ProShares’ first exchange-traded fund designed to hold tokenised cash instruments attracted roughly $17 billion in assets on its market debut, igniting speculation across digital asset markets about whether Circle had shifted part of the reserves backing its USDC stablecoin into the vehicle. The scale of the launch marked one of the largest first-day asset gatherings for a US-listed ETF and underscored the pace at which traditional asset […]
Cybersecurity analysts warn that operators linked to North Korea have expanded their assault on digital asset platforms, a year after a record-breaking breach at Dubai-based exchange Bybit exposed structural weaknesses across the sector. On 21 February 2025, attackers attributed by multiple governments and private security firms to Pyongyang stole about $1.46 billion in cryptoassets from Bybit, marking the largest confirmed theft in the history of the cryptocurrency […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Dubai Aerospace Enterprise’s leasing arm is nearing an agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Macquarie AirFinance, signalling a significant shift in the global aircraft leasing market as investors seek to capitalise on tight jet supply and strong airline demand. Industry executives familiar with the discussions said Dubai-based DAE Capital is in advanced negotiations to take control of the leasing platform, which […]
Centralised control of artificial intelligence is facing a serious challenge as decentralised networks gather pace, promising to dilute the dominance of technology giants and open development to a broader community of users and developers. For much of the past decade, cutting-edge AI models have been built and deployed by a handful of well-funded companies with access to vast computing infrastructure and proprietary data. Firms such as OpenAI, […]
Greenlogue/AP More than 40 manufacturing facilities have been awarded the Green Factory Seal by Bahrain’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce, marking a push to embed environmental standards and energy efficiency deeper into the kingdom’s industrial base. Officials said the certification recognises factories that meet benchmarks on resource conservation, waste reduction, emissions control and compliance with national environmental regulations. The scheme forms part of a broader strategy to […]
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have intercepted what they describe as organised, terrorist-linked cyberattacks aimed at government systems and critical national infrastructure, preventing attempts to disrupt essential digital services and infiltrate strategic networks. The UAE Cybersecurity Council said coordinated operations targeted state entities and vital sectors through ransomware deployment, phishing campaigns and network intrusion efforts. Officials characterised the incidents as part of a broader attempt to […]
Hungary has threatened to block the European Union’s 20th package of sanctions against Russia, escalating tensions within the bloc as Budapest links its support to the resumption of Russian oil deliveries. The warning underscores deep divisions in Brussels over how far to push punitive measures against Moscow while safeguarding member states’ energy security. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government has indicated it could withhold approval for fresh restrictions […]
XRP’s on-chain metrics have shown one of the sharpest capitulation events in its history, with realised losses reaching levels not seen since late 2022, according to multiple on-chain analytics platforms. The weekly tally of realised losses — the measure of holders selling at prices below their original acquisition cost — ballooned to approximately $1.93 billion, signalling heightened fear and broad selling across the market. That peak represents […]
Advantest Corporation, a leading supplier of semiconductor testing equipment, has disclosed that a ransomware attack has disrupted parts of its internal network, prompting containment measures and raising concerns across the global chip supply chain. The Tokyo-listed company said it detected unauthorised access to its systems on 15 February Japan Standard Time and swiftly moved to isolate affected servers. Several internal systems were taken offline as a precaution […]
Bitcoin fell about five per cent, sliding below the $65,000 mark as large holders accelerated transfers to exchanges and short-term investors continued to exit at a loss, underscoring fragile sentiment in the world’s largest cryptocurrency. The decline pushed Bitcoin to levels last seen several weeks ago, extending a pullback from record highs above $73,000 set earlier this year. Market data showed the digital asset trading in the […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Dubai’s Museum of the Future has welcomed more than five million visitors since opening its doors on 22 February 2022, marking a milestone that underscores its growing role as a global platform for innovation, science and cultural dialogue. Situated along Sheikh Zayed Road, the torus-shaped landmark has become one of the city’s most recognisable institutions, blending immersive exhibitions with research-driven initiatives. Officials said […]
