SAMA approved raising the capital of GO Money, GO Telecom's wholly owned subsidiary, from SAR 20 million to SAR 138 million, with SAR 100 million in new cash from the parent, to support growth of its financing portfolio. The same day, Barq said it became the first digital wallet in the Kingdom to receive SAMA's preliminary approval to add financing to its activities.
Payments opened the door, but lending is where the real profits are. Now that SAMA allows wallet and telecom-backed companies to enter this space, bank digital teams need to decide whether to partner with these players or compete with them directly.
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Robotic surgery, performed remotely
Saudi Arabia's Seha Virtual Hospital completed 11 consecutive remote robotic surgeries, including the second remote lobectomy and fifth remote pneumonectomy performed anywhere in the world, with surgeons in Riyadh operating on patients in Hail and other regions.
A surgeon in Riyadh successfully performed surgery on a patient in Hail without either of them needing to travel. This occurred eleven times in a row, proving that distance is no longer an obstacle to effective medical care.
Four billion dollars, free
Adobe, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and HUMAIN signed a partnership valued at more than $4 billion, giving more than 27 million citizens and residents aged 13 and above free access to Adobe Firefly Standard and Express Premium for 12 months. The agreement covers a culturally-tailored image generation model, Arabic right-to-left support, and free access for eligible startups through CODE and The Garage from early 2027.
$4 billion worth of software given to 27 million people is really a distribution strategy, not a donation. Adobe is securing its user base before anyone else can shape what creative tools look like in Arabic.
29.3 million, and counting
29.3M international tourists in 2025, up 67% since 2019, highest growth of any OECD member; SR176.6bn foreign spend, SR127.1bn domestic; 5.2% of GDP.
Domestic spend is close behind foreign and growing faster (10%), the Saudi family is the customer you can actually reach this year.
