OpenAI launched on Thursday, August 7, its GPT-5 artificial intelligence model, the highly anticipated latest installment of a technology that has helped transform global business and culture.

OpenAI’s GPT models are the AI technology that powers the popular ChatGPT chatbot, and GPT-5 will be available to all 700 million ChatGPT users, OpenAI said.

Read-OpenAI rolls out new shopping features with ChatGPT search update

The big question is whether the company that kicked off the generative AI frenzy will be capable of continuing to drive significant technological advancements that attract enterprise-level users to justify the enormous sums of money it is investing to fuel these developments.

The release comes at a critical time for the AI industry. The world’s biggest AI developers – Alphabet, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft, which backs OpenAI – have dramatically increased capital expenditures to pay for AI data centers, nourishing investor hopes for great returns. These four companies expect to spend nearly $400bn this fiscal year in total.

OpenAI is now in early discussions to allow employees to cash out at a $500bn valuation, a huge step-up from its current $300bn valuation. Top AI researchers now command $100m signing bonuses.

“So far, business spending on AI has been pretty weak, while consumer spending on AI has been fairly robust because people love to chat with ChatGPT,” said economics writer Noah Smith. “But the consumer spending on AI just isn’t going to be nearly enough to justify all the money that is being spent on AI data centers.”

OpenAI is emphasising GPT-5’s enterprise prowess. In addition to software development, the company said GPT-5 excels in writing, health-related queries, and finance.

“GPT-5 is really the first time that I think one of our mainline models has felt like you can ask a legitimate expert, a PhD-level expert, anything,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said at a press briefing.

“One of the coolest things it can do is write you good instantaneous software. This idea of software on demand is going to be one of the defining features of the GPT-5 era.”

In demos on Thursday, OpenAI showed how GPT-5 could be used to create entire working pieces of software based on written text prompts, commonly known as “vibe coding.”

One key measure of success is whether the step up from GPT-4 to GPT-5 is on par with the research lab’s previous improvements. Two early reviewers told Reuters that while the new model impressed them with its ability to code and solve science and math problems, they believe the leap from the GPT-4 to GPT-5 was not as large as OpenAI’s prior improvements.

Even if the improvements are large, GPT-5 is not advanced enough to wholesale replace humans. Altman said that GPT-5 still lacks the ability to learn on its own, a key component to enabling AI to match human abilities.

On his popular AI podcast, Dwarkesh Patel compared current AI to teaching a child to play a saxophone by reading notes from the last student.

“A student takes one attempt,” he said. “The moment they make a mistake, you send them away and write detailed instructions about what went wrong. The next student reads your notes and tries to play Charlie Parker cold. When they fail, you refine the instructions for the next student. This just wouldn’t work.”

More thinking

Nearly three years ago, ChatGPT introduced the world to generative AI, dazzling users with its ability to write humanlike prose and poetry, quickly becoming one of the fastest growing apps ever.

In March 2023, OpenAI followed up ChatGPT with the release of GPT-4, a large language model that made huge leaps forward in intelligence. While GPT-3.5, an earlier version, received a bar exam score in the bottom 10 per cent, GPT-4 passed the simulated bar exam in the top 10 per cent.

GPT-4’s leap was based on more compute power and data, and the company was hoping that “scaling up” in a similar way would consistently lead to improved AI models.

But OpenAI ran into issues scaling up. One problem was the data wall the company ran into, and OpenAI’s former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever said last year that while processing power was growing, the amount of data was not.

He was referring to the fact that large language models are trained on massive datasets that scrape the entire internet, and AI labs have no other options for large troves of human-generated textual data.

Apart from the lack of data, another problem was that ‘training runs’ for large models are more likely to have hardware-induced failures given how complicated the system is, and researchers may not know the eventual performance of the models until the end of the run, which can take months.

At the same time, OpenAI discovered another route to smarter AI, called “test-time compute,” a way to have the AI model spend more time compute power “thinking” about each question, allowing it to solve challenging tasks such as math or complex operations that demand advanced reasoning and decision-making.

GPT-5 acts as a router, meaning if a user asks GPT-5 a particularly hard problem, it will use test-time compute to answer the question.

This is the first time the general public will have access to OpenAI’s test-time compute technology, something that Altman said is important to the company’s mission to build AI that benefits all of humanity.

Altman believes the current investment in AI is still inadequate.

