UAE probe enters Mars orbit: SDAIA, Philips sign healthcare MoU
Good morning,
Here’s your roundup of Middle East AI News!
Well, obviously, the big tech news of the week is the UAE Mars Probe's successful entry into orbit around Mars! However, with most eyes on the race between the craft and its Chinese and US competitors, the biggest win for the UAE could be the impact of the mission on the region's youth. The mission just might provide the spark that ignites an interest in STEM careers for thousands of young people across the region.
Meanwhile, there are a couple of of surveys in the news this week:
Half of UAE respondents to a new Rackspace survey say that AI initiatives have failed, or been abandoned due to lack of data quality (46%), lack of expertise within the organisation (36%) or other reasons.
And in an Oracle survey, 70 percent of consumers and business leaders in the UAE would trust a robot more than a human to manage finances! This compares to 67% globally.
Stay safe and have a great weekend!
/Carrington
Mars Hope Probe
Mars Hope spacecraft enters orbit — www.bbc.com
#UAE #MarsHope - The UAE Hope Probe has successfully entered orbit around the planet Mars, making it only the fifth country in the world to do so, after the US, the Soviet Union, Europe and India. BBC)
Startup News
VerSe Innovation secures $100 mn from Qatar Investment Authority and others — techgraph.co
#Qatar #funding - Qatar Investment Authority leads the $100 million investment round in the parent company of Dailyhunt and short video app Josh, VerSe Innovation. Other investors included Glade Brook Capital Partners, Canaan Valley Capital and Sofina Group. (Techgraph)
R&D
UAE to forge new partnerships between scientific research and education — wam.ae
#UAE #R&D - The UAE's Federal National Council (FNC) announced Tuesday that it aims to create more partnership programmes between UAE universities and scientific research institutions, to encourage scientific research and promote the use of AI. (Emirates News Agency)
DEWA registers patent for deep learning water network project — wam.ae
#UAE #utilities - Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) has registered a new patent for its Hydronet deep learning water network monitoring and control system. DEWA's Hydronet project uses AI to monitor and control the water network in Dubai remotely. (Emirates News Agency)
AI Adoption
50% of UAE survey respondents report that AI initiatives have failed, or been abandoned — www.tahawultech.com
#UAE #adoption - Half of respondents in the UAE report AI research and development initiatives have been tested and abandoned, or failed, according to a new EMEA survey by Rackspace Technology, Inc. (Tahawultech)
Ride-hailing and delivery service Careem's AI plans — www.thenationalnews.com
#UAE #Careem - Uber-owned Careem is leveraging AI as it looks to evolve from its original business model and move more than just people. 5G will exponentially increase data flows, allowing Careem to build algorithms that better anticipate and cater to consumer preferences as the company pivots to being a mobility company that moves not just people but money, food and products, too. (The National)
70% of UAE residents trust robots more than humans to manage finance — www.arabianbusiness.com
#UAE #roboadvisors - 70 percent of consumers and business leaders in the UAE would trust a robot more than a human to manage finances, according to a new study by Oracle and personal finance expert Farnoosh Torabi. (Arabian Business)
Education
5th Egypt IoT & AI Challenge kicks off in Alexandria — dailynewsegypt.com
#Egypt #contests - The fifth edition of the Egypt Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence Challenge (Egypt IoT & AI Challenge), organised by the Borg El-Arab Innovation Complex in Alexandria, was launched on 6 February. (Daily News Egypt)
QAST students learn about underwater robotics at Texas A&M — menafn.com
#Qatar #education - Students from Qatar Academy for Science and Technology (QAST) learned about the science and technologies behind remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) over five weeks as part of the Engineering Heroes: Ocean Scout academic enrichment programme delivered by Texas A & M University at Qatar (Tamuq).
Healthcare
SDAIA, Philips sign MoU to promote use of AI technologies in health care system — saudigazette.com.sa
#Saudi #healthcare - The Saudi Data & Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and Philips have signed an MoU with the aim of promoting the use of AI technologies in the #healthcare system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in line with the healthcare goals of #Vision2030. (Saudi Gazette)
Digital Transformation
Egypt to launch 21 new citizen e-services during the first quarter of 2021 — www.egypttoday.com
#Egypt #digitalgovernment - Egypt's government plans to launch 21 new citizen e-services during the first quarter of this year, according to Dr. Amr Talaat the country's Minister of Communications & Information Technology. (Egypt Today)
Telecom Egypt implements IBM hybrid cloud to transform operations — www.computerweekly.com
#Egypt #telecom - Telecom Egypt deploys IBM Cloud Pak for Automation technology to modernise network operations and deliver fast and secure services to clients and looks to IBM Global Business Services to build and manage its datacentre. (Computer Weekly)
Aviation
Dubai Airshow 2021 to launch Vista startup event in partnership with Gothams — wam.ae
#UAE #DubaiAirshow - Dubai Airshow 2021 will see the launch of VISTA, a startup event created in partnership with Gothams, giving innovators within the aerospace and defence fields access venture capitalists and investors. (Emirates News Agency)
Culture
Indonesia-Oman JV Salam Tech investing $2 million to develop AR and AI for cultural features — salaamgateway.com
#Indonesia #Oman #culture - Salam Tech, a joint venture between Emerging Technology Company Oman and Awadah Group Indonesia, is investing $2 million to develop augmented reality and artificial intelligence capabilities.The JV has appointed Indonesia-based WIR Group as technology partner to create a “linguistic platform” using AR and AI. (Salaam Gateway)
Dubai's Robocafe
Video: This Dubai cafe is staffed entirely by robots — news.yahoo.com
#UAE #retail - Dubai claims to have the first robotic café in the world that runs on AI without any human interference. RoboCafe's fully autonomous service robots were manufactured in Germany, but designed and assembled in the UAE. (Reuters)
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.