#This is a guest post, guest posts do not necessarily reflect ArabCrunch opinion. There is an American saying “What goes around comes around” When a company starts collaborating with the CIA and the US government it becomes domed look at Yahoo and...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Ride sharing service Lyft who is the main competitor to Uber in the US is getting a boost from Saudi Arabia billionaire prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. The prince ?announced Thursday that his Kingdom Holding Co. ?is paying $104.9 million ?for 2.3 percent...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

?The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is the oldest sovereign wealth fund  in the world was founded in 1953. KIA invests in real estate and wide array of sectors in order to maximize the return on its fund. Looking at Crunchbase profile we...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Yahoo announced that it is closing its Dubai office its last office in the Arab world or Middle East after closing its offices in Amman and Cairo. Communicate Middle East said that There have been talks of the company shutting down its Middle East...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

The media likes to claim that Tunis government is the symbol of Arab spring success. But the facts on the ground that do not get reported by the media is different. The Western backed secular government is involved in anti Islam blitz. Anyone with a...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Google photographers are taking photos of Petra along with other 40 sites in Jordan to add it to google street view, according to CNN they will be released later in 2015. Like many Arab countries Jordan is struggling with tourism since the regime in...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Update: CyberKov issues a statement regarding the issue at the end of the post. There are some positive things about the US and Western lead Alliance war against the Islamic State which started more than a year ago directly after it was carried...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

The above image is a baby victim of US Shait and allies bombing. Dear Jack, I am sending you this letter hoping that you open your eyes to some facts and do the right thing. Please read on everything, do not just skip. 1- Are All US enemies...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Founded by female Palestinian entrepreneur  Lama Mansour and male Palestinian entrepreneur  Ismat Tuffaha, Bold Knot gives 3 hours extra battery, with 2x times faster charging usb cable available for iPhone and Androi and with a style....visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Update: Idriss Al Rifai co founder and CEO if Fetchr was working with the french military according to his linkedin profile “Advised the French Minister of Defense for 2 years on France’s strategic involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan,...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

 Start it with Etisalat are on the lookout for this year’s batch of aspiring Egyptian entrepreneurs.The initiative, held by the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC) alongside Etisalat, aims to provide constant support to young Egyptian startups whose products or ideas are innovative in the fields of Internet of Things (IoT) or Big Data.Interested applicants have the option of choosing one among six main challenges to tackle during the boot camp phase, where a maximum of 20 teams will elaborate their ideas with the help of experienced mentors and coaches so they would meet

AltCity is hosting its second fintech meetup, an “introduction to peer-to-peer (P2P) lending.”Held at their new offices on Kantari Street, attendees will learn more about P2P lending and where it belongs in the fintech value chain, how it works, who are the leading P2P lending startups and what to expect next.The session will be moderated by Mr. Antoine Khadige, an entrepreneur and management consultant specialized in digital banking transformation and Fintech who has been leading banks and financial institutions in the MENA in their digital transformations, along with a panel featuring key s

Justice through technology is their alma mater. HiiL is an initiative constantly seeking ways to implement new innovations and technologies to reinvent the way conflict resolution, ordinance, and governance are taking place. Through the “HiiL Justice Accelerator”, this initiative aims to promote systemic changes across the MENA and Ukraine regions, specifically focusing on legal tech, family justice, living wages discrimination, and SME empowerment.Aspiring innovators apply for an opportunity to receive an ‘Innovating Justice Award’, access to acceleration funding and professional support to

Cities are rising at a fast pace. The MENA region has seen this with Dubai, and shortly after, Masdar City.In the meantime, millions of refugees are being displaced within cities throughout the UK, Europe, Middle East, and beyond, with nowhere to live and no infrastructure to support basic daily needs.How do we rebuild and redesign an ancient city like Damascus, while maintaining and honoring its history?In order to accommodate these needs we have to develop innovative approaches to urban planning, design, architecture, mobility, agriculture, and so much more.From August 29 to September 2, th

One step forward, two steps backward? Or is it two steps forward, one step backward?If we take a look at the tech sector in Morocco, so far this year, the VoIP ban is the one thing we won't easily forget. Who would have thought that five months later, it would still be enforced and stronger than ever?This would have enraged our late contributor Karim Jazouani. A pioneer entrepreneur and a web and startup ambassador for Morocco, he passed away three years ago. Still, this year has seen some interesting advances.Regulators and bank institutions finally seem to be adapting to the modern monetary

I was asked to give a commencement speech at Hamad bin Khalifa University in Doha on May 1. Below is an edited version of what I said.I want to tell you today about something I call the ‘Power of Yalla’ and how it came to change my life. But allow me to say first how deeply honored to be with you today, particularly because I was not what you call the perfect student. In fact I was quite the troublemaker at school.Let’s just say my teachers prefered to have me outside the class more than inside it. But today I realize this trouble making was the seed of my entrepreneurial journey.Image, right

Accelerators have become a “rite of passage” for entrepreneurs around the world, and a report on the state of global programs shows just how 'early stage' the Middle East is in comparison.The Global Accelerator Report 2015, released on Tuesday, found that 12 accelerators in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (it did not include Maghreb countries) invested just over $3.5 million in 126 startups since the sector began to really emerge three years ago.The spread: although the report is not a complete survey of all public and private accelerators in MENAT it gives an idea of who and what is

In response to fast-growing sharing economy businesses, the UAE is treading a thin line between regulation and innovation. (Image via Katie Edwards)In a 2013 article, internet industry analyst Larry Downes made a strong statement: innovation and regulation simply don’t mix.Regulated industries, he said, operated outside market-based systems, conceding to "regulatory capture" that imposed mutually exclusive interests, price controls, pre-approvals and stringent licensing. True to Downes’ statement, recent worldwide governments’ responses have been to contain, rather than embrace, disruption br

Independant Moroccan developer at Global Game Jam 2016. (Image via Moroccan Game Developers)After 18 years of activity French gaming giant Ubisoft has announced it will close its Casablanca studio, leaving 48 developers looking for jobs.For some in the Moroccan indie gaming scene, the June 9 announcement isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it could herald a new beginning for the gaming sector and the studio had been leaking talent for a number of years.“I left the studio in 2015 because there was no vision for the future by the top management of the Moroccan studio, and we were starting to feel

Executives brainstorming how to build a CE roadmap during Wamda and Expo 2020 Dubai’s Summit. [Image via Wamda]During the Collaborative Entrepreneurship (CE) Summit held last month, Wamda and Expo 2020 Dubai launched a first-of-its kind report that explores the current status of corporate-startup engagement in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.The research assesses the number of corporations in MENA that are working with startups, and the depth of their engagement.Findings from the report suggest that appetites for CE are moving in the right direction. More corporations are begin

Prashant Gulati, more known as ‘PK’, calls himself a “technology innovator, angel investor, mentor, idea accelerator and writer”.His latest “tech innovation” related activity, is building The Assembly.In this video Gulati discusses the 'lab' sited at In5 in Dubai, to bring tech communities together and foster research on new technologies.The platform also wants to teach people about the use of smart technology such as 3D printing, and robotics and its benefits to build solutions for their daily lives.PK during the interview (Image via Wamda)Coming from the idea that innovation has become loca

(Image via Harvard Business Review)This article is a crosspost with Harvard Business Review.Eskimos have 50 words for snow. Humans only use 10 percent of our brains. We hear these types of “facts” all the time — but are they true? Scientists are now saying, “Not so simple.”We have all seen how repetition of a particular statement or idea tends to lend it legitimacy – the so-called “truth effect.” This effect is likely strengthened when the assertion is made in a serious context by intelligent people with authority. Consider the idea, increasingly an assumption of fact, that “startups create j

Egyptian fashion has recently been getting more involved in the ecommerce scene. (Image via Maison Saedi)Ecommerce is a driving force for economic growth in the Middle East.And with this growth of ecommerce has come a slew of fashion-related startups cashing in on a new found market, both in online payments and cash-on-delivery.Whether it’s an independent fashion designer marketing themselves on social media or a fashion ecommerce platform, this list highlights some Egyptians to watch.Coterique Founder: Dana Khater in 2013Accepts online payment onlyCoterique is an ecommerce platform that has

Google Ventures' design sprint tries to take teams from problem to solution in five days. (Image via Fastcodesign)Do you want to be a Facebook or a Google?Maybe you want to be both, but the method each company uses to get to a final product is very different. One famously “moves fast and breaks things” - or at least it used to - and the other, its venture arm at least, promotes the ‘sprint’.Google Ventures design partner Daniel Burka says the five-day workshop, a rapid product design and testing process to reduce risks such as market-fit, is applicable to MENA startups

Students putting themselves in an entrepreneur’s shoes. (Images via Spark)The time is long gone when starting a business as a teenager meant loneliness, being misunderstood by one’s peers, and scaring your parents. In Tunis, at least, a change in mindset is underway.High-schoolers Sara Ghodbane, 15, and Leila Mnekebi say only a few of their classmates were interested in entrepreneurship - it’s a matter of tastes after all - but they’ve noticed a true interest for the topic in their schools.Rym Baouendi, cofounder of coworking space Cogite and program advisor of the entrepreneurial activities

89 percent of large corporations and 94 percent of startups see value in partnering together. [Tweet this]This is one of many findings from a report published today by Expo 2020 Dubai and Wamda that looks at the status of corporate-startup engagement in the region.The research draws on data and insights collected from interviews with 130 corporate executives and stakeholders in MENA’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, a benchmark of 300 corporations, and a survey of 758 entrepreneurs in MENA.The report finds that while there is a large appetite for collaboration, corporations and startups are not a

Mona El Khodairy receiving the Ecotaqa award at The Impact bootcamp in Dubai. (Images via Ecotaqa)In 2014 Mona El Khodairy, an entrepreneur from Luxor, broke with tradition and became an entrepreneur - but she wasn’t entering a simple industry nor one that easily accepts women.El Khodairy started a biogas company called El Khodairy Biogas, later renamed Ecotaqa, selling  units that produce biogas and biofertilizer from animal manure. She had to carve a place for herself not only as a renewable energy entrepreneur, but also within the male-dominated agricultural sector.In a very restrictive so