“We need to build a lot more infrastructure globally to have AI locally available in all these markets,” Altman said.

DP World has expanded its automotive logistics capacity at Jebel Ali Port with the launch of a 2.6 million square foot vehicle storage yard at Terminal 4, as Dubai moves to meet rising demand in global vehicle trade.

The upgrade adds 13,000 car equivalent units (CEUs), increasing total storage capacity at the port to 75,000 CEUs. The move strengthens Dubai’s role as the region’s top automotive trade hub.

The expansion also includes an 800-metre quay, capable of handling three roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessels at the same time.

RoRo operations have now been relocated from Terminal 1 to the newly designated area in Terminal 4, a shift aimed at improving berth availability, reducing turnaround times and creating more operational space across the port.

“Dubai is scaling up its role as a global automotive trade hub and this expansion gives car manufacturers, dealers, and logistics providers faster, more reliable access to key markets across the Middle East, Africa, and beyond,” said Abdulla Bin Damithan, CEO and MD, DP World GCC.

Read: Abdulla bin Damithan on how DP World’s Jafza has become a global trade powerhouse

“This is a customer focused investment. More yard space, quicker service and reliable berth availability are all designed to help the automotive supply chain grow,” added Shahab Al Jassmi, SVP, Commercial, Ports and Terminals, DP World GCC.

DP World’s Jebel Ali Port sees rising vehicle volumes

The announcement follows a sharp rise in vehicle volumes at Jebel Ali. In H12025, the port handled 545,000 vehicles, a 28 per cent increase from the same period last year. Imports made up 65 per cent of total volumes, with vehicles arriving predominantly from China, Japan, Thailand, India and South Korea.

The terminal upgrade is part of DP World’s broader automotive strategy, which also includes plans to develop a 20 million square foot advanced car market in Dubai.

Once complete, it will be the largest of its kind globally. Both projects align with the emirate’s D33 agenda to double the size of its economy by 2033 and strengthen its position as a global smart logistics hub.

Parkin, Dubai’s largest paid public parking operator, posted a sharp rise in second-quarter results, with total revenues, EBITDA and net profit all climbing sharply year-on-year.

Strong financial performance in Q2

The company booked revenues of Dhs320m in Q2, up 56 per cent from Dhs205.5m in Q2 2024. EBITDA surged 41 per cent to Dhs189.3m, yielding a margin of 59 per cent.

Net profit also jumped 56 per cent to Dhs 148.4m.

The company added about 11.1k new parking spaces (a 6 per cent increase), boosting its portfolio to 211.5k spaces. Parking transactions climbed 15 per cent to 33.2 million, while seasonal card sales hit a record 70.9k, a 140 per cent increase.

The average public parking utilisation rate dipped to 22.7 per cent, down 3 percentage points.

Variable tariff and enforcement lift Parkin’s revenues

Public parking revenue rose 48 per cent to Dhs 132.2 m, supported by a weighted average hourly tariff increase to Dhs3.04 (from Dhs2.01).

Average revenue per public parking spot rose 38 per cent to Dhs 701.

Developer parking revenue increased 55 per cent to Dhs 22.3m, while seasonal card and permit revenue climbed 40 per cent to Dhs 52m.

Enforcement revenue jumped 77 per cent to Dhs 96.7m, though the fine collection rate eased slightly to 83 per cent from 87 per cent.

Enforcement notices issued rose 81 per cent to 660k, 81 per cent of which were for public violations.

The company’s field enforcement scanned 8.2 million licence plates (up 346 per cent), and its fleet of smart inspection cars scanned 13.5 million plates (up 110 per cent).

Strategic partnerships and outlook

The company agreed a revised concession fee with Dubai’s RTA, set at a cap of 27.5 per cent on public parking revenues and 20 per cent for other revenue lines.

Net debt stood at Dhs 692.5 m at the end of the quarter, with Dhs 533.5m in available liquidity.

The company maintained its full-year guidance, expecting public parking revenues to total between Dhs520 m and Dhs550m, and enforcement revenues to range between Dhs275m and Dhs305m.

Engineer Mohamed Abdulla Al Ali, CEO of Parkin, said its “record‑breaking Q2 performance underscores our ambition to redefine Dubai’s urban mobility landscape through smart, efficient, consumer‑centric parking solutions… We look to the future with confidence, ready to seize new opportunities, helping to shape Dubai’s bright future.”

