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Amira Khalil

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Amira Khalil writes for ICN.live since early 2024 and covers Health, AI trends, and global markets, with contributions to Finance Magnates, The National Business, and DailyMoney. Her writing reflects a strong interest in cultural change within digital economies. She studied Broadcast Journalism at Cairo University.
Hub71 Expands Initiate Programme
  • Hub71

Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, is expanding Initiate, its early-stage founder programme, after attracting more than 5,500 applications since launch. A startup has already been selected to begin its venture-building journey with Initiate at Hub71, receiving support to refine its products, validate market demand and prepare for commercial growth.

Through Initiate, Hub71 is combining venture builder expertise with practical founder development. Founders receive hands-on support to refine ideas, validate opportunities and build new ventures, while aspiring entrepreneurs can access workshops designed to develop the skills, networks and confidence needed to take their first steps towards building a startup.

Initiate has attracted almost 5,500 applications, reflecting strong demand from aspiring founders looking to turn early-stage ideas into viable ventures. This momentum has extended into the programme’s workshop series, with 500 aspiring founders attending seven sessions across July and August focused on problem validation, customer discovery, venture-building and co-founder identification. Delivered by Hub71 partners, the workshops equip aspiring founders with practical tools, industry insights and opportunities to build connections within Abu Dhabi’s startup ecosystem, helping them turn ideas into viable ventures.

Hub71 has also added Disrupt.com and TMC2 MEA to Initiate’s venture-builder network, expanding founders’ access to technical, commercial and investor expertise across a wider set of sectors.

Mohammad Alkhoori, Head of Startup Journey and Communications, Hub71, said: “Demand for early-stage support in Abu Dhabi is growing quickly. Every founder’s journey starts with an idea, but turning that idea into a successful startup requires the right guidance at the right time. Through Initiate, we are giving aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage founders access to experienced venture builders and a collaborative ecosystem that helps them validate ideas, build ventures, and take their next steps with confidence.”

Marking an early milestone for the programme, Hub71 has selected a startup to advance through Initiate, aligned with a priority sector for Abu Dhabi’s economy. Prism56, an AI-driven platform developed by Fikra Ventures to automate venture capital deal evaluation and investment committee workflows, has progressed from concept to minimum viable product and will now move into validation and pilot deployment. As a studio-led startup, Prism56 will continue to receive tailored venture-building support, mentorship and resources from Fikra Ventures to support its path to commercialisation. The startup will also receive licensing and office space support from Hub71 for one year, alongside access to its wider ecosystem of over 150 corporate, government and investment partners, service providers and founder community.

Through Initiate, Hub71 supports founders at the ideation and pre-seed stages by combining venture builder expertise with practical founder development, helping them validate ideas, develop business models and prepare their ventures for growth. Startups completing Initiate are positioned to progress into Hub71’s Access Programme, forming a clear pathway from idea to growth within Hub71’s broader tech ecosystem.

By supporting more founders as they build scalable ventures, Hub71 is strengthening Abu Dhabi’s pipeline of high-growth startups and reinforcing the Emirate’s position as a global hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.

About Hub71

A global tech ecosystem championing startup growth from Abu Dhabi. The extensive ecosystem brings together renowned corporations, national champions, and prominent investors to help founders grow and scale disruptive technology companies globally from the UAE capital. The aim is to shape a future that knows no bounds.

  • 3 min read
OpenAI's executive departures continue
  • OpenAI

OpenAI’s executive departures continue, and the newest one hits a corner of the company that decides how fast its AI can grow. The Wall Street Journal reported that Chris Malone, the OpenAI head of data centers, left last week. He joined in March 2025 after more than a decade at Google and nearly five years at Meta, so his run at the lab stayed short.

Picture what that seat holds. Every AI model needs computing power, and that power needs buildings packed with servers. The person steering that work holds one of the most watched jobs in the field. When they leave, people pay attention.

A short-lived reorganization?

Before Malone left, OpenAI changed the shape of his role. He stopped reporting to president Greg Brockman and began reporting to vice president Sachin Katti, who took over the group. In a statement, OpenAI said it had “recently reorganized” its infrastructure organization to match the scale and pace of its work. The company said it keeps a deep data center team with clear leadership.

Several leaders now share the load. Uday Ruddarraju runs the data center team. Brent Mayo handles build and delivery. Spas Lazarov, a veteran of the data center and energy sectors, leads all data center engineering.

