Expansion comes as UAE government mandates transition to Agentic AI models, driving demand for continuous assurance and autonomous risk governance.

DUBAI, UAE, Oct. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Optro, the leading AI-powered GRC Intelligence Platform, today announced its expansion into the United Arab Emirates (UAE), establishing Dubai as the company’s newest regional center. The move represents a major step forward in serving global GRC teams and providing localized support for its rapidly growing customer base across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The announcement was made at the 2026 CAE Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The expansion comes at a historic inflection point for technology governance in the region. Under the “UAE Government 4.0” directive of the UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031, federal institutions are tasked with converting 50 percent of government sectors, services, and operations to autonomous Agentic AI models within a two-year timeline. As non-human agents gain authority to execute workflows, invoke APIs, and issue binding administrative decisions, enterprise and public-sector audit, risk, compliance, and infosec teams are facing unprecedented operational, cybersecurity, and regulatory complexities.

With strict regulatory frameworks taking shape, including Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) AI & ML Guidance, the UAE National AI Policy & Ethics guidelines, the Federal Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL), and Cybersecurity Council/NESA standards, demand is surging for connected, real-time approaches to audit, risk management, data sovereignty, and non-human access control. Optro is built specifically for this paradigm shift. By deploying agentic AI tailored to regional frameworks, Optro gives local practitioners an unmatched ability to execute continuous risk assessments, manage non-human access identities, and automate live compliance mapping against evolving UAE regulations.

“Enterprises and public sector organizations across the Middle East are setting a global benchmark for autonomous innovation,” said Raul Villar Jr., Chief Executive Officer at Optro. “However, deploying agentic AI at scale requires a corresponding evolution in control and assurance. By establishing our regional hub in the UAE, we are delivering the localized presence, partner network, and agentic GRC tools required to help organizations govern autonomous operations, protect data sovereignty, and turn regulatory compliance into a competitive advantage.”

“Internal Audit and GRC functions are playing an increasingly strategic role in helping organizations strengthen resilience, enhance governance, and respond to emerging risks,” said Fady Nader, EY MENA Risk Consulting Partner. “As organizations continue to embrace digital transformation and AI-enabled ways of working, there is a growing need for integrated assurance and timely risk insights. We are pleased to collaborate with Optro in supporting organizations across the region as they evolve their governance, risk and assurance capabilities and adapt to an increasingly dynamic business environment.”

“Our alliance with Optro reflects Deloitte’s commitment to helping clients modernise their control environments,” said James Smith, Controls Assurance Leader at Deloitte Middle East. “Optro’s investment in regional data hosting is another important step and demonstrates their long-term commitment to the region and we are proud to partner with them.”

Optro’s expansion into the UAE follows the company’s recent launch of its Asia-Pacific (APAC) regional hub in Singapore, announced at The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) International Conference in June. Earlier this year, Optro also acquired Midship — the premier AI-native autonomous controls testing solution — delivering highly governed, enterprise-grade AI agents to Optro’s customers and prospects, enabling Optro to rapidly scale across global innovation centers, helping risk, compliance, and audit teams modernize operations and navigate complex regulatory environments in real time.

To learn more about how Optro is transforming risk into opportunity for companies around the world, visit optro.ai.

About Optro 

Optro (formerly AuditBoard) helps enterprises transform risk into opportunity through its AI-powered GRC Intelligence Platform. More than 50% of the Fortune 500 trust Optro to elevate audit, risk, and compliance in addressing a new era of risk. Optro is top-rated by customers on G2 and was named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Tools, Assurance Leaders. To learn more, visit optro.ai.

Media Contact
Laura Groshans
press@optro.ai

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LONDON, Oct. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Alchemist Group, the parent company behind a portfolio of sales and leadership development brands, has appointed former military cyber-specialist James Griffiths as fractional Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) as it continues to invest in proprietary technology designed to enhance learner experiences.

Bringing over 25 years’ experience across cyber-security, technology and digital transformation, including 17 years in the British Army’s Royal Corps of Signals, Griffiths will provide expertise across technology, cyber-security and digital strategy. His appointment will support the Group’s ongoing technology development while ensuring its systems and data remain secure as the business grows.

Following his military career, Griffiths helped deliver cyber-offensive capabilities for UK government organisations including the Ministry of Defence and GCHQ. He later co-founded Cyber Security Associates, scaling the business from a two-person start-up to a £15 million-plus operation with over 100 employees. He’s now founder of technology consultancy UtopianKnight. 

