UAE approves self-driving licence test; G42 signs Indonesia deals
Good morning!
Here’s your weekly roundup of Middle East AI News!
Another step forward for the UAE's drive to use autonomous vehicles has been announced. This week, the Cabinet approved a temporary licence to test autonomous vehicles, requested by the country's Ministry of Interior. Few details have been published, but this is the first move to provide federal permission for AV testing. All previous self-driving vehicle tests have been small scale and approved on a case-by-case basis by individual emirates and/or district owners.
Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi-based AI and cloud computing company Group 42 (G42) seems to be spreading its wings, signing two MoUs on the back of the UAE-Indonesia bilateral trade negotiations. One of these is to build a 1,000-Megawatt (MW) data centre in Indonesia, in partnership with wireless operator Smartfren.
And in Egypt, the country's first public sector employees are getting ready to move to the New Administrative Capital as per instructions from President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi. The government has also announced that a new smart transportation systems company is being formed for the smart city.
Read these stories and more below!
You may also be interested to know that IDC has just published an analysis report on Saudi Arabia's digital transformation journey. You can download your copy here.
Stay safe and have a great weekend!
/Carrington
Autonomous Vehicles
UAE approves plan to test self-driving vehicles — www.thenationalnews.com
#UAE #AVs - The UAE a Cabinet has approved a temporary licence to test self-driving vehicles on the country's roads, during a meeting held at Expo 2020 Dubai. The Ministry of Interior can submit a report to the Cabinet for permanent approval in the future. (The National)
Evocargo inks agreement with Dubai RTA to inspect autonomous cargo solutions — oman.yallamotor.com
#UAE #logistics - Dubai-headquartered Evocargo, an autonomous cargo transportation firm, has signed a contract with the Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) for testing its autonomous electric hydrogen-powered vehicles. (YallaMotor)
UAE-Indonesia Trade Deal
Group 42 and Smartfren to open 1000MW data centre in Indonesia — www.thejakartapost.com
#Indonesia #UAE #datacentres - Indonesian wireless network operator Smartfren (PT Smartfren Telecom Tbk) signed an MoU with Abu Dhabi-based AI and cloud computing company Group 42 (G42) last week to create a 1,000-Megawatt (MW) data centre in Indonesia in collaboration with Indonesian firm PT Amara Padma Sehati (APS). (The Jakarta Post)
Group 42 and Sinar Mas Land to transform BSD City into Indonesia’s first smart city — www.thejakartapost.com
#Indonesia #UAE #smartcities - Group 42 (G42) also signed a smart city deal for a 6,000 hectare (60 sqkm) development in Greater Jakarta, with Indonesian real estate developer Sinar Mas Land. G42 will help transform BSD City into a smart city, implementing a platform to deliver a variety of smart city services. (The Jakarta Post)
Startup News
UAE aims to be home to 20 unicorns by 2031 as part of programme to back startups and SMEs — www.thenationalnews.com
#UAE #funding - Ahmad Al Falasi, UAE Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs announced Entrepreneurial Nation yesterday, an initiative that aims to support entrepreneurs set up in the UAE. With startup and scale-up tracks, the initiative will also have a new AED 1bn ($272 million) private equity fund to be set up by Khalifa Fund For Enterprise Development. (The National)
Benya Group, Openner sign MoU to launch $50M VC fund to focus on digital transformation — www.egypttoday.com
#Egypt #funding - Egypt-based Benya Group signed an MoU with international venture capital firm, Openner, to launch a $50 million venture capital fund that aims to invest in 50 Egyptian startups over the next two years. The fund will focus on digital transformation in multiple sectors. (Egypt Today)
Smart Cities
First AI-powered driver evaluation hub launched in Dubai — www.khaleejtimes.com
#UAE #driving - Dubai-based Location Solutions will launch an Artificial Intelligence Driving Hub next week, in partnership with driving school Excellence Driving Centre. The system uses a driving simulator with biometric sensors for data collection and real traffic scenarios with critical road situations. The solution was developed by Slovenian tech firm Living Lab. (Khaleej Times)
Sohar Port uses AI, drone technology to strengthen operations — www.omanobserver.om
#Oman #drones - Sohar Port is the first port in the Sultanate of Oman to embrace drones for essential real-time monitoring and analysis for infrastructure, security and environmental status across its docks. The port has adopted a data-driven approach to help predict future maintenance requirements and ensure continuity. (Oman Observer)
New Administrative Capital - Egypt
Mass relocation to New Administrative Capital — english.ahram.org.eg
#Egypt #NewCapital - The first public employees are scheduled to begin work in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital next month. Last week, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi directed the cabinet to start 'actual relocation; to the Government District in the New Administrative Capital in December, beginning a six-month testing phase. (Ahramonline)
New company to be established to manage smart transportation in new capital — www.egyptindependent.com
#Egypt #NewCapital - Egypt's minister of transport has revealed that a new company is being established in cooperation with urban mobility and transit solutions group Mwasalat Misr to manage all smart transportation systems in Egypt's New Administrative Capital. (Egypt Independent)
Orange Egypt building giant $135m data centre in New Administrative Capital — dailynewsegypt.com
#Egypt #NewCapital - Hesham Mahran, Orange Egypt Chief Enterprise Line of Business Officer has confirmed that the $135 million data centre for the New Administrative Capital is under construction. He also confirmed that Orange has completed more than 80% of the construction work of 750 new mobile stations to provide 2G, 3G, and 4G services. No 5G licences have yet been approved for the new capital. (Daily News Egypt)
Education
Abu Dhabi school receives Dh1 million donation to promote students' tech skills — www.khaleejtimes.com
#UAE #education - The American Community School of Abu Dhabi (ACS) has received a private-sector donation of AED 1 million ($272k) from Raytheon Emirates Limited (REL) to help promote students’ technological and critical thinking skills. ACS will engage students in new ways with a focus on AI, robotics, virtual reality and machine learning. (Khaleej Times)
Interview
Video: Arabian Business talks to Affectiva founder Rana el Kaliouby about AI and society — www.arabianbusiness.com
#Interview #video - ‘Girl Decoded’ author, scientist and entrepreneur Rana el Kaliouby joins AB Talks to unpack her life’s work, dives into how social media needs to change, discusses why empathy is more important than ever in the world, and how technology can augment that. (Arabian Business - registration required)
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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.