UAE outlines 4IR industrial plan; Abu Dhabi builds quantum computer
Good morning,
Here’s your roundup of Middle East AI News!
What a busy week for UAE tech!
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced the UAE's new tech-focused Industrial Strategy "Operation 300bn" on Monday.
Tuesday saw Abu Dhabi Department of Municipalities and Transport and Group 42 company Bayanat announce an upcoming driverless vehicle service in the capital.
And yesterday, Abu Dhabi's applied research institute, Technology Innovation Institute (TII), announced that it was building a quantum computer that could be in operation by the end of this summer.
Scroll down to read these stories and more from around the region.
Stay safe and have a great weekend!
/Carrington
UAE 'Operation 300bn'
UAE puts technology at the heart of 'Operation 300bn' industrial development strategy — gulfbusiness.com
#UAE #economy - An advanced technology agenda is at the heart of the UAE's new industrial development strategy 'Operation 300bn', which will focus on both the modernisation of existing sectors, plus the development of a new industrial ecosystem, consisting primarily of high-tech and Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) ventures. (Gulf Business)
Startup News
American AI company lands in Dubai — www.arabnews.com
#USA #UAE #AI - SparkCognition, a US-based supplier of AI technologies, has opened an office in Dubai as part of a global expansion programme that is targeting the Middle East. CEO Amir Husain aims to bring the company's industrial Internet of things AI platform to Middle East customers. (Arab News)
Life Sciences
Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala plows $1.1 billion into U.K. life sciences — www.bloomberg.com
#UAE #UK #investment - Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co. will invest 800 million pounds ($1.1 billion) in U.K. life sciences businesses as part of efforts to boost the sector following the coronavirus pandemic, the British government said. (Bloomberg)
Autonomous Vehicles
Driverless taxis to be launched in Abu Dhabi this year as part of pilot scheme — www.thenationalnews.com
#UAE #AVs - Abu Dhabi's Department of Municipalities and Transport has partnered with Bayanat for Mapping & Surveying Services LLC, part of the Group 42 (G42) group, to lead the trial use of autonomous vehicles, introducing a new 'driverless' transport service by the end of 2021. (The National)
Quantum Computing
Abu Dhabi starts building the UAE's first quantum computer — www.thenationalnews.com
#UAE #Quantum - Technology Innovation Institute (TII), the applied research arm of Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Research Council, is building its own #quantum computer at its Quantum Research Centre, in collaboration with Barcelona-based Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech. The machine would be the first quantum computer in the UAE. (The National)
Digital Transformation
Organisations in Saudi Arabia and the UAE lead the world in digital transformation — www.itp.net
#Saudi #UAE #DX - Saudi Arabia and the UAE and are accelerating ahead of the rest of the world in implementing digital transformation and cutting-edge technologies, according to new stats released from the Dell Technologies ‘Digital Transformation Index'. (ITP)
Hackathons
BLOOVO launches BKATHON, its flagship virtual hackathon platform — www.zawya.com
#UAE #hackathons - BLOOVO, which specialises in the provision of AI-powered talent acquisition solutions, has announced the launch of BKATHON, its cloud-based SaaS-oriented virtual hackathon, designed to digitize the hackathon process, stirring innovation and attracting the top talent. (Zawya)
Education
Saudi's national AI centre plans interactive AI learning centre — www.arabnews.com
#Saudi #education - The National Center for AI revealed plans for a project titled the “King Salman AI Oasis” at the Future Projects Forum 2021 this week. The first-of-its-kind interactive institution will help the public learn about AI in an educational and entertaining atmosphere. (Arab News)
GEMS Legacy School to include AI and robotics learning to curriculum — www.zawya.com
#UAE #education - GEMS Education's GEMS Legacy School will add robotics and AI as an additional learning domain in line with CBSE to equip students with future fluencies and skills. (Zawya)
Home Automation
AI and 5G connectivity main factors impacting home automation in the UAE — www.zawya.com
#UAE #homeautomation - The global market for home automation is expected to grow at 9% per annum, but Sharaf DG, one of region’s leading technology retailers, expects the UAE to outpace the world. (Zawya)
Smart Cities
Smart waste bins deployed in Makkah — www.arabnews.com
#Saudi #smartbins - The Holy Makkah Municipality is using AI to sort and collect waste from the source. The National Center for Waste Management (NCWM) and the municipality’s hygiene department is distributing 15 smart, solar-powered machines to collect and sort empty plastic bottles in Makkah. (Arab News)
Drones
Zain Drone assigned to acquire precise industrial data for Kuwaiti industrial authority — news.kuwaittimes.net
#Kuwait #droneservices - Zain Drone, a subsidiary of leading mobile telecom group Zain, has been awarded a contract to perform a precise data acquisition assignment for Kuwait’s Public Authority of Industry. Zain Drone will conduct an aerial topographical survey. (Kuwait Times)
An Israeli town is testing air traffic control for drones — www.weforum.org
#Israel #dronedelivery - The skies above the town of Hadera were abuzz with delivery drones on last week as national authorities trialed a central control room for safely coordinating UAVs with each other, as well as with planes and helicopters. (WEF)
Climate
Saudi Arabia using AI technology for monitoring weather — www.saudigazette.com.sa
#Saudi #weatherforecasting - Saudi Arabia's National Center of Meteorology is using AI to monitor the weather. The centre, which now has some of the most powerful weather monitoring systems in the region, has launched an automatic early warning system to allow authorities to prepare for extreme weather conditions. (Saudi Gazette)
Follow the #hashtag on LinkedIn
View last week’s newsletter
Sign-up to receive Asia AI News too!
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.