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The Geeky Nomads

The Geeky Nomads

Written by: Yasser Masood and Gazanfarulla Khan
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 Why should all tech news be just focused on the USA/Canada/Australia/European regions? That's what The Geeky Nomads have set out to change. Meet Yasser Masood and Gazanfarulla Khan (third-culture millennials born in Dubai and Doha, hailing from Hyderabad), based between the USA and Qatar who want to keep you informed on all the quirky things that revolve around technology, consumer gadgets, social media, and digital-related topics across the Middle East and North Africa region (sometimes even in South Asia as well). If it's global, we want to emphasize the regional relevance.Yasser Masood and Gazanfarulla Khan Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Year in Review: Middle East's headlines while Flying High

    Year in Review: Middle East's headlines while Flying High
    Dec 22 2025

    As 2025 crawls to its conclusion, we look back on the whole season with the Middle East grabbing plenty of headlines spanning three major countries. What better way to reflect than with another episode at 36,000ft up in the air featuring our c-host.


    With the whole focus on AI and even branching out to mergers/acquisitions, there hasn't been a quiet period at all. Yet, there are some surprises that have crept in as well including Qatar joining their neighbor's ranks with their own efforts related to AI and many more.


    With the podcast, it's been a significant step-up as we brought on guests focused on many themes relevant to the Middle East region itself.


    ---

    If you're keen to suggest topics that you'd want to hear more about with a Middle East focus, follow us on our accounts below and drop us a message.

    • Yasser Masood (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)
    • Gazanfarulla Khan (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)
    • The Geeky Nomads (⁠⁠Website⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)
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    55 mins
  • Tech Giants Rushing Into Saudi Arabia with Sami Fathi

    Tech Giants Rushing Into Saudi Arabia with Sami Fathi
    Dec 12 2025
    Sami Fathi's love for tech and writing began as an editor to the popular Apple news site ⁠MacRumors in 2021⁠, making him one of the few Arabs (even quite a young one) to publish for a global and popular site covering the latest rumors/announcements on Apple while residing in Saudi Arabia.Since leaving the role in January 2023, he's become a prominent tech commentator and Apple observer via his ⁠X account⁠ and publishing on ⁠Cupertino Lens⁠, while also representing Saudi Arabia internationally on behalf of ⁠MISK⁠.With 2025 being a major year that saw many tech announcements made for and in Saudi Arabia, we dove deep into the country's growing influence and strategic goals as they spread their influence and showcase the opportunities leading upto the country's Nation Vision 2030. As a citizen of Saudi Arabia, Sami has witnessed the evolving tech landscape in the region, chiming in on Apple's expansion into Saudi Arabia (after many years), and the importance of human capital in driving tech growth. From the challenges tech companies face in the Middle East to the ambitions of Saudi youth, nothing is off the 'virtual majlis'.With the likes of NVIDIA, Qualcomm, AMD, Adobe and more tech heavyweights announcing new ventures and partnerships, Sami highlights the potential of Saudi Arabia as a new hub for technology in the MENA region. The results also impact Vision 2030 on the country's economy and the wider region. -- Chapters --00:00 Episode overview03:10 Sami Fathi's beginnings at MacRumors06:25 Navigating the Media Landscape as a Saudi Tech Commentator12:32 Apple's Expansion into Saudi Arabia20:33 Apple's Strategic Approach to Market Entry24:51 The Silicon Valley Tour by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince27:39 The Tech Savviness of Saudi Citizens28:34 USA vs Middle East: process simplicity and efficiency35:01 Big tech names opening up: Is it enough?36:04 Investing in Human Capital42:34 Opportunities for Young Saudis44:04 Sami's multiple hats and Saudi society behavioural trends46:59 Global Brands' mistakes entering Middle East region50:25 Geographic parity on feature rollouts54:05 Middle East at the bottom for global brands57:23 MENA feature rollouts yet only UE and Saudi Arabia are highlighted01:00:21 Future Innovations from Apple01:03:19 Final remarks as Saudi forges ahead to Vision 2030---If you're keen to suggest topics that you'd want to hear more about with a Middle East focus, follow us on our accounts below and drop us a message.Yasser Masood (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)Gazanfarulla Khan (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) The Geeky Nomads (⁠Website⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)
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    1 hr and 10 mins
  • The latest from Web Summit Lisbon 2025

    The latest from Web Summit Lisbon 2025
    Nov 14 2025

    Gazanfarulla Khan travels from Doha, Qatar to Lisbon, Portugal to attend the 10th edition of Web Summit Lisbon - the main anchor event among all the Web Summit chapters held throughout the year.

    Along with highlighting the Lisbon event's significance, the focus for the event has still been on AI and alongside the growing demands for it across industries.

    With more than 71,000 attendees also including representation of women in startups, Khan even chimes in on the intersection of technology and Formula 1.

    As the calendar year draws to a close, Qatar is also set to host WSJ Tech Live Qatar and MWC Doha in the coming weeks. Plus, we expand a bit more on our next episode related to job hunting in the Middle East region.

    Related readings referenced in the episode:

    • Microsoft's AI Diffusion report
    • Progress of Stargate UAE
    • Microsoft's $15.2Bn investment in UAE for AI


    -- Chapters --

    00:00 Onsite in Lisbon, Portugal

    04:38 Web Summit Lisbon's Opening Night

    10:19 AI Trends and Innovations at Web Summit Lisbon

    17:46 Investment Trends and Market Dynamics

    19:44 Energy consumption trends for AI Data Centers

    23:42 Women in Startups and Social Impact

    26:41 Upcoming episode on job hunting in the MENA region

    28:08 Career Ladder at Web Summit Lisbon

    30:03 Web Summit Lisbon Highlights

    35:29 F1 at Web Summit

    42:10 Media Landscape and Opportunities

    45:35 WSJ Tech Live in Qatar

    48:00 Ending Remarks
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    52 mins
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