Lebanon’s leading fintech startup, Pinpay, is to receive a $2.5 million investment from Fransabank.The mobile payment and bill aggregation platform, which was founded in 2011, currently has Bank Audi and Bankmed signed up to the platform so all account holders at these two banks are able to make mobile payments.According to a report from Businessnews.com.lb, Fransabank will be using Pinpay’s services for their customers and “will stop operating the Simba mobile payment application provided by Viamobile”.Other shareholders in Pinpay are Bank Audi, Bankmed and the Lebanese investment firm Middl

The CE Summit in May was the first of its kind in MENA to delve into the concept of corporate-startup collaboration. (Image via Expo2020)I begin with a confession: I didn’t believe in collaborative entrepreneurship.Don’t get me wrong, ‘collaboration’ is one of the core watch-words of startups. The greatest innovation comes from it and unprecedented access to knowledge has been unlocked because of millions having access to each other.Even in the hyper competitive marketplace, ‘co-opetition’ is only a slight variation on the theme, suggesting that even sometime rivals benefit from synergies and

Instabug has Egypt's tight-knit ecosystem to thank for much of its success. (Image via Instabug)This is an edited crosspost from Rise Up Summit founder Con O'Donnell.Instabug, a Delaware company with Egyptian founders, just announced an investment of $1.7 million into its business.The majority was from Accel, a US VC, and the rest was from individuals somehow connected to, or believing in, Instabug.How did that happen?Those of you who know me know that I believe in both startup businesses and something we call the ecosystem: the environment that can help startups with funding, technical and b

This is an edited crosspost from Knowledge@Wharton. Muhammed Mekki is well equipped for his mission to promote a robust startup culture in the Arab world. The Iraqi-American studied economics at the Wharton...

Koshk Comics has a plan to take over the world, but unlike the nefarious comic villains who normally wield that line they’re aiming more for the superhero tag. It’s a mobile-first platform into...

The world of entrepreneurship news is a complex one, with people ever ready to give their two cents on how you should be running your business. Here’s our wrap of what we’re reading on...

This is an edited crosspost from Nuwait. Some entrepreneurs think that prototyping delays the launch of the real product and could be a waste of time. But having a prototype is important to test...

In a country where only 14 percent of people have bank accounts, fintech startups servicing Egyptians’ unmet needs are playing on a field that’s still tipped in favor of big banks. The biggest...

Digital. It's a byword for modern life and how we move our homes and cities forward. Back in May, Dubai hosted the 22nd GCC Smart Government and Smart Cities Conference, where for five days speakers...

During this year's Rio 2016 Olympic Games, GE machines are tweeting in their native tongue - binary code – about their experiences at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. This is part of a...

F03 Fellow Female Founders series aims to build and activate a vibrant community around female startup founders in Amman. The event is set to take place on August 20 at the Zain Innovation Campus...

The French Tech Ticket program is back with its second iteration, selecting 70 startups from all around the world to join one of France’s top 41 incubators on a 12-month incubation program. The...

1 Day. 100+ Presentations. 42 Winners. The region has become more open to businesses and multinational companies than ever, and thus becoming more open to a competitive market that is shaped and formed by...

The region’s first theatrical conference and gathering of leaders shaping the future of UAE is here! National Treasure will be held on September 27-28, at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce...

Badreddine Ouali is a model for the new generation of Tunisian entrepreneurs, but he never planned his career. Today, after blazing a few trails, he’s the chairman of Tunisian financial software...

Seedstars World is coming back to Tehran! On September 15 at the Incubator of Shahid Beheshti University, the 12 best startups from Iran will be invited to pitch in front of a panel of investors and compete...

Seedstars World is coming for its inaugural event to Bahrain! The event will take place at CH9 Hub on September 24, where the best startups from GCC will be invited to pitch in front of a panel of investors...

Seedstars World is coming back to Beirut! On 13 October 2016, the 10 best startups from Beirut will be invited to pitch in front of an investment panel and compete to be crowned the most promising...

Seedstars World is coming back to Istanbul! On October 20, the 10 best startups from Istanbul will be invited to pitch in front of an investment panel and compete to be crowned the most promising seed-stage...

Seedstars World is coming back to Algeria! This time bigger, stronger, better. On October 29, the 12 best startups from Constantine, Algiers, and Oran will be invited to pitch in front of an investment...

In the 90s, parents hid Gameboys from their children on high shelves and under heavy mattresses. This year, with face-to-screen time at record highs, Salma Jawhar wants kids to bring it on. She wants them...

Asmahan Zein founded and built data management company Infofort in Lebanon after working for 27 years at Aramex. She’s the president of the Lebanese League of Women in Business and is clear about...

Want to make your business idea a reality? The Mighty Labs Pre-Accelerator program in Berlin is accepting MENA applications for its first cycle, preparing entrepreneurs to propel their business ideas...

MasterCard is showcasing new ways for people to pay for goods this week, as the company lets visitors to the Arnold Palmer Invitational (API) PGA Tour event in Florida pay for items through virtual reality (VR) glasses. For the initiative, MasterCard has teamed up with Wearality, an Orlando-based company that develops VR glasses and other wearables, to show consumers a new way to peruse and pay for goods. Though much of the experience is about future-gazing and giving a glimpse into what the ecommerce of tomorrow could look like, the technology is good to go now and people will be able to use

VB INSIGHT: Seattle-based startup Usermind is announcing a $14.5 million series B, led by Menlo Ventures, as well as its emergence from ‘stealth’ mode. The company has now raised over $20 million before public launch, based on the previous $7.6 million round led by Andreessen Horowitz. That’s a tidy sum of capital from significant names to have garnered without a public product in the market. They’ve been at this for a few years now, however, and, suffice it to say, the company is building something interesting. Usermind’s premise is based on some strong tidal fo

Smart doorbell startup Ring has raised a further $61.2 million in a series C round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, with participation from existing investor Sir Richard Branson. VentureBeat first discovered Ring back in 2013 when the startup was known as Doorbot — which was basically a doorbell equipped with a Wi-Fi-connected camera. In the intervening months, the Santa Monica-headquartered company has rebranded and developed new technology and products such as Ring Chime, motion-detection smarts, and a cloud-based video storage hub. Today’s funding, which comes a lit

Streaming analytics startup Striim secured an extra $10 million investment from Atlantic Bridge Capital for its series B round. Striim raised $30 million in total for its latest round and said the funds will help its expansion into Europe. The company said that its “streaming integration and intelligence” technology makes it “easy to deliver custom streaming analytics applications” and that the investment will help bring Striim’s service to Cloud, SaaS, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Atlantic Bridge Capital’s Kevin Dillon is joining Striim’s board as

CrowdStreet, a management tool for real estate investors, announced today that it closed a $3.5 million investment led by Rally Ventures. The series A funds will be used to further develop CrowStreet’s technology and build new partnerships, the startup said. The Portland company says on its website that it “provides accredited investors with online access to institutional-quality commercial real estate investment opportunities on behalf of the most experienced and reputable sponsors nationwide.” Seed investors Green Visor Capital, Seven Peaks Ventures, and Portland Seed Fund

Amazon has launched a new service that makes it easier for companies to move their databases to Amazon Web Services (AWS) and promises that firms can “set up their migrations in less than 10 minutes.” The launch comes five months after Amazon first debuted the AWS Database Migration Service in preview, and a day after reports first circulated that the Internet giant was preparing to officially introduce the service to all companies. Since January 1, Amazon said that more than 1,000 databases have been migrated to AWS — which is the company’s popular suite of cloud-comp

Esports might have a future home in arcades. No, we’re not back in the ’80s. Joshua DeBonis and Nikita Mikros of Bumble Bear Games talked at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco today about its latest project, Killer Queen. It’s a 10-player experience that pits two teams of five against each other in an enviroment similar to the classic Joust, which tasked players with maneuvering flapping birds around the screen and killing opponents by landing on them. What makes Killer Queen unique, however, is its platform. It’s only for arcades. Most consider arcades a

Game developers have an opportunity to set price expectations for virtual reality games, but as with mobile, the industry will probably decide the price for a new game download is … nothing. Free-to-play gaming is coming to virtual reality, a panel of developers and VR experts said during a panel at the Game Developers Conference today in San Francisco. Right now, many studios expect consumers to have a lot of demand and money to spend on virtual experiences and games. This has led to products like AirMech — a free-to-play release for PC — coming out later this month for Ocu

Most virtual reality games will put you into the action from a first-person perspective, but a few are going for the classic third-person viewpoint of something like the revolutionary Super Mario 64. Only it turns out that getting that kind of game working in VR is tough. Playful is an Oculus Rift developer making the upcoming platformer Lucky’s Tale, which has players controlling a cute fox through a cartoon world. It is reminiscent of 3D Mario games as well as something like the Nintendo 64’s Banjo-Kazooie. And that’s partially because Playful designers Dan Hurd and Evan R

(Reuters) – Members of a U.S. Senate panel and firms working on self-driving vehicles on Tuesday called for national rather than state regulation of the cars to avoid a patchwork of rules that could slow development. Major automakers and technology companies are racing to develop and sell vehicles that can drive themselves but have complained that state and federal safety rules are impeding testing and ultimate deployment. The rules will determine when and if a fully autonomous car could be driven on roads. Differing rules from state to state would prevent the cars being driven over sta

In two months, at its I/O 2016 developer conference, Google will talk more about Android N. We don’t yet know what version number it will have (likely either Android 6.1 or Android 7.0) or what the N will stand for. The current codename is New York Cheesecake (NYC). At the time of publishing, there are at least eight mentions of the nyc-dev branch in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). Google started naming its Android versions after desserts and sweets more than six years ago. Here are all the releases so far: Android 1.5 Cupcake (April 2009) Android 1.6 Donut (September 2009) And

