PIF & STC to form new IoT venture; 5th Fleet to have 100 USVs in 2023
Good morning!
Here’s your weekly roundup of Middle East AI News!
Lots going on around the region. Perhaps the biggest news of the past week - which broke just a few hours too late to include in last week's newsletter - was the announcement that PIF and STC will create a new IoT company.
We've seen new, well-financed, public and private sector companies being announced over the past couple of years targeting a number of different ICT verticals, including PIF's SCAI (Saudi Company for Artificial Intelligence). However, this is the first for IoT. I'll be including more about this in my Linkedin newsletter later today.
Meanwhile, DEWA's R&D centre has announced a new patent, Aramco and Kaust will create a new AI centre of excellence, and the U.S. 5th fleet plans to have 100 unmanned surface vessels (USVs) operating in the area by Summer 2023 (including data gathering USV Saildrone, which uses wind and solar power). Scroll down for these stories and more!
Lastly, in case you're a Spotify user, I've just added the Middle East AI News top stories podcast to the platform. Check it out here.
Stay safe and have a great day!
/Carrington
IoT
Telecom giant stc, PIF partner in $131m deal to establish IoT joint venture — www.arabnews.com
#Saudi #investment - Saudi telecom giant stc has partnered with its largest shareholder, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), to form a SR492 million ($131m) IoT (Internet of things) products and services company. The new venture’s capital could be expanded up to SR900 million ($240m) three years from establishment, based on business requirements. (Arab News)
R&D
DEWA’s R&D Centre registers new patent — mediaoffice.ae
#UAE #R&D - Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) R&D Centre has registered its third patent since its opening. The new patent is for an AI-powered device that measures the amount of water that can be extracted from the air during the condensation process. (Dubai Media Office)
Saudi Aramco signs MoU with KAUST to establish AI centre of excellence — www.spa.gov.sa
#Saudi #energy - Saudi Aramco has just signed an MoU with KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) to establish a new #AI centre of excellence at the university’s headquarters. (SPA)
QF Research Center works on early diagnosis of autism — www.albawaba.com
#Qatar #healthcare - Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), part of Qatar Foundation’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), signed an agreement with Argus Cognitive, to trial the use of its artificial intelligence diagnosis tool for autism. (Al Bawaba)
Education
UAE University team wins EGA’s annual student industrial robotics competition — www.zawya.com
#UAE #robotics - A team from UAE University has won the fourth edition of Al Robot, Emirates Global Aluminium's annual competition that challenges students from UAE universities and higher education institutions to design and build industrial robots for use at EGA’s aluminium smelters. (Zawya)
Kidsity, BP Oman conduct third National Robotics Olympics — timesofoman.com
#Oman #robotics - Edutainment platform Kidsity, in collaboration with BP and the Ministry of Education, announced that 500 students from 200 schools had taken part in its third National Robotics Olympics. (Times of Oman)
How Dubai helped a 12-year-old Kenyan robotics wiz realise his dreams — www.khaleejtimes.com
#UAE #Expo2020Dubai - Expo 2020 Dubai asked Patrick Njoroge Wachira to display his robotics solution at the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) at the world fair. Arguably the world’s youngest CEO, Patrick seeks to spread the concept of STEM, (Khaleej Times)
Smart Cities
New AI radars to fine Abu Dhabi drivers AED 500 for failing to wait at pedestrian crossings — www.thenationalnews.com
#UAE #roadsafety - Abu Dhabi Police Force confirmed that advanced radars powered by AI have been activated at many crossings in the capital. The move comes after the completion of a successful pilot programme. (The National)
Data Centres
Bahrain & stc launch data centre park — www.arabnews.com
#Bahrain #Saudi #datacentres - stc Bahrain has announced the region’s first data center park in partnership. The park will be developed on 55,000 square meters of land in Al-Qurain, making it one of the region's largest. (Arab News)
Equinix to build first data center in Salalah — www.muscatdaily.com
#Oman #datacentres - Equinix is to build first data centre in Salalah, in cooperation with Omantel. The centre will be commercially and operationally managed in full by Equinix as a carrier neutral and open access Equinix International Business Exchange (IBX) data centre. (Muscat Daily)
ALEC launches new company to revolutionise data centre construction in MENA region — www.zawya.com
#UAE #construction - Construction group ALEC Engineering and Contracting L.L.C. has formed a dedicated subsidiary to cater to the growing demand for data centres in the region. (Zawya)
Smart Farming
UAE offers $2 million prize money for startups in agri-tech innovation — www.zawya.com
#UAE #agritech - The UAE is offering a prize money of up to $2 million for startups that can propose cutting-edge agri-tech solutions for food production and management. The competition is organised by the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. (Zawya)
Drones
Oman issues licence for first training centre for drone operations — www.omanobserver.om
#Oman #drones - The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued a license to the Ibn Firnas Center for Drones as the first centre to train drone operators in Oman. The CAA has recently simplified the licencing of commercial drones. (Oman Observer)
Defence
NAVCENT commander: Goal of 100 USVs in area by Summer of 2023 — seapowermagazine.org
#Bahrain #US #USVs - The commander of the U.S. 5th Fleet/Naval Forces Central Command said he is pleased with the results of unmanned surface vessel (USV) trials and predicts a significant expansion of their use in the 5th Fleet are of operations in the near future. (Sea Power)
Events
World AI Show to take place in Dubai in May — www.zawya.com
#UAE #AI - The World AI Show, now in its 35th global edition, will take place on May 25 – 26 at Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai, UAE. (Zawya)
ME Data Analytics Forum to focus on $215bn analytics business — www.tradearabia.com
#UAE #data - The 2nd Middle East Data Analytics Forum will take place in Dubai on June 22, 2022, organised by Cogent Solutions Event Management (CS Events) and supported by the UAE Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre. (Trade Arabia)
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About Carrington Malin — www.carringtonmalin.com Carrington Malin helps large organisations, digital brands and fast growing tech ventures with brand, communications and go-to-market strategies.