SparkLabs launches AI.M startup accelerator in Saudi Arabia
AIM-X accelerator to help grow local and global early stage AI startups
#Saudi #startups - Global early-stage venture capital firm SparkLabs Group has launched AIM-X, the artificial intelligence startup programme of Saudi Arabia's AI.M (Artificial Intelligence Mission), a national initiative created to stimulate a comprehensive system of innovation in the field of AI. AIM-X is now accepting applications from early stage AI startups, from seed stage through to series A, for a programme beginning September 17th. Successful graduates of the programme will receive a $200,000 investment in exchange for up to 6% of equity.
SO WHAT? - The launch of AIM-X is the first big announcement under the National Technology Development Program's AI.M (Artificial Intelligence Mission) initiative, first revealed during LEAP24 in March. With $266 million initial funding, AI.M will provide AI research and development infrastructure, help grow the AI talent pool, enable venture building activities and foster collaboration with industry. Among the ambitious goals for AI.M are to create 20-25 Saudi-specific AI foundation models, to graduate 800-1,000 AI and machine learning professionals and to develop 30-50 AI-native solutions for industrial and government partners. AI.M aims to enable 80-100 AI-native ventures, both created locally and by attracting global ventures, backed by the country's R&D capacity and infrastructure.
Key details of this week’s announcement:
SparkLabs Group will lead AIM-X, the new early stage AI startup accelerator of Saudi Arabia’s national AI.M (Artificial Intelligence Mission) initiative.
AI.M aims to stimulate a comprehensive ecosystem of AI innovation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to boost its leadership role regionally and globally in the field of artificial intelligence within the next 5 years.
Announced at LEAP24 in March, AI.M was created by Saudi’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology's National Technology Development Program (NTDP), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), and Saudi Data & Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA).
SparkLabs has been investing in AI since 2016, and was one of a handful of investors who participated directly in OpenAI's recent financing round. The group has also invested in other AI leaders such as Vectara, Gideon Bros, Kneron, Anthropic, Aquabyte and Saudi-born AI-powered CXM platform Lucidya.
SparkLabs has drawn together a powerful advisory board to support the accelerator programme including: Amr Awadallah, Co-founder of Cloudera and now Co-founder and CEO at Vectara; Sang Cha, Founder of the Graduate School of Data Science at Seoul National University and Transact In Memory.
AIM-X’s venture partners include Spiros Margaris, a venture capitalist and the global No. 1 fintech and leading AI influencer; Nathan Lands, the Founder of Lore.com; Nils Westerlund, who leads the growth team at RunwayML; Joel Pazhayampallil, Co-founder and CEO at Bluespace.ai; and Brian Behlendorf, CTO at the OpenWallet Foundation and Chief AI Strategist at the Linux Foundation.
AIM-X opened for applications from local and global early-stage AI startups on June 14th. Startups from seed stage to series A can apply and graduates of the programme will receive a $200,000 investment for up to a 6% share of equity.
The program will begin on September 17, 2024.
ZOOM OUT - AIM-X is the latest of a number of high profile AI startup programmes announced over the past year, backed by Saudi Arabia’s government. GAIA, the Generative AI Accelerator set up by New Native in partnership with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), the National Technology Development Programme (NTDP), onboarded its first cohort of startups in July 2023 and 48 AI ventures graduated the accelerator. Meanwhile, Switzerland-based startup ecosystem Hashgraph Association signed a strategic partnership with the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) in February to launch a DeepTech Venture Studio in Riyadh, worth $250 million over the next five years. The studio programme, which is already ongoing, focuses on the convergence of Web3 and AI.
IMO - The new startup accelerator partnerships that Saudi Arabia has formed with global AI venture investment leaders could radically change the country’s technology sector. Taking into account only the agreements announced so far, AI-focused startup programmes could introduce hundreds of new AI developers to Saudi Arabia’s ecosystem over the next five years. As a direct and indirect impact, the AI technology sector will become a much bigger economic contributor, whilst boosting innovation, accelerating IP creation and growing Saudi Arabia’s AI talent pool.