ANALYSIS: Even with all the talk these days of investors having short arms and thin wallets, money from limited partners continues to flow into venture capital funds. Accel Partners earlier today announced the closing of a pair of U.S. funds totaling $2 billion. Accel is creating a $500 million fund for early stage companies and a $1.5 billion fund for later stage businesses. “We are excited about what’s ahead. Technology is central to the way people live and work around the world, evolving the way we communicate, learn, shop, travel” and more, said Ryan Sweeney, growth fund manager at

Apple today responded to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys’ reply to Apple’s motion to vacate an order to help the FBI unlock San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook’s iPhone. “This case arises in a difficult context after a terrible tragedy. But it is in just such highly-charged and emotional cases that the courts must zealously guard civil liberties and the rule of law and reject government overreaching. This Court should therefore deny the government’s request and vacate the order,” lawyers representing Apple wrote in the filing. (function()

Goodbye, reverse-chronology. Hello, algorithms. Instagram told users and businesses today that their photo feeds “will soon be ordered to show the moments [it believes] you will care about the most.” Up until now, Instagram organized its feeds in reverse-chronological order. That is, the photos in your feed appeared whenever they were shared. The change was inevitable. As the New York Times writes, Facebook introduced algorithmic ordering to its News Feed back in 2009. And while the change prompted protests, the resulting panic was short-lived. We’ll likely see the same resu

Sony game chief Andrew House said today that the giant publisher is partnering with Electronic Arts and Lucasfilm to create a exclusive virtual reality version of Star Wars: Battlefront for the PlayStation 4’s PlayStation VR headset. The news comes today from a press event at the Game Developers Conference, where House also revealed that Sony will launch the PlayStation VR headset for $399 in October. It’s going to be a big year for VR, and the crowds at GDC’s VR sessions reflect this. The interest is so high that the conference had to move some talks to larger rooms. VR is

Sony game chief Andrew House announced today that the PlayStation VR virtual reality headset will launch for $399 in October. It’s going to be a big year for virtual reality, and the crowds at the VR sessions at the Game Developers Conference reflect that. VR is expected to be a $30 billion market by 2020, according to tech adviser Digi-Capital. The PS4 has sold 36 million systems since its November debut, and it’s the leading home gaming console in the $99.3 billion global gaming market. “It’s been a long road for virtual reality,” said Andrew House, the CEO of

VB WEBINAR: The battle for high-quality mobile users has never been more fierce. Find out how companies who are killing it in UA are achieving phenomenal success — without paying through the nose. Register here for free. Most apps fail. That’s the simple, brutal, but honest truth for developers entering the mobile app market. As we reported earlier, 70 percent of apps will not generate more than 5,000 downloads, and 60 percent of them will never be updated. While the odds certainly aren’t favorable for global developers, that’s not stopping them from adding close to 2,500 new apps dail

Startup Peerio today announced the availability of its encrypted messaging app on both iOS and Android. They’re a long time coming; Peerio first launched in January 2015, but it’s only been available on desktop, and the alpha and beta testing for the mobile apps — which support cloud storage, group chat, and offline read access — have been going on for several months. Now the iOS app is on the App Store, and the Android app is on the Google Play Store. Plus, all the code for the app is available for anyone to inspect on GitHub under an open source GPL license. “W

Ubisoft has another hit franchise in its stable. The publisher revealed today that its online shooter Tom Clancy’s The Division has had best first week ever for a new games franchise. Previously, its opening day sales were the best in the company’s history. According to Ubisoft, The Division has generated $330 million globally in its first five days. The game is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, key platforms in the $99.3 billion global game market. “The Division taking the top spot in the industry for first-week sales of a new franchise is a tremendous achieveme

Crytek announced today that it is changing its business model for its game-development tools to “pay what you want.” It is also setting up a $1 million indie game development fund. The new business model is a bold bet that relies on the kindness of fellow game developers, especially when Epic’s Unreal Engine and Unity’s tools have free options. The company made the announcement as part of its unveiling of its next-generation CryEngine V game engine, which supports for virtual reality headsets. Frank Vitz, creative director at Frankfurt, Germany-based Crytek, said at a

Many Android devices offer dual SIM feature built in, but for the iPhone that is not the case, having a dual SIM in a phone enables you to have mobile lines in one phone instead than carrying 2 phones with you which is a cumbersome effort in terms...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

  Amaq Agency the only news agency that operates in Islamic State (IS) territories has launched few days ago its website in English here and on Twitter hashtag #AmaqAgnecy. It provide breaking news, videos, infographics and detailed news...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

One has to wonder what makes most successful consumer Internet websites in the globe the likes of facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Google, Instagram and Whatsapp, Americans? Some would say because America has the most developed innovation ecosystem in...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Facebook has blocked log-ins and signups via the encrypted and anonymous browser TOR. This will lead hundreds of thousands of political activists around the world to login via their own IP address, unlike when they log-in via TOR at a different...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Yesterday top government officials unveiled plans for UAE and the Muslim world first Mars mission called “hope” or Amal in Arabic. The mission aims to provide  global picture of the Martian atmosphere through an unmanned probe to be launched in...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

You must heard the term crowd funding, it exploded in the recent years in US with sites such as Kick Starter and Indiegogo. Crowd funding comes in many forms, the most popular is offering a donation for a cause or a product and there is collecting...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

The user review app and site Jeeran officially launched in Cairo and Alexandria this week to help customers make buying decisions and document their experiences with places around the city. With this launch, the Amman-based company now covers 39...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Anonymous along with other Muslim hacktivist groups including Tunisian hactivist group Fallaga, Hackers from Pakistan and Indonesia announced around a month ago that today will be the day for operation Israel #opIsrael promising an Electronic...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

San Francisco based mobile-app-based transportation network Uber which allows consumers to submit a trip request via their mobile phones, which is routed to crowd-sourced taxi drivers has launhced in Amman Jordan. The launch in Jordan...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Updated. No you wont see demonstrations in the West saying Jesus Adimlar, No you want see the Masonic media rush to condemn the attack against the Islamic magazine Adimlar in Turkey and call it an attack against free speech, no you wont see the...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

#This is a guest post, guest posts do not necessarily reflect ArabCrunch opinion. There is an American saying “What goes around comes around” When a company starts collaborating with the CIA and the US government it becomes domed look at Yahoo and...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Ride sharing service Lyft who is the main competitor to Uber in the US is getting a boost from Saudi Arabia billionaire prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. The prince ?announced Thursday that his Kingdom Holding Co. ?is paying $104.9 million ?for 2.3 percent...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

?The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is the oldest sovereign wealth fund  in the world was founded in 1953. KIA invests in real estate and wide array of sectors in order to maximize the return on its fund. Looking at Crunchbase profile we...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Yahoo announced that it is closing its Dubai office its last office in the Arab world or Middle East after closing its offices in Amman and Cairo. Communicate Middle East said that There have been talks of the company shutting down its Middle East...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

The media likes to claim that Tunis government is the symbol of Arab spring success. But the facts on the ground that do not get reported by the media is different. The Western backed secular government is involved in anti Islam blitz. Anyone with a...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Google photographers are taking photos of Petra along with other 40 sites in Jordan to add it to google street view, according to CNN they will be released later in 2015. Like many Arab countries Jordan is struggling with tourism since the regime in...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Update: CyberKov issues a statement regarding the issue at the end of the post. There are some positive things about the US and Western lead Alliance war against the Islamic State which started more than a year ago directly after it was carried...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

The above image is a baby victim of US Shait and allies bombing. Dear Jack, I am sending you this letter hoping that you open your eyes to some facts and do the right thing. Please read on everything, do not just skip. 1- Are All US enemies...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Founded by female Palestinian entrepreneur  Lama Mansour and male Palestinian entrepreneur  Ismat Tuffaha, Bold Knot gives 3 hours extra battery, with 2x times faster charging usb cable available for iPhone and Androi and with a style....visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Update: Idriss Al Rifai co founder and CEO if Fetchr was working with the french military according to his linkedin profile “Advised the French Minister of Defense for 2 years on France’s strategic involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan,...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

 Start it with Etisalat are on the lookout for this year’s batch of aspiring Egyptian entrepreneurs.The initiative, held by the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC) alongside Etisalat, aims to provide constant support to young Egyptian startups whose products or ideas are innovative in the fields of Internet of Things (IoT) or Big Data.Interested applicants have the option of choosing one among six main challenges to tackle during the boot camp phase, where a maximum of 20 teams will elaborate their ideas with the help of experienced mentors and coaches so they would meet

AltCity is hosting its second fintech meetup, an “introduction to peer-to-peer (P2P) lending.”Held at their new offices on Kantari Street, attendees will learn more about P2P lending and where it belongs in the fintech value chain, how it works, who are the leading P2P lending startups and what to expect next.The session will be moderated by Mr. Antoine Khadige, an entrepreneur and management consultant specialized in digital banking transformation and Fintech who has been leading banks and financial institutions in the MENA in their digital transformations, along with a panel featuring key s

Justice through technology is their alma mater. HiiL is an initiative constantly seeking ways to implement new innovations and technologies to reinvent the way conflict resolution, ordinance, and governance are taking place. Through the “HiiL Justice Accelerator”, this initiative aims to promote systemic changes across the MENA and Ukraine regions, specifically focusing on legal tech, family justice, living wages discrimination, and SME empowerment.Aspiring innovators apply for an opportunity to receive an ‘Innovating Justice Award’, access to acceleration funding and professional support to

Cities are rising at a fast pace. The MENA region has seen this with Dubai, and shortly after, Masdar City.In the meantime, millions of refugees are being displaced within cities throughout the UK, Europe, Middle East, and beyond, with nowhere to live and no infrastructure to support basic daily needs.How do we rebuild and redesign an ancient city like Damascus, while maintaining and honoring its history?In order to accommodate these needs we have to develop innovative approaches to urban planning, design, architecture, mobility, agriculture, and so much more.From August 29 to September 2, th

