Dubai launches $136m tech fund; SpiderSilk raises $9m

Middle East AI News weekly digest...

Good morning!

Welcome to this week’s Middle East AI News!

Some interesting startup news this week, with a new fund being launched by Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority, Wa’ed Ventures investing in SpiderSilk, GAIA’s first demo day for its first cohort of GenAI startups (event this evening), and European AI venture incubator TMC2 eyes Gulf operation (I will be talking to them on Middle East AI News LIVE today!)

A little quieter than last week for AI news, but still a lot going on.

I’ll be hosting Middle East AI News LIVE on LinkedIn at 12 noon KSA | 1pm UAE time | 9am GMT today!

This week, I’ll be talking to Robert Maunder, head of corporate development at TMC2, one of Europe's premiere AI incubators! TMC2 has been meeting with investors in Saudi Arabia and the UAE with a view to opening a Middle East operation based in the Gulf. You can find out more later!

And, click here to attend Middle East AI News LIVE.

Thanks for reading!

/Carrington

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Startups

Dubai launches 500 million Dirham tech fund

#UAE #funding - Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ) yesterday launched Oraseya Capital, a AED 500 million ($136 million) tech venture fund to drive the growth of technology businesses in the UAE and beyond. DIEZ encompasses Dubai Airport, Silicon Oasis and CommerCity free zones. (Zawya)

Dubai-based SpiderSilk raises $9m

#Saudi #UAE #funding - Dubai-based cybersecurity AI startup SpiderSilk, has closed a $9 million funding round led by Wa’ed Ventures, Aramco’s $500 million Kingdom-based venture capital fund, to enable the expansion of its cyber defense technology offering in Saudi Arabia. The round included participations from STV and Global Ventures. (Gulf News)

TMC2 to set up AI incubator in Gulf

#UAE #UK #startups - European AI incubator TMC2, plans to set up an operation in the GCC following investor meetings in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Core to the London-based venture platform’s model is an AI Research Lab which helps develop and commercialise Intellectual Property (IP) in-house, validate technology developed by startups and licence IP. Listen to the Middle East AI News LIVE podcast to learn more!

NEOM invests in Animoca

#Saudi #metaverse - Metaverse creator Animoca Brands has signed an agreement to drive regional Web3 initiatives, after NEOM Investment Fund signed a term sheet for a $50 million investment in the company. Animoca will work with NEOM in Saudi Arabia on building Web3 enterprise service capabilities, with global commercial applicability. (Lara-on-the-block)

New Native announces GAIA's Demo Day

#Saudi #startups - The region's first Generative AI accelerator GAIA will hold its first demo day today at The Garage in Riyadh. The event will showcase the 15 AI startups from its first cohort, which include ecommerce, legal tech and data analysis ventures. Run by New Native, GAIA is an initiative backed by the National Technology Development Program (NDTP) and Saudi Data & Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA). (Zawya)

Education

UAE develops digital tutoring platform

#UAE #education - The UAE's Ministry of Education has formed a strategic partnership with ASI, to develop an AI-powered tutor platform to aid school learning. A.S.I. will develop and customise the advanced AI Tutor platform to suit the UAE national curriculum. (Emirates News Agency)

Industry 4.0

EDGE and MoIAT launch Industry 4.0 education initiative

#UAE #Industry4 - UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology and EDGE Group jointly launched Tour 4.0, a new initiative designed to accelerate Industry 4.0 technology and practices in the UAE. The two parties also launched a Leadership 4.0 training series. (Emirates News Agency)

Digital Assets

Qatar launches digital assets lab

#Qatar #virtualassets - Qatar this week announced the Qatar Innovation Dome, a new digital assets lab for digital assets, to develop tokenization platforms and ecosystems for tangible assets, or intangible assets, including real estate, securities, Sukuk, bonds and others in the future, utilizing distributed ledger technologies, blockchain, and smart contracts. (Lara-on-the-block)

Healthcare

Korean AI company joins Saudi sandbox

#Saudi #SouthKorea #healthcare - South Korea's medical AI company Lunit, has joined the Saudi Arabian government's Healthcare Sandbox initiative, a move to advance digital transformation in the kingdom's healthcare sector, under its Vision 2030 strategy. (KED)

KAIMRC to use AI for rare disease management

#Saudi #healthcare - King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC) has entered into a partnership with global healthcare provider Sanofi, to establish a sustainable disease management ecosystem that is powered by artificial intelligence and real-world evidence, especially for rare diseases, oncology, and rare blood disorders. (Mubasher)

Space

Saudi signs $266 million satellite deal with ASPACE

#HongKong #Saudi #space - Hong Kong-based space industry firm, ASPACE, has signed a $266.6 million agreement with Saudi Arabia to build satellite manufacturing. The Hong Kong company will gradually scale its investment in phases, allowing for research and development, component manufacturing, subsystems, and eventually assembling advanced satellites. (Arab News)

AI Policy

Saudi, UAE sign Bletchley Declaration

#UAE #policy - 28 governments attending the UK’s AI Safety Summit have signed the Bletchley Declaration on responsible AI. The countries, which included Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, agreed to deepen their cooperation around the risks associated with artificial intelligence. (Computer Weekly)

Saudi and the UAE join UN AI advisory body

#Saudi #UAE #policy - The United Nations, has selected the UAE's Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, H.E. Omar Sultan AlOlama - and Saudi Arabian Shoura Council member Dr. Latifa bint Mohammad Al-Abdul Kareem, to the UN's 39 member advisory body on artificial intelligence. (Emirates News Agency / Saudi Gazette)

Aramco CEO calls for ‘international standards’ on AI

#Saudi #cybersecurity - Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser called for an international set of rules to govern AI and protect businesses from security breaches, speaking at the Global Cybersecurity Forum in Riyadh. (The Circuit)