Michael Saylor has indicated that his company could expand its already vast Bitcoin holdings, renewing debate over corporate exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency and reinforcing his long-standing conviction that digital assets will define what he calls the “Orange Century”. Saylor, executive chairman of MicroStrategy, now rebranded as Strategy, shared remarks on social media that were widely interpreted by market participants as a signal of further purchases. […]
Dubai has outlined the next phase of a Dh690 million overhaul of Hessa Street, setting out plans to ease persistent congestion along one of the city’s busiest east–west corridors and shorten daily travel times for thousands of motorists. Officials said the upgraded stretch will introduce additional lanes, new signal-controlled junctions and grade-separated interchanges designed to improve traffic flow between Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road. The […]
Urban smog and industrial emissions are amplifying the intensity of fire tornadoes in major wildfire zones, with scientists warning that polluted air is contributing to atmospheric conditions that favour the formation of violent, spinning columns of flame. Fire tornadoes, or “fire whirls”, arise when intense heat from large blazes interacts with unstable air, generating rotating updrafts that can stretch hundreds of metres high. While such phenomena have […]
Aston Martin is exploring the sale of branding rights linked to its Formula One team as the luxury carmaker warns that losses are set to deepen, underscoring the financial strain facing one of Britain’s most storied automotive marques. The company said it is assessing options to monetise the commercial value of the Aston Martin name within Formula One, a move that could involve selling or licensing branding […]
Starbucks Corp’s India venture is accelerating store openings and introducing new menu innovations, including protein foam coffee, as it deepens its bet on the world’s most populous country even while losses widen. Tata Starbucks Pvt., the 50:50 joint venture between Starbucks Corporation and Tata Group, plans to prioritise scale over short-term profitability, according to chief executive Sushant Dash. The strategy underscores a long-term view of India as […]
Copper prices edged higher on Friday but remained on course for a third consecutive weekly decline, as a firmer US dollar and persistent concerns over global demand continued to weigh on sentiment across industrial metals markets. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed during morning trade, recovering from earlier losses as short-covering set in ahead of the weekend. Despite the rebound, prices have retreated over […]
United States import tariffs have largely been paid by domestic businesses and households rather than foreign exporters, according to a growing body of economic research, sharpening debate in Washington over the long-term costs of trade protection. Studies by Federal Reserve economists and leading academic institutions show that the bulk of duties imposed during the trade disputes of the past decade were passed through to American importers in […]
DeepSeek has expanded the context capacity of its flagship large language model by a factor of ten and pushed its knowledge cut-off forward to May 2025, sharpening competition in China’s fast-moving artificial intelligence sector as rival Zhipu introduced a new model aimed at enterprise and developer markets. The Hangzhou-based company said the upgrade enables users to process far longer documents and multi-step prompts in a single session, […]
Agentic artificial intelligence is forcing a fundamental reassessment of how enterprise software is sold, bought and priced, with implications for licensing models, cloud economics and the broader SaaS market worldwide. As autonomous AI agents that can plan, execute and optimise complex workflows proliferate across enterprises, traditional per-seat software licensing is coming under pressure, major vendors are redesigning pricing frameworks and investors are recalibrating valuations around AI’s transformative potential.
Industry executives and analysts say that agentic AI – autonomous systems that operate beyond simple generative tasks to perform multi-step functions without constant human direction – is altering the value proposition of enterprise software. Organisations are increasingly demanding pricing that reflects outcome-based performance and consumption rather than fixed seat counts, pushing large software providers to experiment with enterprise licence agreements that bundle AI capacity with predictable costs and shared risk. This shift is expected to reshape cloud economics by altering how revenue and costs are aligned in the era of pervasive AI automation.
The software industry’s long reliance on per-seat or subscription models is facing disruption as AI agents demonstrate the ability to automate work historically done by humans. Gartner forecasts that around 40 per cent of enterprise software applications will feature embedded task-specific AI agents by the end of this year, exponentially up from a fraction only a short time ago. Enterprises are seeking simpler, more transparent pricing arrangements that reflect AI usage and business outcomes, rather than paying for seats that may no longer correspond to human users in traditional roles.