One step forward, two steps backward? Or is it two steps forward, one step backward?If we take a look at the tech sector in Morocco, so far this year, the VoIP ban is the one thing we won't easily forget. Who would have thought that five months later, it would still be enforced and stronger than ever?This would have enraged our late contributor Karim Jazouani. A pioneer entrepreneur and a web and startup ambassador for Morocco, he passed away three years ago. Still, this year has seen some interesting advances.Regulators and bank institutions finally seem to be adapting to the modern monetary

I was asked to give a commencement speech at Hamad bin Khalifa University in Doha on May 1. Below is an edited version of what I said.I want to tell you today about something I call the ‘Power of Yalla’ and how it came to change my life. But allow me to say first how deeply honored to be with you today, particularly because I was not what you call the perfect student. In fact I was quite the troublemaker at school.Let’s just say my teachers prefered to have me outside the class more than inside it. But today I realize this trouble making was the seed of my entrepreneurial journey.Image, right

Accelerators have become a “rite of passage” for entrepreneurs around the world, and a report on the state of global programs shows just how 'early stage' the Middle East is in comparison.The Global Accelerator Report 2015, released on Tuesday, found that 12 accelerators in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (it did not include Maghreb countries) invested just over $3.5 million in 126 startups since the sector began to really emerge three years ago.The spread: although the report is not a complete survey of all public and private accelerators in MENAT it gives an idea of who and what is

In response to fast-growing sharing economy businesses, the UAE is treading a thin line between regulation and innovation. (Image via Katie Edwards)In a 2013 article, internet industry analyst Larry Downes made a strong statement: innovation and regulation simply don’t mix.Regulated industries, he said, operated outside market-based systems, conceding to "regulatory capture" that imposed mutually exclusive interests, price controls, pre-approvals and stringent licensing. True to Downes’ statement, recent worldwide governments’ responses have been to contain, rather than embrace, disruption br

Independant Moroccan developer at Global Game Jam 2016. (Image via Moroccan Game Developers)After 18 years of activity French gaming giant Ubisoft has announced it will close its Casablanca studio, leaving 48 developers looking for jobs.For some in the Moroccan indie gaming scene, the June 9 announcement isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it could herald a new beginning for the gaming sector and the studio had been leaking talent for a number of years.“I left the studio in 2015 because there was no vision for the future by the top management of the Moroccan studio, and we were starting to feel

Executives brainstorming how to build a CE roadmap during Wamda and Expo 2020 Dubai’s Summit. [Image via Wamda]During the Collaborative Entrepreneurship (CE) Summit held last month, Wamda and Expo 2020 Dubai launched a first-of-its kind report that explores the current status of corporate-startup engagement in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.The research assesses the number of corporations in MENA that are working with startups, and the depth of their engagement.Findings from the report suggest that appetites for CE are moving in the right direction. More corporations are begin

Prashant Gulati, more known as ‘PK’, calls himself a “technology innovator, angel investor, mentor, idea accelerator and writer”.His latest “tech innovation” related activity, is building The Assembly.In this video Gulati discusses the 'lab' sited at In5 in Dubai, to bring tech communities together and foster research on new technologies.The platform also wants to teach people about the use of smart technology such as 3D printing, and robotics and its benefits to build solutions for their daily lives.PK during the interview (Image via Wamda)Coming from the idea that innovation has become loca

(Image via Harvard Business Review)This article is a crosspost with Harvard Business Review.Eskimos have 50 words for snow. Humans only use 10 percent of our brains. We hear these types of “facts” all the time — but are they true? Scientists are now saying, “Not so simple.”We have all seen how repetition of a particular statement or idea tends to lend it legitimacy – the so-called “truth effect.” This effect is likely strengthened when the assertion is made in a serious context by intelligent people with authority. Consider the idea, increasingly an assumption of fact, that “startups create j

Egyptian fashion has recently been getting more involved in the ecommerce scene. (Image via Maison Saedi)Ecommerce is a driving force for economic growth in the Middle East.And with this growth of ecommerce has come a slew of fashion-related startups cashing in on a new found market, both in online payments and cash-on-delivery.Whether it’s an independent fashion designer marketing themselves on social media or a fashion ecommerce platform, this list highlights some Egyptians to watch.Coterique Founder: Dana Khater in 2013Accepts online payment onlyCoterique is an ecommerce platform that has

Google Ventures' design sprint tries to take teams from problem to solution in five days. (Image via Fastcodesign)Do you want to be a Facebook or a Google?Maybe you want to be both, but the method each company uses to get to a final product is very different. One famously “moves fast and breaks things” - or at least it used to - and the other, its venture arm at least, promotes the ‘sprint’.Google Ventures design partner Daniel Burka says the five-day workshop, a rapid product design and testing process to reduce risks such as market-fit, is applicable to MENA startups

Students putting themselves in an entrepreneur’s shoes. (Images via Spark)The time is long gone when starting a business as a teenager meant loneliness, being misunderstood by one’s peers, and scaring your parents. In Tunis, at least, a change in mindset is underway.High-schoolers Sara Ghodbane, 15, and Leila Mnekebi say only a few of their classmates were interested in entrepreneurship - it’s a matter of tastes after all - but they’ve noticed a true interest for the topic in their schools.Rym Baouendi, cofounder of coworking space Cogite and program advisor of the entrepreneurial activities

89 percent of large corporations and 94 percent of startups see value in partnering together. [Tweet this]This is one of many findings from a report published today by Expo 2020 Dubai and Wamda that looks at the status of corporate-startup engagement in the region.The research draws on data and insights collected from interviews with 130 corporate executives and stakeholders in MENA’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, a benchmark of 300 corporations, and a survey of 758 entrepreneurs in MENA.The report finds that while there is a large appetite for collaboration, corporations and startups are not a

Mona El Khodairy receiving the Ecotaqa award at The Impact bootcamp in Dubai. (Images via Ecotaqa)In 2014 Mona El Khodairy, an entrepreneur from Luxor, broke with tradition and became an entrepreneur - but she wasn’t entering a simple industry nor one that easily accepts women.El Khodairy started a biogas company called El Khodairy Biogas, later renamed Ecotaqa, selling  units that produce biogas and biofertilizer from animal manure. She had to carve a place for herself not only as a renewable energy entrepreneur, but also within the male-dominated agricultural sector.In a very restrictive so

Lebanon’s leading fintech startup, Pinpay, is to receive a $2.5 million investment from Fransabank.The mobile payment and bill aggregation platform, which was founded in 2011, currently has Bank Audi and Bankmed signed up to the platform so all account holders at these two banks are able to make mobile payments.According to a report from Businessnews.com.lb, Fransabank will be using Pinpay’s services for their customers and “will stop operating the Simba mobile payment application provided by Viamobile”.Other shareholders in Pinpay are Bank Audi, Bankmed and the Lebanese investment firm Middl

The CE Summit in May was the first of its kind in MENA to delve into the concept of corporate-startup collaboration. (Image via Expo2020)I begin with a confession: I didn’t believe in collaborative entrepreneurship.Don’t get me wrong, ‘collaboration’ is one of the core watch-words of startups. The greatest innovation comes from it and unprecedented access to knowledge has been unlocked because of millions having access to each other.Even in the hyper competitive marketplace, ‘co-opetition’ is only a slight variation on the theme, suggesting that even sometime rivals benefit from synergies and

Instabug has Egypt's tight-knit ecosystem to thank for much of its success. (Image via Instabug)This is an edited crosspost from Rise Up Summit founder Con O'Donnell.Instabug, a Delaware company with Egyptian founders, just announced an investment of $1.7 million into its business.The majority was from Accel, a US VC, and the rest was from individuals somehow connected to, or believing in, Instabug.How did that happen?Those of you who know me know that I believe in both startup businesses and something we call the ecosystem: the environment that can help startups with funding, technical and b

This is an edited crosspost from Knowledge@Wharton. Muhammed Mekki is well equipped for his mission to promote a robust startup culture in the Arab world. The Iraqi-American studied economics at the Wharton...

Koshk Comics has a plan to take over the world, but unlike the nefarious comic villains who normally wield that line they’re aiming more for the superhero tag. It’s a mobile-first platform into...

The world of entrepreneurship news is a complex one, with people ever ready to give their two cents on how you should be running your business. Here’s our wrap of what we’re reading on...

This is an edited crosspost from Nuwait. Some entrepreneurs think that prototyping delays the launch of the real product and could be a waste of time. But having a prototype is important to test...

In a country where only 14 percent of people have bank accounts, fintech startups servicing Egyptians’ unmet needs are playing on a field that’s still tipped in favor of big banks. The biggest...

Digital. It's a byword for modern life and how we move our homes and cities forward. Back in May, Dubai hosted the 22nd GCC Smart Government and Smart Cities Conference, where for five days speakers...

During this year's Rio 2016 Olympic Games, GE machines are tweeting in their native tongue - binary code – about their experiences at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. This is part of a...

F03 Fellow Female Founders series aims to build and activate a vibrant community around female startup founders in Amman. The event is set to take place on August 20 at the Zain Innovation Campus...

The French Tech Ticket program is back with its second iteration, selecting 70 startups from all around the world to join one of France’s top 41 incubators on a 12-month incubation program. The...

1 Day. 100+ Presentations. 42 Winners. The region has become more open to businesses and multinational companies than ever, and thus becoming more open to a competitive market that is shaped and formed by...

The region’s first theatrical conference and gathering of leaders shaping the future of UAE is here! National Treasure will be held on September 27-28, at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce...

Badreddine Ouali is a model for the new generation of Tunisian entrepreneurs, but he never planned his career. Today, after blazing a few trails, he’s the chairman of Tunisian financial software...

Seedstars World is coming back to Tehran! On September 15 at the Incubator of Shahid Beheshti University, the 12 best startups from Iran will be invited to pitch in front of a panel of investors and compete...

Seedstars World is coming for its inaugural event to Bahrain! The event will take place at CH9 Hub on September 24, where the best startups from GCC will be invited to pitch in front of a panel of investors...

Seedstars World is coming back to Beirut! On 13 October 2016, the 10 best startups from Beirut will be invited to pitch in front of an investment panel and compete to be crowned the most promising...