A 3.5-magnitude earthquake was recorded in the UAE during the early hours of Friday, August 8, 2025, the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) announced.

According to the NCM, the quake struck at 12:00 a.m. UAE time in Al Sila’a, Abu Dhabi, at a depth of three kilometres.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by المركز الوطني للأرصاد (@officialuaeweather)

The tremor was mildly felt by some residents but caused no damage or impact, the centre confirmed.

Aramex reported group revenues of Dhs3.06bn for H1 2025, marking a 1 per cent year-on-year increase as strong performance in domestic and regional logistics offset continued declines in international express shipments.

The logistics and transportation company noted that customer behaviour is shifting towards regional and local solutions, a trend that has reshaped its business mix.

Domestic Express revenues rose 13 per cent year-on-year in H1, Logistics jumped 22 per cent, and Freight Forwarding increased 8 per cent, while International Express revenue dropped 15 per cent over the same period.

Profitability squeezed by product mix shift

The shift in demand came with pressure on profitability. Gross profit fell 6 per cent to Dhs 694m, and the group’s gross profit margin narrowed to 23 per cent from 24.4 per cent a year ago. International Express, a traditionally high-margin business, saw its gross profit drop by Dhs83m, offsetting gains in Domestic Express (+Dhs8m), Freight (+Dhs9m), and Logistics (+Dhs22m).

Group EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) declined 45 per cent to Dhs 77m in H1 2025. Net profit came in at Dhs8m for the half-year, a sharp fall from Dhs49m in the same period last year. Aramex pointed to a combination of margin erosion and Dhs 26m in one-off costs related to its transformation programme and the acquisition of Q Logistics.

Excluding these exceptional items, normalised EBIT for H1 2025 stood at Dhs 95m, down 32 per cent year-on-year, while normalised net income was Dhs33m, down 34 per cent.

ADQ becomes majority shareholder

The company also confirmed that as of July 25, it became a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s ADQ, following the regulatory approval of ADQ’s acquisition of 63 per cent of Aramex shares through Q Logistics and Abu Dhabi Ports.

“Our H1 2025 results reflect consistent execution and a clear alignment with shifting customer needs,” said acting group CEO Nicolas Sibuet. “While we face margin pressures and a changing product mix, we have taken decisive actions through our Accelerate28 strategy to realign operations and enhance our ability to better serve customers.”

Segment performance: Mixed outcomes

Domestic express: Revenues rose 13 per cent in H1 2025 to Dhs 853m, with gross profit increasing 5 per cent to Dhs 184m.

International express: Revenues dropped 15 per cent to Dhs 1.05bn, and gross profit fell 20 per cent to Dhs 324m.

Freight forwarding: Revenues climbed 8 per cent to Dhs 871m, with stable gross profit margins of 13 per cent, despite geopolitical disruptions. Segment volumes increased across all freight modes.

Logistics and supply chain: Revenues surged 22 per cent to Dhs 261m in H1. Gross profit more than doubled to Dhs 50m, reflecting improved warehouse utilisation and contract wins.

Volume trends reflect market dynamics

Total Express shipment volumes reached 67.6m in H1 2025, up 3 per cent year-on-year. Domestic Express volumes grew 9 per cent to 55.9m shipments, while International Express volumes declined 19 per cent to 11.7m.

Freight shipment volumes also showed growth:

• Air freight rose 8 per cent

• Sea freight (FCL) increased 13 per cent

• Sea freight (LCL) surged 35 per cent

• Land freight (LTL) was up 22 per cent

Q2 results reflected similar pressures. Revenues were flat at Dhs 1.50bn. Gross profit was Dhs 329m, down from Dhs 345m a year ago.

EBIT declined 66 per cent to Dhs16m, and net loss for the quarter stood at Dhs9m. Normalised EBIT and net income for Q2 were Dhs31m and Dhs5m, respectively.

Accelerate28 strategy underway

The Accelerate28 programme, launched in Q1 2025, is central to the company’s transformation. With more than 300 initiatives in progress across four newly defined regions, Aramex expects full EBIT impact by 2028.

The company said it remains committed to investing in long-term capabilities despite near-term profitability constraints.

The outlook

As of June 30, Aramex held Dhs542m in cash, with a debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 3.4x (including IFRS 16 adjustments).

The company said it remains financially positioned to continue its transformation and respond to shifting global logistics dynamics.

Read: How Aramex, Sprinklr are reimagining customer experience with AI