Why OpenAI’s executive departures continue to draw scrutiny

Malone is not walking out alone. His exit follows a long run of OpenAI executive departures, and Business Insider counted 13 in 2026, with several in the past month. These are not junior staff. They sit near the top. OpenAI’s executive departures continue at a pace few large companies would shrug off.

Two weeks ago, OpenAI replaced chief revenue officer Denise Dresser after roughly eight months. Days before that, longtime chief operating officer Brad Lightcap said he would leave to “start something new,” though he shared no plans. About a month earlier, Fidji Simo stepped down as the company’s second-in-command to recover from a “chronic illness.” She stays on as an adviser.

The safety and ethics side has thinned too. OpenAI lost its head of ethics, Chloé Bakalar, in July. Reports also said the company disbanded its preparedness team, the unit that studied whether its models could cause catastrophic harm. Some leaders left because their projects closed. Bill Peebles, who ran the shuttered image tool Sora, was one. Kate Rouch, the former chief marketing officer, left in April for health reasons.

What the OpenAI executive exodus means before the IPO

The company plays down the OpenAI executive exodus. Brockman has said the bright spotlight on the company means every exit gets picked apart in a way rivals avoid. There is truth in that. Even so, the pattern raises real questions.

Reporting from CNBC and Bloomberg points to a shift in strategy. The company has leaned less on the Stargate project and moved toward leasing data center space from cloud providers. That change helps explain the reshuffle around Malone’s team.

Timing sharpens the worry. OpenAI’s public listing, once expected this year, is now reported to be pushed to 2027. A looming OpenAI IPO in 2027 brings a hard look at the numbers. Reporting has questioned whether the company is overvalued and whether its profit can match the huge sums flowing in. As OpenAI’s executive departures continue, investors will weigh what the churn says about the company, while the people still inside keep the work moving.

  • 3 min read
PIF acquires Saudi football club stakes
  • PIF

When PIF acquires Saudi football club stakes, the change reaches the stands well before it shows up on a balance sheet. Saudi Arabia’s sports ministry said in a social media post that it has begun moving 25 percent of the shares held by non-profit foundations in Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr to the Public Investment Fund. Regulatory steps are complete. The boards of those foundations will be dissolved. No price was disclosed, and the ministry framed the step as the second phase of an ownership transfer meant to make the four clubs easier for outside money to buy into.

Those foundations were built by club members. Some served for years, running elections, handling club affairs, carrying the identity of a club from one generation to the next. That role now ends. If you support one of these four teams, the people who used to speak for you inside the boardroom no longer sit there.

The PIF ownership stake and what it replaces

Regional and Saudi outlets report the fund already held 75 percent of the four clubs after the first phase in 2023, with the remaining quarter parked with each foundation. Folding in that quarter hands the fund the whole company. The second time PIF acquires Saudi football club stakes, the terms look cleaner than the first, because a single owner is far simpler to sell than a split one.

Al Hilal ownership shows where this goes. In April, the fund agreed to sell 70 percent of the club to Kingdom Holding Company, the investment firm founded by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, for SAR840 million, around $224 million. Before that, in July 2025, US venture firm Harburg Group bought Al-Kholood Club and became the first foreign owner in the league.

Saudi Pro League privatisation moves club by club

Saudi Pro League privatisation started as a formal programme in 2024, covering 14 clubs. Teams across the top tier have since moved to owners backed by sovereign money or private capital. Each deal follows the same shape. Convert the club into a company, tighten the governance, then find a buyer who wants the brand.

Ibrahim AlMoaiqel, assistant deputy minister for investment and privatisation, told a London forum in June that 11 club transactions had closed with two more underway, and more than 40 local and international investors had registered interest, according to reporting by Enterprise KSA. Five further clubs went on offer the same month.

What happens next after PIF acquires Saudi football club stakes

The logic behind all of it sits inside the Saudi Vision 2030 sports sector plan, which Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman set out to widen the economy beyond oil. Sport and entertainment carry part of that weight. The 2034 World Cup, which Saudi Arabia is preparing to host, tightens the clock, since a club bought today should be worth more once the league grows ahead of the tournament.

Each time PIF acquires Saudi football club stakes, the fund edges closer to handing the clubs over completely. What arrives with the new owners is harder to read. Budgets have tightened across the league, and Enterprise KSA reports transfer spending this summer sits far below the 2023 peak, when Saudi clubs pulled stars out of Europe at speed.

So the shares move, the paperwork clears, and the boardroom empties out. For the crowd in the stands, the real question is who walks in next.

  • 3 min read
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