Seedstars World is coming back to Istanbul! On October 20, the 10 best startups from Istanbul will be invited to pitch in front of an investment panel and compete to be crowned the most promising seed-stage...

Seedstars World is coming back to Algeria! This time bigger, stronger, better. On October 29, the 12 best startups from Constantine, Algiers, and Oran will be invited to pitch in front of an investment...

In the 90s, parents hid Gameboys from their children on high shelves and under heavy mattresses. This year, with face-to-screen time at record highs, Salma Jawhar wants kids to bring it on. She wants them...

Asmahan Zein founded and built data management company Infofort in Lebanon after working for 27 years at Aramex. She’s the president of the Lebanese League of Women in Business and is clear about...

Want to make your business idea a reality? The Mighty Labs Pre-Accelerator program in Berlin is accepting MENA applications for its first cycle, preparing entrepreneurs to propel their business ideas...

MasterCard is showcasing new ways for people to pay for goods this week, as the company lets visitors to the Arnold Palmer Invitational (API) PGA Tour event in Florida pay for items through virtual reality (VR) glasses. For the initiative, MasterCard has teamed up with Wearality, an Orlando-based company that develops VR glasses and other wearables, to show consumers a new way to peruse and pay for goods. Though much of the experience is about future-gazing and giving a glimpse into what the ecommerce of tomorrow could look like, the technology is good to go now and people will be able to use

VB INSIGHT: Seattle-based startup Usermind is announcing a $14.5 million series B, led by Menlo Ventures, as well as its emergence from ‘stealth’ mode. The company has now raised over $20 million before public launch, based on the previous $7.6 million round led by Andreessen Horowitz. That’s a tidy sum of capital from significant names to have garnered without a public product in the market. They’ve been at this for a few years now, however, and, suffice it to say, the company is building something interesting. Usermind’s premise is based on some strong tidal fo

Smart doorbell startup Ring has raised a further $61.2 million in a series C round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, with participation from existing investor Sir Richard Branson. VentureBeat first discovered Ring back in 2013 when the startup was known as Doorbot — which was basically a doorbell equipped with a Wi-Fi-connected camera. In the intervening months, the Santa Monica-headquartered company has rebranded and developed new technology and products such as Ring Chime, motion-detection smarts, and a cloud-based video storage hub. Today’s funding, which comes a lit

Streaming analytics startup Striim secured an extra $10 million investment from Atlantic Bridge Capital for its series B round. Striim raised $30 million in total for its latest round and said the funds will help its expansion into Europe. The company said that its “streaming integration and intelligence” technology makes it “easy to deliver custom streaming analytics applications” and that the investment will help bring Striim’s service to Cloud, SaaS, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Atlantic Bridge Capital’s Kevin Dillon is joining Striim’s board as

CrowdStreet, a management tool for real estate investors, announced today that it closed a $3.5 million investment led by Rally Ventures. The series A funds will be used to further develop CrowStreet’s technology and build new partnerships, the startup said. The Portland company says on its website that it “provides accredited investors with online access to institutional-quality commercial real estate investment opportunities on behalf of the most experienced and reputable sponsors nationwide.” Seed investors Green Visor Capital, Seven Peaks Ventures, and Portland Seed Fund

Amazon has launched a new service that makes it easier for companies to move their databases to Amazon Web Services (AWS) and promises that firms can “set up their migrations in less than 10 minutes.” The launch comes five months after Amazon first debuted the AWS Database Migration Service in preview, and a day after reports first circulated that the Internet giant was preparing to officially introduce the service to all companies. Since January 1, Amazon said that more than 1,000 databases have been migrated to AWS — which is the company’s popular suite of cloud-comp

Esports might have a future home in arcades. No, we’re not back in the ’80s. Joshua DeBonis and Nikita Mikros of Bumble Bear Games talked at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco today about its latest project, Killer Queen. It’s a 10-player experience that pits two teams of five against each other in an enviroment similar to the classic Joust, which tasked players with maneuvering flapping birds around the screen and killing opponents by landing on them. What makes Killer Queen unique, however, is its platform. It’s only for arcades. Most consider arcades a

Game developers have an opportunity to set price expectations for virtual reality games, but as with mobile, the industry will probably decide the price for a new game download is … nothing. Free-to-play gaming is coming to virtual reality, a panel of developers and VR experts said during a panel at the Game Developers Conference today in San Francisco. Right now, many studios expect consumers to have a lot of demand and money to spend on virtual experiences and games. This has led to products like AirMech — a free-to-play release for PC — coming out later this month for Ocu

Most virtual reality games will put you into the action from a first-person perspective, but a few are going for the classic third-person viewpoint of something like the revolutionary Super Mario 64. Only it turns out that getting that kind of game working in VR is tough. Playful is an Oculus Rift developer making the upcoming platformer Lucky’s Tale, which has players controlling a cute fox through a cartoon world. It is reminiscent of 3D Mario games as well as something like the Nintendo 64’s Banjo-Kazooie. And that’s partially because Playful designers Dan Hurd and Evan R

(Reuters) – Members of a U.S. Senate panel and firms working on self-driving vehicles on Tuesday called for national rather than state regulation of the cars to avoid a patchwork of rules that could slow development. Major automakers and technology companies are racing to develop and sell vehicles that can drive themselves but have complained that state and federal safety rules are impeding testing and ultimate deployment. The rules will determine when and if a fully autonomous car could be driven on roads. Differing rules from state to state would prevent the cars being driven over sta

In two months, at its I/O 2016 developer conference, Google will talk more about Android N. We don’t yet know what version number it will have (likely either Android 6.1 or Android 7.0) or what the N will stand for. The current codename is New York Cheesecake (NYC). At the time of publishing, there are at least eight mentions of the nyc-dev branch in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). Google started naming its Android versions after desserts and sweets more than six years ago. Here are all the releases so far: Android 1.5 Cupcake (April 2009) Android 1.6 Donut (September 2009) And

ANALYSIS: Even with all the talk these days of investors having short arms and thin wallets, money from limited partners continues to flow into venture capital funds. Accel Partners earlier today announced the closing of a pair of U.S. funds totaling $2 billion. Accel is creating a $500 million fund for early stage companies and a $1.5 billion fund for later stage businesses. “We are excited about what’s ahead. Technology is central to the way people live and work around the world, evolving the way we communicate, learn, shop, travel” and more, said Ryan Sweeney, growth fund manager at

Apple today responded to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys’ reply to Apple’s motion to vacate an order to help the FBI unlock San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook’s iPhone. “This case arises in a difficult context after a terrible tragedy. But it is in just such highly-charged and emotional cases that the courts must zealously guard civil liberties and the rule of law and reject government overreaching. This Court should therefore deny the government’s request and vacate the order,” lawyers representing Apple wrote in the filing. (function()

Goodbye, reverse-chronology. Hello, algorithms. Instagram told users and businesses today that their photo feeds “will soon be ordered to show the moments [it believes] you will care about the most.” Up until now, Instagram organized its feeds in reverse-chronological order. That is, the photos in your feed appeared whenever they were shared. The change was inevitable. As the New York Times writes, Facebook introduced algorithmic ordering to its News Feed back in 2009. And while the change prompted protests, the resulting panic was short-lived. We’ll likely see the same resu

Sony game chief Andrew House said today that the giant publisher is partnering with Electronic Arts and Lucasfilm to create a exclusive virtual reality version of Star Wars: Battlefront for the PlayStation 4’s PlayStation VR headset. The news comes today from a press event at the Game Developers Conference, where House also revealed that Sony will launch the PlayStation VR headset for $399 in October. It’s going to be a big year for VR, and the crowds at GDC’s VR sessions reflect this. The interest is so high that the conference had to move some talks to larger rooms. VR is

Sony game chief Andrew House announced today that the PlayStation VR virtual reality headset will launch for $399 in October. It’s going to be a big year for virtual reality, and the crowds at the VR sessions at the Game Developers Conference reflect that. VR is expected to be a $30 billion market by 2020, according to tech adviser Digi-Capital. The PS4 has sold 36 million systems since its November debut, and it’s the leading home gaming console in the $99.3 billion global gaming market. “It’s been a long road for virtual reality,” said Andrew House, the CEO of

VB WEBINAR: The battle for high-quality mobile users has never been more fierce. Find out how companies who are killing it in UA are achieving phenomenal success — without paying through the nose. Register here for free. Most apps fail. That’s the simple, brutal, but honest truth for developers entering the mobile app market. As we reported earlier, 70 percent of apps will not generate more than 5,000 downloads, and 60 percent of them will never be updated. While the odds certainly aren’t favorable for global developers, that’s not stopping them from adding close to 2,500 new apps dail

Startup Peerio today announced the availability of its encrypted messaging app on both iOS and Android. They’re a long time coming; Peerio first launched in January 2015, but it’s only been available on desktop, and the alpha and beta testing for the mobile apps — which support cloud storage, group chat, and offline read access — have been going on for several months. Now the iOS app is on the App Store, and the Android app is on the Google Play Store. Plus, all the code for the app is available for anyone to inspect on GitHub under an open source GPL license. “W

Ubisoft has another hit franchise in its stable. The publisher revealed today that its online shooter Tom Clancy’s The Division has had best first week ever for a new games franchise. Previously, its opening day sales were the best in the company’s history. According to Ubisoft, The Division has generated $330 million globally in its first five days. The game is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, key platforms in the $99.3 billion global game market. “The Division taking the top spot in the industry for first-week sales of a new franchise is a tremendous achieveme

Crytek announced today that it is changing its business model for its game-development tools to “pay what you want.” It is also setting up a $1 million indie game development fund. The new business model is a bold bet that relies on the kindness of fellow game developers, especially when Epic’s Unreal Engine and Unity’s tools have free options. The company made the announcement as part of its unveiling of its next-generation CryEngine V game engine, which supports for virtual reality headsets. Frank Vitz, creative director at Frankfurt, Germany-based Crytek, said at a

