Good morning!
Here’s your weekly roundup of Middle East AI News!
So much going on this week, it is difficult to track. From the inauguration of Adia Lab and its $100,000 research award; to the first agreements signed under the Dubai Robotics and Automation Programme; to Saudi’s new space sector accelerator; plans for an ‘advanced air mobility integrator centre’ in Dubai; and more!
Just to repeat last week’s message, I will be moving this newsletter over to the Substack platform over the next few weeks. No action required, you’ll start to receive this weekly email via Substack by 2023.
Finally, if you also read my Linkedin newsletter, I will probably have to skip this week’s edition. Blame the flu!
Have a great day!
/Carrington
R&D
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority's new research centre makes its debut with $100,000 award
#UAE #R&D - The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds, has launched its new innovation centre, kickstarting operations with the announcement of a $100,000 research award that focuses on investment strategies. (The National)
Dubai Robotics Programme
Dubai Future Labs signs three agreements to drive innovation in aviation, logistics
#UAE #robotics - Dubai Future Labs (DFL), an initiative of Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), has signed partnership agreements with three Dubai-based entities Emirates Airline, DP World, and dnata. DFL will develop AI and robotics R&D and pilot projects under the new agreements. (Gulf Business)
eVTOL
Dubai Advanced Air Mobility 'Integrator Centre' to support UAE eVTOL operation
#UAE #eVTOL - Canadian startup VPorts is to build what it calls an “advanced air mobility integrator centre” at Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid Aerospace Hub in Dubai South. The centre is expected to require $40 million investment. (Future Flight)
Metaverse
Metaverse projected to contribute $15 billion annually to GCC economies by 2030
#GCC #metaverse - The ‘metaverse’ could contribute around $15 billion to GCC economies by the year 2030, including $7.6 billion annually to Saudi Arabia’s economy, according to a new report from Strategy& Middle East. (Zawya)
Government
AI cuts government processing of employment contracts from 2 days to 30 minutes
#UAE #government - The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) has launched an AI system to complete employment contracts without human intervention. (Gulf News)
Space
Saudi Space Commission announces launch of Saudi Space Accelerator Program
#Saudi #space - The Saudi Space Commission has launched the Saudi Space Accelerator Program to enhance the national space sector by enabling local entrepreneurs and businesses to advance innovative space solutions. (BusinessWire)
UAE Space Agency, Bayanat partner to develop geospatial analytics platform for space data centre
#UAE #geospatial - The UAE Space Agency and Bayanat signed a partnership agreement to develop and operate a geospatial analytics platform for the Space Data Centre to create an innovative ecosystem for geospatial apps. (Emirates News Agency)
Funding
UAE launches Future 100 initiative to support top new economy start-ups
#UAE #funding - The UAE Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Governmental Development and Future has launched a Future 100 initiative to support the UAE’s top 100 future-ready startups. Focused on new economic sectors, the programme will select start-ups that will have a significant impact on the country’s economy and boost its readiness for the future. (The National)
Conferences
TII to host inaugural edition of Abu Dhabi AI Connect, 12-13 December
#UAE #events - Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute (TII), will host Abu Dhabi AI Connect (ADAIC) 2022 from 12-13 December, bringing together world-renowned AI experts, including Turing awardees and Fields Medal winners to share latest insights, discuss future scientific trends, showcase AI’s contributions to humanity. (Zawya)
Leading natural language processing conference begins in Abu Dhabi
#UAE #events- New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), in partnership with Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), yesterday kicked off the 2022 Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing (EMNLP) in Abu Dhabi. (Emirates News Agency)
First published via Revue.