Khaled Darwish

Writer,

icn.live

For more than eleven years, Khaled Darwish has tracked the evolution of finance, regulation, and digital currencies for outlets such as Al Arabiya Business. Khaled completed postgraduate studies in Journalism and International Communication. His articles connect institutional strategies with the world of retail. Outdoor activities are his favorites.

Mubadala

Mubadala’s $250 million investment lifts Moove to a $2.1 billion value

Mubadala’s $250 million investment now anchors Moove, the mobility company building the operating layer for driverless transport. The Series C round it led values the firm at $2.1 billion. Woven Capital, Toyota’s Growth Fund, and Ion Pacific co-led it. For the UAE, the deal ties a sovereign backer to a company that wants to run the fleets behind self-driving cars.

The money follows a clear plan. Moove will expand its autonomous vehicle business, own more fleets, and build robotics-first depots it calls Nests. These sites charge, service, and maintain driverless cars around the clock. Fresh capital will also open new markets. Mubadala’s $250 million investment gives the company the balance sheet to move faster. The company announced today, 5th of August, the investment and the company’s vision of the company further.

Inside Mubadala’s $250 million investment

BlueCrest Capital Management, Sona Asset Management, and The Raptor Group came in as new backers. They sit alongside earlier investors such as BlackRock, MUFG, Franklin Templeton, and Uber. The Moove Series C funding builds on a stake Mubadala first took three years ago. Ali Eid AlMheiri, Executive Director of Diversified Assets at Mubadala’s UAE Investments Platform, said the fund backs scalable platforms that support economic diversification and strengthen the country’s role as a hub for advanced technologies.

Ali Eid AlMheiri, Executive Director of Diversified Assets, UAE Investments Platform at Mubadala, said: “Mubadala is investing in enabling infrastructure and scalable platforms like Moove that support economic diversification and strengthen the UAE’s role as a hub for advanced technologies. Since Mubadala’s initial investment three years ago, Moove has been a great partner, and we are glad to continue partnering with Moove in its next phase of growth.”

What does that mean for you? Mubadala’s $250 million investment places public capital behind a bet on autonomous mobility. If the bet pays off, the UAE gains a stake in how driverless transport scales worldwide.

The Waymo fleet partnership

Moove already runs cars for Waymo. Its Waymo fleet partnership covers live operations in Phoenix and Miami, with London named as the first step abroad. Self-driving firms write the software. Moove handles the work they would rather avoid, the cleaning, charging, and repair of every vehicle. That split lets each side focus on what it does best. Moove is also Uber’s largest global fleet partner, which widens its reach across the ride-hail market.

The autonomous vehicle fleet business carries real risk. Owning cars in an unsettled market ties up capital for years. Moove is betting its operating skill will hold that risk steady as fleets grow.

From Lagos to a $2.1 billion valuation

Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi started Moove in 2020 with 76 cars in Lagos. The company now runs about 42,000 vehicles across 29 cities in 13 countries and reports $420 million in annual recurring revenue. It employs 3,300 people and has grown through deals such as Kovi in Brazil and Tokyo Taxi in Japan. The Moove $2.1 billion valuation shows how far that base has stretched.

Ladi Delano, Co-Founder, Co-CEO and Advisory Board Chairman of Moove, said: “Every major technology revolution becomes an infrastructure race. The internet required data centres. AI required compute. Autonomy requires fleets, charging, maintenance, data systems and 24/7 operations in every city – and that is what Moove is building. In our view, as autonomy scales, infrastructure ownership and operations will define the category leaders. We are building to be one of them.

From our anchor in the UAE, and backed by long-term strategic capital, Moove now has the platform to help take autonomy from breakthrough technology to everyday transportation. This is not a departure from our mission; it is the fullest expression of it.”

What comes next

Hiring tells the story. Moove plans to grow its autonomous workforce from about 150 people to about 500 by the end of the year, a rise of more than 220%. That pace shows where the company sees demand. Mubadala’s $250 million investment signals the same view: that owning and running fleets will decide who leads.

Autonomous mobility is expected to shape logistics, public transport, and city planning over the coming years, though the timeline stays uncertain. For riders and investors, the message is plain. The firms that own and run driverless fleets may matter as much as the ones writing the code.

By Khaled Darwish
4 min read

DMCC

JLT Link electric bus service replaces RTA route in JLT and Uptown Dubai

The JLT Link electric bus service starts on 1 August 2026, giving people who live, work, or visit Jumeirah Lakes Towers a cleaner way to get around. DMCC, the free zone that runs the district, built the service to replace the current RTA-run JLT bus route. The switch happens with no break in the schedule, so your usual trips stay intact.

The fleet runs on electric power alone. It mixes 16-, 23-, and 31-seat buses. Each one sits low to the curb, fits a wheelchair, and leaves room for standing riders. That design opens the service to more people, including anyone who found older buses hard to board.