Many Android devices offer dual SIM feature built in, but for the iPhone that is not the case, having a dual SIM in a phone enables you to have mobile lines in one phone instead than carrying 2 phones with you which is a cumbersome effort in terms...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

  Amaq Agency the only news agency that operates in Islamic State (IS) territories has launched few days ago its website in English here and on Twitter hashtag #AmaqAgnecy. It provide breaking news, videos, infographics and detailed news...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

One has to wonder what makes most successful consumer Internet websites in the globe the likes of facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Google, Instagram and Whatsapp, Americans? Some would say because America has the most developed innovation ecosystem in...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Facebook has blocked log-ins and signups via the encrypted and anonymous browser TOR. This will lead hundreds of thousands of political activists around the world to login via their own IP address, unlike when they log-in via TOR at a different...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Yesterday top government officials unveiled plans for UAE and the Muslim world first Mars mission called “hope” or Amal in Arabic. The mission aims to provide  global picture of the Martian atmosphere through an unmanned probe to be launched in...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

You must heard the term crowd funding, it exploded in the recent years in US with sites such as Kick Starter and Indiegogo. Crowd funding comes in many forms, the most popular is offering a donation for a cause or a product and there is collecting...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

The user review app and site Jeeran officially launched in Cairo and Alexandria this week to help customers make buying decisions and document their experiences with places around the city. With this launch, the Amman-based company now covers 39...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Anonymous along with other Muslim hacktivist groups including Tunisian hactivist group Fallaga, Hackers from Pakistan and Indonesia announced around a month ago that today will be the day for operation Israel #opIsrael promising an Electronic...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

San Francisco based mobile-app-based transportation network Uber which allows consumers to submit a trip request via their mobile phones, which is routed to crowd-sourced taxi drivers has launhced in Amman Jordan. The launch in Jordan...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Updated. No you wont see demonstrations in the West saying Jesus Adimlar, No you want see the Masonic media rush to condemn the attack against the Islamic magazine Adimlar in Turkey and call it an attack against free speech, no you wont see the...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

#This is a guest post, guest posts do not necessarily reflect ArabCrunch opinion. There is an American saying “What goes around comes around” When a company starts collaborating with the CIA and the US government it becomes domed look at Yahoo and...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Ride sharing service Lyft who is the main competitor to Uber in the US is getting a boost from Saudi Arabia billionaire prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. The prince ?announced Thursday that his Kingdom Holding Co. ?is paying $104.9 million ?for 2.3 percent...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

?The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is the oldest sovereign wealth fund  in the world was founded in 1953. KIA invests in real estate and wide array of sectors in order to maximize the return on its fund. Looking at Crunchbase profile we...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Yahoo announced that it is closing its Dubai office its last office in the Arab world or Middle East after closing its offices in Amman and Cairo. Communicate Middle East said that There have been talks of the company shutting down its Middle East...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

The media likes to claim that Tunis government is the symbol of Arab spring success. But the facts on the ground that do not get reported by the media is different. The Western backed secular government is involved in anti Islam blitz. Anyone with a...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Google photographers are taking photos of Petra along with other 40 sites in Jordan to add it to google street view, according to CNN they will be released later in 2015. Like many Arab countries Jordan is struggling with tourism since the regime in...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Update: CyberKov issues a statement regarding the issue at the end of the post. There are some positive things about the US and Western lead Alliance war against the Islamic State which started more than a year ago directly after it was carried...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

The above image is a baby victim of US Shait and allies bombing. Dear Jack, I am sending you this letter hoping that you open your eyes to some facts and do the right thing. Please read on everything, do not just skip. 1- Are All US enemies...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Founded by female Palestinian entrepreneur  Lama Mansour and male Palestinian entrepreneur  Ismat Tuffaha, Bold Knot gives 3 hours extra battery, with 2x times faster charging usb cable available for iPhone and Androi and with a style....visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Update: Idriss Al Rifai co founder and CEO if Fetchr was working with the french military according to his linkedin profile “Advised the French Minister of Defense for 2 years on France’s strategic involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan,...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

 Start it with Etisalat are on the lookout for this year’s batch of aspiring Egyptian entrepreneurs.The initiative, held by the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC) alongside Etisalat, aims to provide constant support to young Egyptian startups whose products or ideas are innovative in the fields of Internet of Things (IoT) or Big Data.Interested applicants have the option of choosing one among six main challenges to tackle during the boot camp phase, where a maximum of 20 teams will elaborate their ideas with the help of experienced mentors and coaches so they would meet

AltCity is hosting its second fintech meetup, an “introduction to peer-to-peer (P2P) lending.”Held at their new offices on Kantari Street, attendees will learn more about P2P lending and where it belongs in the fintech value chain, how it works, who are the leading P2P lending startups and what to expect next.The session will be moderated by Mr. Antoine Khadige, an entrepreneur and management consultant specialized in digital banking transformation and Fintech who has been leading banks and financial institutions in the MENA in their digital transformations, along with a panel featuring key s

Justice through technology is their alma mater. HiiL is an initiative constantly seeking ways to implement new innovations and technologies to reinvent the way conflict resolution, ordinance, and governance are taking place. Through the “HiiL Justice Accelerator”, this initiative aims to promote systemic changes across the MENA and Ukraine regions, specifically focusing on legal tech, family justice, living wages discrimination, and SME empowerment.Aspiring innovators apply for an opportunity to receive an ‘Innovating Justice Award’, access to acceleration funding and professional support to

Cities are rising at a fast pace. The MENA region has seen this with Dubai, and shortly after, Masdar City.In the meantime, millions of refugees are being displaced within cities throughout the UK, Europe, Middle East, and beyond, with nowhere to live and no infrastructure to support basic daily needs.How do we rebuild and redesign an ancient city like Damascus, while maintaining and honoring its history?In order to accommodate these needs we have to develop innovative approaches to urban planning, design, architecture, mobility, agriculture, and so much more.From August 29 to September 2, th

One step forward, two steps backward? Or is it two steps forward, one step backward?If we take a look at the tech sector in Morocco, so far this year, the VoIP ban is the one thing we won't easily forget. Who would have thought that five months later, it would still be enforced and stronger than ever?This would have enraged our late contributor Karim Jazouani. A pioneer entrepreneur and a web and startup ambassador for Morocco, he passed away three years ago. Still, this year has seen some interesting advances.Regulators and bank institutions finally seem to be adapting to the modern monetary

I was asked to give a commencement speech at Hamad bin Khalifa University in Doha on May 1. Below is an edited version of what I said.I want to tell you today about something I call the ‘Power of Yalla’ and how it came to change my life. But allow me to say first how deeply honored to be with you today, particularly because I was not what you call the perfect student. In fact I was quite the troublemaker at school.Let’s just say my teachers prefered to have me outside the class more than inside it. But today I realize this trouble making was the seed of my entrepreneurial journey.Image, right

Accelerators have become a “rite of passage” for entrepreneurs around the world, and a report on the state of global programs shows just how 'early stage' the Middle East is in comparison.The Global Accelerator Report 2015, released on Tuesday, found that 12 accelerators in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (it did not include Maghreb countries) invested just over $3.5 million in 126 startups since the sector began to really emerge three years ago.The spread: although the report is not a complete survey of all public and private accelerators in MENAT it gives an idea of who and what is

In response to fast-growing sharing economy businesses, the UAE is treading a thin line between regulation and innovation. (Image via Katie Edwards)In a 2013 article, internet industry analyst Larry Downes made a strong statement: innovation and regulation simply don’t mix.Regulated industries, he said, operated outside market-based systems, conceding to "regulatory capture" that imposed mutually exclusive interests, price controls, pre-approvals and stringent licensing. True to Downes’ statement, recent worldwide governments’ responses have been to contain, rather than embrace, disruption br

Independant Moroccan developer at Global Game Jam 2016. (Image via Moroccan Game Developers)After 18 years of activity French gaming giant Ubisoft has announced it will close its Casablanca studio, leaving 48 developers looking for jobs.For some in the Moroccan indie gaming scene, the June 9 announcement isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it could herald a new beginning for the gaming sector and the studio had been leaking talent for a number of years.“I left the studio in 2015 because there was no vision for the future by the top management of the Moroccan studio, and we were starting to feel

Executives brainstorming how to build a CE roadmap during Wamda and Expo 2020 Dubai’s Summit. [Image via Wamda]During the Collaborative Entrepreneurship (CE) Summit held last month, Wamda and Expo 2020 Dubai launched a first-of-its kind report that explores the current status of corporate-startup engagement in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.The research assesses the number of corporations in MENA that are working with startups, and the depth of their engagement.Findings from the report suggest that appetites for CE are moving in the right direction. More corporations are begin

Prashant Gulati, more known as ‘PK’, calls himself a “technology innovator, angel investor, mentor, idea accelerator and writer”.His latest “tech innovation” related activity, is building The Assembly.In this video Gulati discusses the 'lab' sited at In5 in Dubai, to bring tech communities together and foster research on new technologies.The platform also wants to teach people about the use of smart technology such as 3D printing, and robotics and its benefits to build solutions for their daily lives.PK during the interview (Image via Wamda)Coming from the idea that innovation has become loca

(Image via Harvard Business Review)This article is a crosspost with Harvard Business Review.Eskimos have 50 words for snow. Humans only use 10 percent of our brains. We hear these types of “facts” all the time — but are they true? Scientists are now saying, “Not so simple.”We have all seen how repetition of a particular statement or idea tends to lend it legitimacy – the so-called “truth effect.” This effect is likely strengthened when the assertion is made in a serious context by intelligent people with authority. Consider the idea, increasingly an assumption of fact, that “startups create j

Egyptian fashion has recently been getting more involved in the ecommerce scene. (Image via Maison Saedi)Ecommerce is a driving force for economic growth in the Middle East.And with this growth of ecommerce has come a slew of fashion-related startups cashing in on a new found market, both in online payments and cash-on-delivery.Whether it’s an independent fashion designer marketing themselves on social media or a fashion ecommerce platform, this list highlights some Egyptians to watch.Coterique Founder: Dana Khater in 2013Accepts online payment onlyCoterique is an ecommerce platform that has

