Cyprus Economy: Assessing The €566.9 Million Surplus In January 2025

by News Editor

March 11, 2025

Cyprus has kicked off 2025 on a high note, recording a general government surplus of €566.9 million, equivalent to 1.6% of GDP, as per CySTAT’s preliminary fiscal results.

Compared to January 2024, which saw a surplus of €476.5 million (1.4% of GDP), this year marks a significant improvement. Revenue rose by €194.3 million, a 14.3% increase from 2024’s €1,360.6 million.

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Key Revenue Increasers

Taxes on production and imports grew by 11.3%, reaching €396.3 million. Notably, VAT netted €249.7 million, a 3.5% hike.

Income-related taxes added €52.2 million, totaling €592.7 million. Worried about property income scarcity? Good news: it soared by 37.4% to €10.3 million.

Assessment Of Expenditures

Expenditure in January 2025 rose to €988.0 million, up by 11.8% from 2024. Employee compensations witnessed a substantial increase, rising by €28.4 million. Social benefits followed suit, augmenting by €49.6 million.

While capital transfers saw a notable slump, the capital account experienced a healthy boost of 29.8%, reaching €31.6 million.

For those intrigued by Cyprus’ financial journey, comparing this growth to different economic metrics, such as Euro Area’s revised growth forecast, can provide deeper insights.

It’s worth mentioning that data absences have resulted in estimates being made for the Local Government Subsector. As Cyprus continues to navigate its financial landscape, these surpluses reflect a nation steadily poised for growth.

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Zendesk Acquires Forethought To Strengthen AI Customer Support Tools

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

March 12, 2026

Zendesk, a company known for customer support software, has announced the acquisition of artificial intelligence startup Forethought. The deal is expected to close by the end of March and represents another step in the growing use of AI to automate customer service operations.

Strategic Innovation In Customer Service

Forethought has been developing AI tools for customer support automation for several years. The company first gained industry recognition after winning the TechCrunch Battlefield competition in 2018, well before the widespread adoption of generative AI tools.

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Since then, Forethought has expanded its customer base to include companies such as Grammarly, Airtable, Upwork and Datadog. By 2025, the platform was processing more than one billion customer interactions each month, highlighting the growing role of automation in support operations.

Pioneering Leadership And Industry Recognition

Deon Nicholas, Forethought’s co-founder and chairman, hailed the acquisition as a milestone in a recent LinkedIn post. According to Nicholas, advances in AI over the past several years have accelerated adoption across multiple industries, particularly in areas that rely heavily on customer communication and service management.

Enhancing Zendesk’s Product Portfolio

The integration of Forethought’s technology is expected to expand Zendesk’s AI capabilities across its product suite. Company executives said the acquisition could accelerate development of several planned features by more than a year. These capabilities include specialized AI agents, systems that improve automatically through usage data and more advanced voice-based customer support tools. Zendesk has previously expanded its platform through acquisitions, including companies such as Zopim and BIME Analytics, which added messaging and analytics functionality to its products.

Implications For The Future

The acquisition reflects a broader shift in the software industry toward AI-driven automation of customer service tasks. Companies are increasingly using AI systems to handle routine inquiries while human agents focus on more complex cases. Zendesk’s move highlights how enterprise software providers are investing in AI technologies to improve efficiency and scale customer support operations as demand for digital service channels continues to grow.

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