What the JLT Link electric bus service changes

The JLT Link electric bus service covers 18 stops across JLT and Uptown Dubai. Two of those stops carry the most weight for connections. Riders can link to DMCC Metro Station and Sobha Realty Metro Station, which tie the area into the wider Dubai Metro network. If you commute by train, that link trims the walk and the wait.

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and CEO of DMCC, said: “JLT Link is a further investment in the infrastructure that underpins our long-term vision for JLT and Uptown Dubai as one integrated destination. With fully electric buses, 18 stops, direct metro station links, and accessible, high-frequency services, we are creating a more connected, sustainable and convenient urban experience. As we continue to grow as a global business destination, initiatives like JLT Link enable seamless travel for our community and reinforce Dubai’s position as one of the world’s most competitive places to live, work and do business.”

Routes and timings you can plan around

Two circular routes run inside JLT. Each one arrives every 20 minutes. A third route connects Uptown Dubai with DMCC Metro Station every 30 minutes. Your wait depends on where you board and where you are headed.

The JLT internal routes run Monday through Saturday, from 6:30 AM to 9:30 PM. Last buses leave at 9:24 PM and pull in by 9:37 PM. On Sundays, those routes run later, from 9:30 AM to 12:30 AM. The Uptown Dubai route from JLT runs from 6:55 AM to 8:00 PM. Check the clock before a late trip, because the cutoffs shift by route and by day.

Why the JLT Link electric bus service matters for you

Dubai wants to cut transport emissions and reach its Net Zero 2050 goals. The electric fleet moves the district toward that target. It sits beside other JLT projects like solar power, Dubai Can water stations, and recycling points. For riders, the payoff is plain. You get quieter buses, cleaner air near the stops, and a service that keeps pace as the area grows.

Photo Credit: DMCC

By Khaled Darwish
3 min read

Aviation

Adani Group eyes a new airline as IndiGo and Air India tighten control

Adani Group eyes a new airline in India, and the plan could change what you pay for a domestic ticket. Two people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters the ports-to-cement conglomerate is studying an entry into flying. Nothing is settled. The group runs eight airports, carries an $11 billion expansion plan, and had said earlier it wanted no part of running a carrier.

That reversal did not come from nowhere. India’s government has quietly encouraged business groups, Adani included, to look at starting an airline. Two failures drove the nudge. Air India has faced heavy safety scrutiny since last year’s Dreamliner crash that killed 260 people. IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights in December after running short of pilots, stranding passengers and forcing officials to act on a sharp rise in fares.

What an Adani airline launch would mean for fares

For passengers, the question is simple. A third large carrier gives you somewhere to go when one airline breaks down. Right now the exit is narrow. IndiGo holds 65.4 per cent of domestic traffic and Air India about 25 per cent. Regulator data for June 2026 put IndiGo’s share at a record 66.3 per cent, while the Air India group slipped to 23.9 per cent. That IndiGo market share number is the whole argument for a new entrant. An Indian aviation duopoly leaves ticket prices exposed every time one operator stumbles.

Why Adani Group eyes a new airline now

One source framed the thinking as duty rather than profit, saying the group wants to weigh it “in national interest” despite the difficulty of the business. The second source said buying a stake in an existing airline is also under review, with all options open.

A rule stands in the way. Adani has approached the government seeking to dilute a clause that restricts certain airport operators from holding stakes in scheduled airlines, the Economic Times reported. The clause dates to the 2006 privatisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports and bars their operators from holding more than 10 per cent of a scheduled carrier. The civil aviation ministry has sought the Solicitor General’s opinion on whether the clause can be amended retrospectively, and any change would need cabinet approval. Adani holds 74 per cent of Mumbai International Airport.

Adani Airports built the ground floor first

Jeet Adani, a director at Adani Airports, told Reuters in December the group had no appetite for flying. Margins were thin, and the group lacked the “mindset” for it. Its strength, he said, lay in building “hard assets on the ground” and running them efficiently. Spending on that side has not slowed. Adani Airports said last month it would put more than $2 billion into airport-linked commercial districts across six locations, covering hotels, retail centres and office space.

The risk sitting inside the Indian aviation market

Money has been hard to keep in Indian skies. High taxes, fierce competition and supply-chain problems pushed Kingfisher, Jet Airways and Go First into bankruptcy over the last 15 years. SpiceJet is still working through financial strain. Adani is Asia’s second-richest person, with a net worth of around $89 billion, so funding is not the obstacle. History says funding alone has never been enough.

Rival carriers have a separate worry. Independent aviation analyst Brendan Sobie said airports owning airlines exist in markets such as Kyrgyzstan, Thailand and Vietnam, but a government allowing the operator of a major airport like Mumbai to hold an airline stake would be surprising. Other Indian airlines, he said, would “rightfully be concerned about a possible conflict of interest.”

Adani and the civil aviation ministry did not immediately respond to queries from Reuters. For now, any move depends on a rule change that has not happened.

By Khaled Darwish
4 min read

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