Google Ventures' design sprint tries to take teams from problem to solution in five days. (Image via Fastcodesign)Do you want to be a Facebook or a Google?Maybe you want to be both, but the method each company uses to get to a final product is very different. One famously “moves fast and breaks things” - or at least it used to - and the other, its venture arm at least, promotes the ‘sprint’.Google Ventures design partner Daniel Burka says the five-day workshop, a rapid product design and testing process to reduce risks such as market-fit, is applicable to MENA startups

Students putting themselves in an entrepreneur’s shoes. (Images via Spark)The time is long gone when starting a business as a teenager meant loneliness, being misunderstood by one’s peers, and scaring your parents. In Tunis, at least, a change in mindset is underway.High-schoolers Sara Ghodbane, 15, and Leila Mnekebi say only a few of their classmates were interested in entrepreneurship - it’s a matter of tastes after all - but they’ve noticed a true interest for the topic in their schools.Rym Baouendi, cofounder of coworking space Cogite and program advisor of the entrepreneurial activities

89 percent of large corporations and 94 percent of startups see value in partnering together. [Tweet this]This is one of many findings from a report published today by Expo 2020 Dubai and Wamda that looks at the status of corporate-startup engagement in the region.The research draws on data and insights collected from interviews with 130 corporate executives and stakeholders in MENA’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, a benchmark of 300 corporations, and a survey of 758 entrepreneurs in MENA.The report finds that while there is a large appetite for collaboration, corporations and startups are not a

Mona El Khodairy receiving the Ecotaqa award at The Impact bootcamp in Dubai. (Images via Ecotaqa)In 2014 Mona El Khodairy, an entrepreneur from Luxor, broke with tradition and became an entrepreneur - but she wasn’t entering a simple industry nor one that easily accepts women.El Khodairy started a biogas company called El Khodairy Biogas, later renamed Ecotaqa, selling  units that produce biogas and biofertilizer from animal manure. She had to carve a place for herself not only as a renewable energy entrepreneur, but also within the male-dominated agricultural sector.In a very restrictive so

Lebanon’s leading fintech startup, Pinpay, is to receive a $2.5 million investment from Fransabank.The mobile payment and bill aggregation platform, which was founded in 2011, currently has Bank Audi and Bankmed signed up to the platform so all account holders at these two banks are able to make mobile payments.According to a report from Businessnews.com.lb, Fransabank will be using Pinpay’s services for their customers and “will stop operating the Simba mobile payment application provided by Viamobile”.Other shareholders in Pinpay are Bank Audi, Bankmed and the Lebanese investment firm Middl

The CE Summit in May was the first of its kind in MENA to delve into the concept of corporate-startup collaboration. (Image via Expo2020)I begin with a confession: I didn’t believe in collaborative entrepreneurship.Don’t get me wrong, ‘collaboration’ is one of the core watch-words of startups. The greatest innovation comes from it and unprecedented access to knowledge has been unlocked because of millions having access to each other.Even in the hyper competitive marketplace, ‘co-opetition’ is only a slight variation on the theme, suggesting that even sometime rivals benefit from synergies and

Instabug has Egypt's tight-knit ecosystem to thank for much of its success. (Image via Instabug)This is an edited crosspost from Rise Up Summit founder Con O'Donnell.Instabug, a Delaware company with Egyptian founders, just announced an investment of $1.7 million into its business.The majority was from Accel, a US VC, and the rest was from individuals somehow connected to, or believing in, Instabug.How did that happen?Those of you who know me know that I believe in both startup businesses and something we call the ecosystem: the environment that can help startups with funding, technical and b

This is an edited crosspost from Knowledge@Wharton. Muhammed Mekki is well equipped for his mission to promote a robust startup culture in the Arab world. The Iraqi-American studied economics at the Wharton...

Koshk Comics has a plan to take over the world, but unlike the nefarious comic villains who normally wield that line they’re aiming more for the superhero tag. It’s a mobile-first platform into...

The world of entrepreneurship news is a complex one, with people ever ready to give their two cents on how you should be running your business. Here’s our wrap of what we’re reading on...

This is an edited crosspost from Nuwait. Some entrepreneurs think that prototyping delays the launch of the real product and could be a waste of time. But having a prototype is important to test...

In a country where only 14 percent of people have bank accounts, fintech startups servicing Egyptians’ unmet needs are playing on a field that’s still tipped in favor of big banks. The biggest...

Digital. It's a byword for modern life and how we move our homes and cities forward. Back in May, Dubai hosted the 22nd GCC Smart Government and Smart Cities Conference, where for five days speakers...

During this year's Rio 2016 Olympic Games, GE machines are tweeting in their native tongue - binary code – about their experiences at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. This is part of a...

F03 Fellow Female Founders series aims to build and activate a vibrant community around female startup founders in Amman. The event is set to take place on August 20 at the Zain Innovation Campus...

The French Tech Ticket program is back with its second iteration, selecting 70 startups from all around the world to join one of France’s top 41 incubators on a 12-month incubation program. The...

1 Day. 100+ Presentations. 42 Winners. The region has become more open to businesses and multinational companies than ever, and thus becoming more open to a competitive market that is shaped and formed by...

The region’s first theatrical conference and gathering of leaders shaping the future of UAE is here! National Treasure will be held on September 27-28, at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce...

Badreddine Ouali is a model for the new generation of Tunisian entrepreneurs, but he never planned his career. Today, after blazing a few trails, he’s the chairman of Tunisian financial software...

Seedstars World is coming back to Tehran! On September 15 at the Incubator of Shahid Beheshti University, the 12 best startups from Iran will be invited to pitch in front of a panel of investors and compete...

Seedstars World is coming for its inaugural event to Bahrain! The event will take place at CH9 Hub on September 24, where the best startups from GCC will be invited to pitch in front of a panel of investors...

Seedstars World is coming back to Beirut! On 13 October 2016, the 10 best startups from Beirut will be invited to pitch in front of an investment panel and compete to be crowned the most promising...

Seedstars World is coming back to Istanbul! On October 20, the 10 best startups from Istanbul will be invited to pitch in front of an investment panel and compete to be crowned the most promising seed-stage...

Seedstars World is coming back to Algeria! This time bigger, stronger, better. On October 29, the 12 best startups from Constantine, Algiers, and Oran will be invited to pitch in front of an investment...

In the 90s, parents hid Gameboys from their children on high shelves and under heavy mattresses. This year, with face-to-screen time at record highs, Salma Jawhar wants kids to bring it on. She wants them...

Asmahan Zein founded and built data management company Infofort in Lebanon after working for 27 years at Aramex. She’s the president of the Lebanese League of Women in Business and is clear about...

Want to make your business idea a reality? The Mighty Labs Pre-Accelerator program in Berlin is accepting MENA applications for its first cycle, preparing entrepreneurs to propel their business ideas...

MasterCard is showcasing new ways for people to pay for goods this week, as the company lets visitors to the Arnold Palmer Invitational (API) PGA Tour event in Florida pay for items through virtual reality (VR) glasses. For the initiative, MasterCard has teamed up with Wearality, an Orlando-based company that develops VR glasses and other wearables, to show consumers a new way to peruse and pay for goods. Though much of the experience is about future-gazing and giving a glimpse into what the ecommerce of tomorrow could look like, the technology is good to go now and people will be able to use

VB INSIGHT: Seattle-based startup Usermind is announcing a $14.5 million series B, led by Menlo Ventures, as well as its emergence from ‘stealth’ mode. The company has now raised over $20 million before public launch, based on the previous $7.6 million round led by Andreessen Horowitz. That’s a tidy sum of capital from significant names to have garnered without a public product in the market. They’ve been at this for a few years now, however, and, suffice it to say, the company is building something interesting. Usermind’s premise is based on some strong tidal fo

Smart doorbell startup Ring has raised a further $61.2 million in a series C round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, with participation from existing investor Sir Richard Branson. VentureBeat first discovered Ring back in 2013 when the startup was known as Doorbot — which was basically a doorbell equipped with a Wi-Fi-connected camera. In the intervening months, the Santa Monica-headquartered company has rebranded and developed new technology and products such as Ring Chime, motion-detection smarts, and a cloud-based video storage hub. Today’s funding, which comes a lit

Streaming analytics startup Striim secured an extra $10 million investment from Atlantic Bridge Capital for its series B round. Striim raised $30 million in total for its latest round and said the funds will help its expansion into Europe. The company said that its “streaming integration and intelligence” technology makes it “easy to deliver custom streaming analytics applications” and that the investment will help bring Striim’s service to Cloud, SaaS, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Atlantic Bridge Capital’s Kevin Dillon is joining Striim’s board as

CrowdStreet, a management tool for real estate investors, announced today that it closed a $3.5 million investment led by Rally Ventures. The series A funds will be used to further develop CrowStreet’s technology and build new partnerships, the startup said. The Portland company says on its website that it “provides accredited investors with online access to institutional-quality commercial real estate investment opportunities on behalf of the most experienced and reputable sponsors nationwide.” Seed investors Green Visor Capital, Seven Peaks Ventures, and Portland Seed Fund

Amazon has launched a new service that makes it easier for companies to move their databases to Amazon Web Services (AWS) and promises that firms can “set up their migrations in less than 10 minutes.” The launch comes five months after Amazon first debuted the AWS Database Migration Service in preview, and a day after reports first circulated that the Internet giant was preparing to officially introduce the service to all companies. Since January 1, Amazon said that more than 1,000 databases have been migrated to AWS — which is the company’s popular suite of cloud-comp

Esports might have a future home in arcades. No, we’re not back in the ’80s. Joshua DeBonis and Nikita Mikros of Bumble Bear Games talked at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco today about its latest project, Killer Queen. It’s a 10-player experience that pits two teams of five against each other in an enviroment similar to the classic Joust, which tasked players with maneuvering flapping birds around the screen and killing opponents by landing on them. What makes Killer Queen unique, however, is its platform. It’s only for arcades. Most consider arcades a