Salesforce and other leading software vendors have moved to reframe their pricing strategies for an agent-centric world. Executives have described new Agentic Enterprise Licence Agreements that offer “all you can eat” access to AI-powered tools and platforms at agreed-upon costs, designed to give customers confidence to scale AI deployments without unpredictable usage charges. These agreements represent a departure from legacy licence structures and a bet that long-term customer engagement will outweigh short-term licence profitability concerns.
Investors are already pricing in uncertainty about how this transition will unfold. Episodes of sharp stock sell-offs in global software equities have highlighted market anxiety about whether traditional enterprise software will maintain its relevance as agentic AI systems gain traction. While some market observers argue that fears of widespread obsolescence are overstated, the volatility reflects genuine debate about how software demand will evolve as autonomous AI agents become more capable of developing, integrating and executing workflows.
The transformation extends beyond pricing into cloud infrastructure economics. AI workloads, particularly those driven by agentic systems, impose heavier and more variable demands on cloud compute and data storage, challenging conventional cost forecasts. Infrastructure expenses tied to training and operating autonomous agents can grow faster than top-line revenue if not carefully managed. Finance teams are rethinking cost allocation, forecasting and real-time billing to provide clearer visibility into consumption by AI agents, a trend that underscores the complexity of cloud economics in an AI era.
Enterprise readiness for agentic AI varies. While adoption continues to expand rapidly, many organisations are cautious about the risks of autonomous decision-making, prioritising data trust, governance and integration challenges. A significant number of leaders report that scaling fully autonomous agents remains an enterprise priority, but that confidence in data integrity and risk controls are the biggest bottlenecks for broad deployment. The interplay between promise and practical reality is shaping cautious but forward-looking strategies.
For software providers, the transition to AI-centric offerings is pushing a broader rethinking of product strategy and business model evolution. Traditional vendors are integrating agentic capabilities into existing platforms, expanding from assistive features to autonomous operations, while newer AI-native firms are building products around AI agents from the ground up. Software incumbents face a dual challenge: reinventing core products to leverage agentic capabilities while maintaining service quality, compliance and continuity for enterprise customers.
Beyond commercial implications, the rise of agentic AI is prompting discussions about its broader impacts on organisational structures, work roles and human-AI collaboration. Proponents argue that autonomous agents can dissolve rigid organisational silos, enhance productivity by taking over repetitive and complex tasks, and free human workers to focus on higher-order decision-making. Skeptics warn of ethical, legal and accountability challenges associated with handing over greater autonomy to AI systems, including liability, bias and governance risks.
Japan’s SBI Holdings has announced plans to issue a ¥10 billion onchain bond that will be settled via blockchain technology and offer XRP rewards to eligible retail investors, marking one of the most prominent efforts by a major financial group to merge traditional fixed-income products with digital asset incentives. The offering, branded as SBI START Bonds, will provide a fixed interest rate and use distributed ledger infrastructure […]
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has set out a proposal to integrate artificial intelligence into decentralised autonomous organisations, arguing that carefully designed “AI stewards” could strengthen governance while preserving privacy and resisting coercion. Buterin’s concept centres on deploying AI agents within DAO frameworks to assist with proposal analysis, moderation and vote verification, while relying on cryptographic safeguards such as zero-knowledge proofs and secure multi-party computation to shield voter […]
By Ashok Nilakantan Ayers NEW YORK: When the Supreme Court of the United States struck down Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs on February 20, delivering a 6–3 verdict that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 confers no authority to impose broad-spectrum duties without Congressional approval, the most consequential reverberations were felt not in […]
The article How A Supreme Court Ruling And A Russian Oil Gambit Rewrote India’s Trade Destiny appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).
President Donald Trump has set an ultimatum for Iran to conclude a meaningful deal on its nuclear programme within the next 10 to 15 days, warning that failure to do so could trigger “really bad things” including possible limited military strikes, as tensions mount across the Middle East. Trump made the comments at a White House meeting of his Board of Peace initiative, underscoring that negotiations with […]
