$300m funding backs Falcon LLM; Dubai signs air taxi deals
Middle East AI News weekly digest...
Good morning!
Welcome to this week’s Middle East AI News!
An absolutely crazy week in Middle East tech this week and I’ve tried to cram as much of the news into this newsletter as I can! Much of this week’s news came from two big events: Global Smart City Forum 2024 in Riyadh and the World Governments Summit 2024 held in Dubai.
Scroll down for all the latest news!
Later today, I’ll be hosting Middle East AI News LIVE - THURSDAY DEEP DIVE on LinkedIn at 12 noon KSA | 1pm UAE time | 9am GMT!
I’ll be talking to Avneesh Prakash, founder and CEO of Dubai-based Camb.ai, about the company’s live video AI dubbing platform and $4 million seed funding round.
Click here to attend today’s THURSDAY DEEP DIVE!
Thanks for reading!
/Carrington
Falcon LLM
Could Falcon become the Linux of AI?
#Saudi #LLM - Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) announces Falcon Foundation at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, a new non-profit foundation with $300 million funding, to build a global ecosystem for the Falcon series of large language models. (Middle East AI News)
Sao Paulo state, ATRC sign Falcon MoU
#UAE #Brazil #WGS2024 - The Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) has signed an MoU with the Secretariat of Management and Digital Government (SGGD) of the State of São Paulo in Brazil, to leverage the ATRC’s technical expertise. (Zawya)
UAE, Serbia sign MoU for open-source Falcon LLM
#UAE #Serbia #WGS2024 - Serbia and the UAE signed an MoU on development and application of AI at the World Governments Summit this week, enabling the use of the open-source Falcon LLM and new solutions based on the AI model to be developed in Serbia. (Tanjug)
R&D
Abu Dhabi creates global tech R&D fund
#UAE #R&D -Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) this week announced the ATRC Global Tech R&D Platform at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. The new initiative to facilitate global access to cutting-edge technology solutions, has been allocated $200 million in funding to accelerate innovation, particularly for emerging and developing nations. (LinkedIn)
GovTech winners announced at World Governments Summit
#UAE #govtech - Turkey’s RoboRoyale ecosystem support project and Spain’s Life Work Balance project took away the top honours at the 6th Edge of Government Award. (Dubai Media Office)
Saudi government announces Congestion Hackathon
#Saudi #transport - Saudi Ministry of Interior, in collaboration with Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and several other government departments, has launched a Congestion Hackathon, in a move to identify new ways to tackle urban traffic congestion using artificial intelligence. (Saudi Gazette)
Air Mobility
Dubai RTA signs air taxi agreements
#UAE #airtaxis - Dubai is to launch air taxi services by early 2026, according to agreements signed on the first day of the World Governments Summit in Dubai. UK-based Skyports Infrastructure and eVTOL manufacturer Joby Aviation signed agreements with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). (LinkedIn)
Education
SDAIA launches Industrial AI Academy
#Saudi #education - Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and global chip manufacturer NVIDIA, have launched The Industrial Artificial Intelligence Academy. The new academy will help prepare Saudi workers to leverage industrial AI for manufacturing, industry and smart cities. (Arab News)
AI Policy
Altman calls for regulatory summit in UAE
#UAE #WGS2024 - OpenAI CEO Sam Altman repeated his call for global debate and discussion on future AI regulations at the World Governments Summit. In a discussion with UAE AI minister H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama, he offered to host a future global summit on regulatory issues in the UAE. (LinkedIn)
CST extends deadline for emerging tech sandbox
#Saudi #sandboxes - The Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) has extended the registration period for the second cohort of the Emerging Technologies Regulatory Sandbox until March 31. The sandbox enables testing solutions across seven emerging technologies. Apply. (SPA)
Saudi opens AI Centre for Manufacturing and Mining
#Saudi #CoEs - Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, in collaboration with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) announced the opening of the AI Centre for Manufacturing and Mining. (Arab News)
UAE AI office signs MoU with EGA
#UAE #WGS2024 - The UAE Office of Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications and Emirates Global Aluminum have signed an MoU to promote the adoption of AI in the industrial sector. (Emirates News Agency)
Smart Cities
Saudi building national digital twin
#Saudi #digitaltwins - Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing announced that the Kingdom plans to build a national scale Digital Twin for planning to support urban planning and management by 2025. (Arab News)
SDAIA launches urban data portal for smart city planning
#Saudi #smartcities - The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing have launched a national portal to visualise the Kingdom’s urban data and support smart city planning and development. (Saudi Gazette)
Saudi Arabia aims to put 10 cities into top 50 global cities
#Saudi #smartcities - Saudi Arabia’s goal is to make at least 10 of its cities among the top 50 global cities, according to comments made by the government at Global Smart City Forum 2024 in Riyadh this week. (Zawya)
Robot arms fills gas tanks in Abu Dhabi
#UAE #fuelservice - Adnoc Distribution has introduced a robotic fueling arm pilot in Abu Dhabi to assist motorists fill their vehicle tanks. The pilot project has been more than a year in development. (Focus)
Saudi launches CoE for traffic congestion
#Saudi #traffic - The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) has opened a Centre of Excellence in Congestion Solutions. The centre is dedicated to developing smart solutions to enhance the quality of city life. (SPA)
Adoption
Jordanian tech firms embrace AI
#Jordan #adoption - Jordanian technology companies are embracing artificial intelligence, with up to 63 percent incorporating AI into their products and services, according to a recent survey by Int@j, the Information and Communications Technology Association. (Arab News)
Drones
Oman concludes drone competition
#Oman #drones - A national drone competition was held in Oman this week, with the participation of 26 competitors the country’s universities and colleges. The competition was organised by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology in partnership with Sultan Qaboos University. (MTCIT)
AI Diplomacy
UAE signs MoUs with Austria, Mongolia, Colombia
#UAE #WGS2024 - The UAE government, represented by the Office of Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, signed three MoUs with Austria, Mongolia, and Colombia at this week’s World Governments Summit to enhance the adoption of AI in various sectors. (Emirates News Agency)
Sentiment
94% of Saudi organisations to increase AI investment
#Saudi @adoption - According to the survey by Censuswide, commissioned by cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks, 94 percent of organisations in the Kingdom intend to increase their AI investments. (Arab News)