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Quant secures $1.2m; Global AI Summit moved to September
Good morning,
Here’s this week’s roundup of Middle East AI News!
Two startup funding stories this week - Saudi-based Quant Data & Analytics has secured $1.2 million in a pre-Series A round, while Egyptian AI-powered fitness startup ElCoach has raised a six-figure sum in its seed funding round.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) has postponed the Global AI Summit, which was scheduled to take place in Riyadh at the end of this month. The event will now take place on 14th and 15th of September 2020.
Scroll down for these stories and more around the region.
Have a great weekend!
/Carrington
Startup News
Quant secures pre-series A investment — www.wamda.com
#Saudi #funding - Saudi Arabia-based Quant, a startup specialised in data science and AI, has secured $1.2 million in a pre-series A investment round, led by Business Incubators and Accelerators Company (BIAC), in addition to a few angel investors from across the Middle East region. (WAMDA)
Egypt's ElCoach raises six-figure seed to offer personalised fitness and nutrition programs — www.menabytes.com
#Egypt #funding - Cairo-based AI-powered fitness startup ElCoach has raised a six-figure (USD) sum in seed funding. The investors that took part in the round include the Egyptian-U.S. Endure Capital, 5500 Falcons, Wise Capital and some local angel investors. (MENABytes)
R&D
OAB Launches first-of-its-kind Innovation Lab in the Sultanate — www.zawya.com
#Oman #R&D - The Oman Arab Bank (OAB) has launched an Innovation Lab to serve as a Launchpad for innovative solutions that will enhance customer experience, develop the local Fintech ecosystem, promote local talent and accelerate employees' career journeys. (Zawya)
Transport
RTA launches Smart Track for testing drivers at all driving centres — www.zawya.com
#UAE #drivingtests - Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched the Smart Track for testing driver license applicants in Dubai following the success of the trial phase in several driving testing centres across Dubai. The trial ran 38,000 tests. (Zawya)
Finance
Aion Digital and Qarar join hands to accelerate digital banking — www.zawya.com
#Bahrain #Saudi #UAE #banking - Aion Digital and Qarar, have announced a joint initiative to accelerate the growth of digital lending across Middle East. Using Aion’s AI banking platform and Qarar’s deep analytics engine, the companies aim to allow banks to offer 'instant' financing. (Zawya)
Education
GEMS Education collaborates with IBM to upskill its UAE schools — www.intelligentcio.com
#UAE #education - GEMS Education and IBM will launch a pilot programme introducing IBM Digital – Nation platform. Delivered on IBM Cloud, the platform will offer advanced knowledge and skills in emerging technologies to over 2,000 students and 70 teachers across the UAE. (Intelligent CIO)
Events
Saudi postpones Global AI Summit until September — www.spa.gov.sa
#Saudi #GlobalAISummit - The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) has postponed the Global AI Summit, which was scheduled to take place in Riyadh in late March, to take place on 14th and 15th of September 2020. (SPA)
Events Calendar
13-14 Apr - World AI Show - by Trescon - #Dubai
16 Apr - AI Lab Government Networking event - by ADDA - #Abu Dhabi