Abu Dhabi backs SEA AI fund; Accenture opens tourism innovation lab
From the archive...
Good morning,
Welcome to this week's edition of Middle East AI News!
An as yet undisclosed government entity in Abu Dhabi has invested in a $300 million India-focused AI fund established by Falcon Edge Capital. Although details are sketchy, it appears that the Abu Dhabi investment in the Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI) fund is contingent on each startup in the portfolio having a presence in the emirate.
Meanwhile, a global investor group that includes Riyad TAQNIA Fund – RTF and Bahrain-based MEC Ventures have invested in Indonesian real-time mobile data and AI firm Eureka.
This news and a little more below. Have a great weekend!
/Carrington
Funds
Abu Dhabi backs Falcon Edge's new $300 million India-focused fund
#UAE #India #funds - The Government of Abu Dhabi has backed US investment firm Falcon Edge Capital's $300 million India-focused fund, Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI). The new fund will invest in 60-80 early-stage technology focused angel, seed, and Series A deals in India and Southeast Asia, with a focus on AI and machine learning. It is reported that the AWI fund management team will be Abu Dhabi-based. (Economic Times)
AI firm Eureka raises $20m led by Apis, Gobi, Riyadh TAQNIA and MEC Ventures
#Indonesia #Singapore #Bahrain #Saudi #funding - Indonesian AI enterprise software company Eureka has raised $20 million in a Series B funding round co-led by a global investor group of Apis Partners, Gobi Partners, Riyad TAQNIA Fund – RTF, and Bahrain-based MEC Ventures. (Deal Street Asia)
R&D
Abu Dhabi’s three-year $13.5b stimulus fund spurs tech and innovation
#UAE #R&D - One of 50 economic initiatives, Abu Dhabi is investing AED 300 million ($82m) in crowdsourcing innovation through a series of XPrize Abu Dhabi global competitions. The aim is to accelerate the R&D ecosystem, whilst finding solutions to critical global challenges, including climate change, water scarcity and AI. (The National)
Al Ain City Municipality and Saal collaborate to leverage AI and data analysis
#UAE #R&D - Al Ain City Municipality and Saal, an applied AI company based in Abu Dhabi, signed an MoU to collaborate on research and development for smart city solutions, leveraging AI and data analysis, (Zawya)
Education
Huawei and KCST sign MoU to establish an ICT academy
#Kuwait #education - Huawei will establish an ICT Academy with Kuwait College of Science and Technology (KCST) to provide students with hands-on training in Big Data, cloud computing and AI. (Kuwait Times)
Corporate News
Builder.ai fuels opens new Dubai office
#UAE #coding - Builder.ai, the platform that lets anyone build apps and software without knowing how to code, has opened a new office location in Dubai. Builder.ai now operates in five locations: London, Los Angeles, Delhi, Tokyo and Dubai. (Technuter)
Accenture opens its first Innovation Hub in the Middle East for Dubai Tourism
#UAE #tourism - Accenture opened the Dubai Tourism Innovation Hub last week, the company’s first innovation hub in the Middle East and North Africa region. The hub is an immersive environment that showcases Accenture’s capabilities across a variety of innovative technologies, including extended reality, AI, IoT, and more. (Campaign ME)
Events Calendar
2 Mar - AI in Finance MENA Summit - by CFTE - #AbuDhabi
5 Mar - AI Lab Government Networking event - by ADDA - #Abu Dhabi
11-12 Mar - AI Everything Summit - #Dubai
19 Mar - AI Lab Government Networking event - by ADDA - #Abu Dhabi
30-31 Mar - Global AI Summit - #Riyadh