He joins Alchemist Group as the business builds on the recent launch of its Global Product and Technology function. The new division combines research, human expertise, product design and technology to develop learning systems for global organisations facing increasing pressure to improve performance while adapting to rapid advances in AI and workforce capability.

The function supports the Group’s three brands: Alchemist, a leadership development company; RAIN Group, a sales training specialist; and PCA Law, which provides leadership and business development training for legal professionals.

Appointing Griffiths on a fractional basis has also allowed the Group to bring in senior technology and cyber-security expertise without the lead time associated with a permanent hire.

Will Daniel, global vice president of product and technology at Alchemist Group, said: “As we continue investing in our product and technology capabilities, having the right expertise around us is critical. James brings a wealth of experience across technology and cyber-security, as well as a strategic understanding of how those areas need to support wider business objectives.”

Griffiths added: “Alchemist Group has a clear vision for the role technology can play in enhancing the development and delivery of its learning solutions and client experience, making a robust technology and cyber-security approach essential. I’m delighted to be supporting the Group at such an exciting stage in its growth, helping to align technology, security and business priorities to drive innovation, resilience and long-term success.”

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SINGAPORE, Oct. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — V-Key, a Tower Capital Asia (“TCA”) portfolio company and a leading provider of digital identity and Mobile Application Protection & Security (“MAPS”), today announced a strategic investment in Singapore-based CloudsineAI, a provider of AI cybersecurity and web integrity protection.

The investment advances V-Key’s strategy to address the evolving safety, identity, and security requirements of the AI economy. By integrating V-Key’s expertise in trusted digital identity and cryptographic protection with CloudsineAI’s AI cybersecurity capabilities, already adopted by private and public sector organisations, the companies aim to provide trusted infrastructure for secure AI adoption and the next generation of digital interactions.

As organisations accelerate digital transformation and AI adoption, AI safety is becoming an increasingly important priority for governments and enterprises. Security must now extend beyond authenticating human users to securing applications, AI agents, and other non-human actors that initiate transactions and access systems.

V-Key and CloudsineAI bring together complementary strengths spanning trusted identity, agentic security, and governance. Together, they enable organisations to establish verifiable identities, safeguard digital interactions, and maintain accountability across critical business processes.

“This strategic investment reflects our conviction that identity will become the control layer for the AI economy,” said Joseph Gan, Co-Founder and CEO of V-Key. “As organisations deploy AI agents alongside human users, AI safety requires more than authentication. Trusted identity, governed access, secure digital interactions, and verifiable accountability will be critical. By combining V-Key’s expertise in identity management and application security with CloudsineAI’s strengths in agentic cybersecurity, we are building the trust infrastructure for secure and responsible AI-powered services.”

Matthias Chin, Founder and CEO of CloudsineAI, said, “Digital and AI transformation increasingly depends on trust between people, organisations, applications, and AI agents. Together with V-Key, we are combining identity governance with TraceCtrl’s agentic AI security suite, giving customers greater identity, visibility, traceability, and control as they deploy AI.”

The combined offering will provide customers across regulated industries, including financial services, government, healthcare, and critical infrastructure, with a more integrated approach to securing digital and AI interactions, strengthening governance, and supporting regulatory compliance.

Seth Lim, Senior Vice President at Tower Capital Asia, said, “Our investment in V-Key was founded on the belief that identity and digital trust will become foundational to the next generation of the digital economy. V-Key’s strategic investment in CloudsineAI extends this vision into AI safety, combining its strengths in digital identity and application security with CloudsineAI’s expertise in AI cybersecurity. We see significant opportunities for innovation and expansion across Asia-Pacific and beyond.”

About V-Key

Founded in 2011, V‑Key provides digital identity, authentication, and mobile application security for banks, enterprises, and government‑linked organisations. Its AI-powered platform, built around the patented V‑OS Virtual Secure Element and V-OS App Identity, delivers hardware‑grade security in software, enabling secure onboarding, access and transaction protection across regulated digital markets in Asia and beyond.

www.v-key.com

About CloudsineAI

CloudsineAI is a Singapore-based provider of AI security and web integrity protection. Its proprietary platforms include TraceCtrl, an agentic AI security suite, and WebOrion®, a web integrity protection platform trusted by enterprises and government customers in Singapore and four other countries.

www.cloudsine.tech

About Tower Capital Asia

Established in 2016, Tower Capital Asia is a mid-market private equity firm based in Singapore. The firm has led investments in the privatisation and/or buyout of Southeast Asian businesses including AXS, BoardRoom, Eu Yan Sang, and V-Key. As of 30 June 2026, the firm manages assets of more than US$900 million in investments and commitments across all vehicles.

www.towercapitalasia.com

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