AI & Data · Week of Oct 26, 2026
Ad-tech deal and sovereign AI ventures: the week in AI & Data
An all-cash ad-tech deal, a planned AI-native bank in Bahrain, open-source OCR models and a Kazakhstan AI hub led a mixed week.
Deals and infrastructure plans led the week. Affle says its subsidiary has agreed to acquire Perion Network for US$ 11.70 per share in cash, an implied equity value of ~US$ 420 million. In the Gulf and Central Asia, state-linked and regional players set out AI-focused ventures: Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat and ARP Group plan an AI-native, blockchain enabled wholesale bank, and Freedom Holding Corp. is developing a $2 billion Sovereign AI Hub in Kazakhstan with a first public GPU cloud planned for 2027.
On the technology side, ModelBest and OpenBMB open-sourced the MiniCPM-OCR series for document parsing and OCR quality checks, and Datavault AI reported 13 U.S. patent milestones for its WiSA portfolio. The remaining items were corporate and market notices: Palo Alto Networks advised stockholders to reject a mini-tender offer, S&P Dow Jones Indices said Okta will join the S&P 500, and Arrive AI scheduled its Q3 2026 results webcast.
Affle
Affle to acquire Perion, to scale its CPCU business across Developed markets
Affle says its Israel-based step-down subsidiary has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Perion Network Limited for US$ 11.70 per share in cash, an implied equity value of ~US$ 420 million, funded by committed bank financing with CitiBank and available cash. The company says closing is expected in early 2027, subject to regulatory and Perion shareholder approval, and the deal includes a go-shop period for Perion.
Bahrain EDB
On the Sidelines of Gateway Gulf 2026: Mumtalakat and ARP Group partner to establish an AI native wholesale bank in Bahrain
Mumtalakat and ARP Group say they will establish an AI-native, blockchain enabled wholesale bank headquartered in Bahrain, which has in-principle approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain and will begin regulated activities only after final authorisation. The bank is intended to serve regulated financial institutions, payment companies and cross-border businesses, with services delivered through APIs and introduced in phases.
ModelBest
ModelBest and OpenBMB Open-Source MiniCPM-OCR Series, Delivering High-Performance Document Parsing and AI-Powered Quality Control
ModelBest and OpenBMB released the open-source MiniCPM-OCR 1.0 (1.3B) document parsing model and MiniCPM-OCR Jev (2B) quality-assessment model on GitHub, Hugging Face and ModelScope. The companies say Jev assigns confidence scores to OCR output and can be added to existing workflows without replacing the OCR engine, and the models support vLLM, SGLang, llama.cpp and Ollama with Day-0 adaptation for AMD, Arm, Houmo AI, Intel and NVIDIA hardware.
Datavault AI Inc
Datavault AI Expands WiSA Patent Portfolio with 13 U.S. Patent Milestones in 2026
Datavault AI says it recorded 13 U.S. patent milestones in 2026 for its WiSA portfolio, consisting of three issued patents and 10 notices of allowance. The company says the patents cover wireless audio transport, synchronization, device interoperability and intelligent audio processing.
Palo Alto Networks, Inc.
Palo Alto Networks Recommends Stockholders Reject Mini-Tender Offer by Tutanota LLC
Palo Alto Networks says it has received notice of an unsolicited mini-tender offer from Tutanota LLC to purchase up to 250,000 of its shares. The company recommends that stockholders reject the offer.
Freedom Holding Corp.
Freedom Holding Corp. Advances AI Infrastructure Development in Kazakhstan
Freedom Holding Corp. says it is advancing AI infrastructure plans in Kazakhstan, including a $2 billion Sovereign AI Hub. The company says its first public GPU cloud is planned for 2027.
S&P Dow Jones Indices
Okta Set to Join S&P 500; Others to Join S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600
S&P Dow Jones Indices says S&P MidCap 400 constituent Okta Inc. will replace Kenvue Inc. in the S&P 500, with changes to the S&P 500, MidCap 400 and SmallCap 600 effective prior to the opening of trading on Wednesday, November 4. The move places the identity company among the index's constituents.
Arrive AI Inc.
Arrive AI to Report Q3 2026 Results and Host Webcast on November 13
Arrive AI says it will report Q3 2026 results and host a webcast on November 13. The company says the live event will review quarterly results and recent business developments.
This roundup is written with AI assistance from the press releases listed above, using only what they state. The releases are the companies' own announcements, not Wolf Wide Web reporting.