Game developers have an opportunity to set price expectations for virtual reality games, but as with mobile, the industry will probably decide the price for a new game download is … nothing. Free-to-play gaming is coming to virtual reality, a panel of developers and VR experts said during a panel at the Game Developers Conference today in San Francisco. Right now, many studios expect consumers to have a lot of demand and money to spend on virtual experiences and games. This has led to products like AirMech — a free-to-play release for PC — coming out later this month for Ocu

Most virtual reality games will put you into the action from a first-person perspective, but a few are going for the classic third-person viewpoint of something like the revolutionary Super Mario 64. Only it turns out that getting that kind of game working in VR is tough. Playful is an Oculus Rift developer making the upcoming platformer Lucky’s Tale, which has players controlling a cute fox through a cartoon world. It is reminiscent of 3D Mario games as well as something like the Nintendo 64’s Banjo-Kazooie. And that’s partially because Playful designers Dan Hurd and Evan R

(Reuters) – Members of a U.S. Senate panel and firms working on self-driving vehicles on Tuesday called for national rather than state regulation of the cars to avoid a patchwork of rules that could slow development. Major automakers and technology companies are racing to develop and sell vehicles that can drive themselves but have complained that state and federal safety rules are impeding testing and ultimate deployment. The rules will determine when and if a fully autonomous car could be driven on roads. Differing rules from state to state would prevent the cars being driven over sta

In two months, at its I/O 2016 developer conference, Google will talk more about Android N. We don’t yet know what version number it will have (likely either Android 6.1 or Android 7.0) or what the N will stand for. The current codename is New York Cheesecake (NYC). At the time of publishing, there are at least eight mentions of the nyc-dev branch in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). Google started naming its Android versions after desserts and sweets more than six years ago. Here are all the releases so far: Android 1.5 Cupcake (April 2009) Android 1.6 Donut (September 2009) And

ANALYSIS: Even with all the talk these days of investors having short arms and thin wallets, money from limited partners continues to flow into venture capital funds. Accel Partners earlier today announced the closing of a pair of U.S. funds totaling $2 billion. Accel is creating a $500 million fund for early stage companies and a $1.5 billion fund for later stage businesses. “We are excited about what’s ahead. Technology is central to the way people live and work around the world, evolving the way we communicate, learn, shop, travel” and more, said Ryan Sweeney, growth fund manager at

Apple today responded to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys’ reply to Apple’s motion to vacate an order to help the FBI unlock San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook’s iPhone. “This case arises in a difficult context after a terrible tragedy. But it is in just such highly-charged and emotional cases that the courts must zealously guard civil liberties and the rule of law and reject government overreaching. This Court should therefore deny the government’s request and vacate the order,” lawyers representing Apple wrote in the filing. (function()

Goodbye, reverse-chronology. Hello, algorithms. Instagram told users and businesses today that their photo feeds “will soon be ordered to show the moments [it believes] you will care about the most.” Up until now, Instagram organized its feeds in reverse-chronological order. That is, the photos in your feed appeared whenever they were shared. The change was inevitable. As the New York Times writes, Facebook introduced algorithmic ordering to its News Feed back in 2009. And while the change prompted protests, the resulting panic was short-lived. We’ll likely see the same resu

Sony game chief Andrew House said today that the giant publisher is partnering with Electronic Arts and Lucasfilm to create a exclusive virtual reality version of Star Wars: Battlefront for the PlayStation 4’s PlayStation VR headset. The news comes today from a press event at the Game Developers Conference, where House also revealed that Sony will launch the PlayStation VR headset for $399 in October. It’s going to be a big year for VR, and the crowds at GDC’s VR sessions reflect this. The interest is so high that the conference had to move some talks to larger rooms. VR is

Sony game chief Andrew House announced today that the PlayStation VR virtual reality headset will launch for $399 in October. It’s going to be a big year for virtual reality, and the crowds at the VR sessions at the Game Developers Conference reflect that. VR is expected to be a $30 billion market by 2020, according to tech adviser Digi-Capital. The PS4 has sold 36 million systems since its November debut, and it’s the leading home gaming console in the $99.3 billion global gaming market. “It’s been a long road for virtual reality,” said Andrew House, the CEO of

VB WEBINAR: The battle for high-quality mobile users has never been more fierce. Find out how companies who are killing it in UA are achieving phenomenal success — without paying through the nose. Register here for free. Most apps fail. That’s the simple, brutal, but honest truth for developers entering the mobile app market. As we reported earlier, 70 percent of apps will not generate more than 5,000 downloads, and 60 percent of them will never be updated. While the odds certainly aren’t favorable for global developers, that’s not stopping them from adding close to 2,500 new apps dail

Startup Peerio today announced the availability of its encrypted messaging app on both iOS and Android. They’re a long time coming; Peerio first launched in January 2015, but it’s only been available on desktop, and the alpha and beta testing for the mobile apps — which support cloud storage, group chat, and offline read access — have been going on for several months. Now the iOS app is on the App Store, and the Android app is on the Google Play Store. Plus, all the code for the app is available for anyone to inspect on GitHub under an open source GPL license. “W

Ubisoft has another hit franchise in its stable. The publisher revealed today that its online shooter Tom Clancy’s The Division has had best first week ever for a new games franchise. Previously, its opening day sales were the best in the company’s history. According to Ubisoft, The Division has generated $330 million globally in its first five days. The game is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, key platforms in the $99.3 billion global game market. “The Division taking the top spot in the industry for first-week sales of a new franchise is a tremendous achieveme

Crytek announced today that it is changing its business model for its game-development tools to “pay what you want.” It is also setting up a $1 million indie game development fund. The new business model is a bold bet that relies on the kindness of fellow game developers, especially when Epic’s Unreal Engine and Unity’s tools have free options. The company made the announcement as part of its unveiling of its next-generation CryEngine V game engine, which supports for virtual reality headsets. Frank Vitz, creative director at Frankfurt, Germany-based Crytek, said at a

Many Android devices offer dual SIM feature built in, but for the iPhone that is not the case, having a dual SIM in a phone enables you to have mobile lines in one phone instead than carrying 2 phones with you which is a cumbersome effort in terms...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

  Amaq Agency the only news agency that operates in Islamic State (IS) territories has launched few days ago its website in English here and on Twitter hashtag #AmaqAgnecy. It provide breaking news, videos, infographics and detailed news...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

One has to wonder what makes most successful consumer Internet websites in the globe the likes of facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Google, Instagram and Whatsapp, Americans? Some would say because America has the most developed innovation ecosystem in...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Facebook has blocked log-ins and signups via the encrypted and anonymous browser TOR. This will lead hundreds of thousands of political activists around the world to login via their own IP address, unlike when they log-in via TOR at a different...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Yesterday top government officials unveiled plans for UAE and the Muslim world first Mars mission called “hope” or Amal in Arabic. The mission aims to provide  global picture of the Martian atmosphere through an unmanned probe to be launched in...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

You must heard the term crowd funding, it exploded in the recent years in US with sites such as Kick Starter and Indiegogo. Crowd funding comes in many forms, the most popular is offering a donation for a cause or a product and there is collecting...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

The user review app and site Jeeran officially launched in Cairo and Alexandria this week to help customers make buying decisions and document their experiences with places around the city. With this launch, the Amman-based company now covers 39...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Anonymous along with other Muslim hacktivist groups including Tunisian hactivist group Fallaga, Hackers from Pakistan and Indonesia announced around a month ago that today will be the day for operation Israel #opIsrael promising an Electronic...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

San Francisco based mobile-app-based transportation network Uber which allows consumers to submit a trip request via their mobile phones, which is routed to crowd-sourced taxi drivers has launhced in Amman Jordan. The launch in Jordan...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Updated. No you wont see demonstrations in the West saying Jesus Adimlar, No you want see the Masonic media rush to condemn the attack against the Islamic magazine Adimlar in Turkey and call it an attack against free speech, no you wont see the...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

#This is a guest post, guest posts do not necessarily reflect ArabCrunch opinion. There is an American saying “What goes around comes around” When a company starts collaborating with the CIA and the US government it becomes domed look at Yahoo and...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Ride sharing service Lyft who is the main competitor to Uber in the US is getting a boost from Saudi Arabia billionaire prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. The prince ?announced Thursday that his Kingdom Holding Co. ?is paying $104.9 million ?for 2.3 percent...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

?The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is the oldest sovereign wealth fund  in the world was founded in 1953. KIA invests in real estate and wide array of sectors in order to maximize the return on its fund. Looking at Crunchbase profile we...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Yahoo announced that it is closing its Dubai office its last office in the Arab world or Middle East after closing its offices in Amman and Cairo. Communicate Middle East said that There have been talks of the company shutting down its Middle East...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

The media likes to claim that Tunis government is the symbol of Arab spring success. But the facts on the ground that do not get reported by the media is different. The Western backed secular government is involved in anti Islam blitz. Anyone with a...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Google photographers are taking photos of Petra along with other 40 sites in Jordan to add it to google street view, according to CNN they will be released later in 2015. Like many Arab countries Jordan is struggling with tourism since the regime in...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Update: CyberKov issues a statement regarding the issue at the end of the post. There are some positive things about the US and Western lead Alliance war against the Islamic State which started more than a year ago directly after it was carried...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

The above image is a baby victim of US Shait and allies bombing. Dear Jack, I am sending you this letter hoping that you open your eyes to some facts and do the right thing. Please read on everything, do not just skip. 1- Are All US enemies...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Founded by female Palestinian entrepreneur  Lama Mansour and male Palestinian entrepreneur  Ismat Tuffaha, Bold Knot gives 3 hours extra battery, with 2x times faster charging usb cable available for iPhone and Androi and with a style....visit ArabCrunch website for more details.

Update: Idriss Al Rifai co founder and CEO if Fetchr was working with the french military according to his linkedin profile “Advised the French Minister of Defense for 2 years on France’s strategic involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan,...visit ArabCrunch website for more details.