than 150 kilometres of tunnels across the country. Meanwhile, the UAE is redesigning its planned 5GW AI data-centre megaproject into a distributed network, aiming to make critical infrastructure more resilient amid regional tensions.
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PIF Weighs Combining Electronic Arts With Savvy Games: Bloomberg
What Happened
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is considering combining Electronic Arts (EA) with Savvy Games Group, potentially creating one of the world’s biggest gaming companies, according to a Bloomberg exclusive. No final decision has been made, and any deal is unlikely to happen until Savvy completes its $6 billion acquisition of Chinese mobile gaming company Moonton.
Why It Matters
The combination could bring major franchises including Madden NFL, Battlefield, The Sims and Pokémon Go under one roof. Based on disclosed acquisition prices, the businesses involved represent roughly $69.4 billion, including EA at $55 billion, Scopely at $4.9 billion, Niantic’s games business at $3.5 billion and Moonton at $6 billion.
What's Next
Savvy is expected to focus first on completing its Moonton acquisition before any potential EA combination moves forward. Any merger would also face regulatory and antitrust scrutiny. If approved, the deal could give PIF a single gaming platform for acquisitions, game development and intellectual property across console, PC and mobile gaming.
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Elon Musk’s Boring Company Raises $3 Billion For UAE Tunnel Expansion
What Happened
Elon Musk’s The Boring Company has raised $3 billion in a Series D funding round led by UAE-based investors, valuing the company at $23 billion. The funding will support the deployment of more than 150 kilometres of underground tunnels across the UAE, building on the Dubai Loop project already awarded to the company.
Why It Matters
The investment could accelerate the UAE’s plans for underground transport infrastructure and expand the Boring Company’s Loop system beyond its existing Las Vegas operations. The company says its Loop system has carried more than four million passengers in Las Vegas since 2021, moving the technology beyond the proof-of-concept stage.
What’s Next
The company plans to work with UAE partners to deploy underground infrastructure at scale. Dubai will be the second city to implement the Boring Company’s tunnel-based transport system, following Las Vegas. The new funding also gives the company additional capital to advance projects in other markets, including Nashville.
UAE is Reengineering Stargate UAE AI Megaproject Into Resilient, Distributed Network: Reuters
What Happened
The UAE is redesigning its planned 5-gigawatt AI data center project, originally a single 26-square-kilometer campus near Abu Dhabi, into a distributed network of facilities across the country, per a Reuters exclusive. The shift comes as regional tensions from the Iran war prompted planners to strengthen protections for critical infrastructure, including underground construction, mountain-based sites, and integrated air defense systems, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Why It Matters
The redesign brings the UAE's flagship AI initiative in line with global best practice, as major hyperscale operators have long favored distributed, redundancy-built architectures over single mega-campuses. For a multibillion-dollar national asset meant to anchor the UAE's AI ambitions and host sensitive government and military workloads, hardened, dispersed infrastructure offers stronger long-term resilience and reduces the risk of any single point of failure disrupting the entire system.
What's Next
Construction on the project's first phase, Stargate UAE, continues with modifications to protect the site, while remaining components will likely be spread across multiple locations, potentially including Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah's mountain terrain. Analysts suggest other Gulf states may look to the UAE's approach as a model for hardening their own critical infrastructure amid ongoing regional instability.
How Jennifer Aniston’s LolaVie brand grew sales 40% with CTV ads
For its first CTV campaign, Jennifer Aniston’s DTC haircare brand LolaVie had a few non-negotiables. The campaign had to be simple. It had to demonstrate measurable impact. And it had to be full-funnel.
LolaVie used Roku Ads Manager to test and optimize creatives — reaching millions of potential customers at all stages of their purchase journeys. Roku Ads Manager helped the brand convey LolaVie’s playful voice while helping drive omnichannel sales across both ecommerce and retail touchpoints.
The campaign included an Action Ad overlay that let viewers shop directly from their TVs by clicking OK on their Roku remote. This guided them to the website to buy LolaVie products.
Discover how Roku Ads Manager helped LolaVie drive big sales and customer growth with self-serve TV ads.
The DTC beauty category is crowded. To break through, Jennifer Aniston’s brand LolaVie, worked with Roku Ads Manager to easily set up, test, and optimize CTV ad creatives. The campaign helped drive a big lift in sales and customer growth, helping LolaVie break through in the crowded beauty category.
👨💻From Smashi Business’ Desk
Huda Kattan and Dubai’s DIME burger teamed up to launch the “Huda Meal”
Dubai's Original Ravi Restaurant has Distanced Itself From Other "Ravi" Eateries
A commercial tanker was struck by an unknown projectile in the Red Sea, 63 nautical miles west of Yanbu, Saudi Arabia
Dubai-born premium activewear brand SQUATWOLF has officially entered the Saudi Arabian retail market
Ryanair had something to say about Emirates’ new headrests… and the internet was ready
🔍In other news…
🦄 World of Startups
ChatFeatured, Canada-based AI startup, raised $2M in a pre-seed funding round from BY Venture Partners (UAE/Lebanon) and other global investors
Doctorbook, Syria-based healthtech platform, raised $16K in a pre-seed funding round from a group of angel investors, valuing the startup at $200K
Carbar, Australia-based car subscription platform, is merging with Carasti, UAE-based car subscription business operating across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Singapore, at a combined pre-raise valuation of $74M
Fincart, Egypt-based eCommerce enablement platform, raised $2.8M in a seed funding round
