Uber & WeRide sign with Dubai RTA; Apollo Go expands to UAE
Middle East AI News weekly digest...
Good morning!
Welcome to this week’s Middle East AI News!
A little slow this week, due to the Eid Al Fitr holidays across the Islamic world. However, some big announcements and interesting news nonetheless!
The biggest news of the week is the Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority’s progress in driverless taxi plans. On Sunday, Baidu announced an agreement between its autonomous vehicles arm Apollo Go and the RTA and a company in Abu Dhabi to introduce robotaxi services. Then yesterday, Uber and WeRide announced a similar deal with the RTA. Both partnerships aim to being ramping in 2025 for commercial services in 2026.
Scroll down for these stories and more.
Thanks for reading!
/Carrington
Autonomous Vehicles
RTA, Uber & WeRide partner for robotaxi services
#UAE #robotaxis - Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has joined forces with Uber and WeRide to launch future autonomous taxis in the emirate. This comes days after RTA’s deal with Baidu’s Apollo Go, signaling a shift to a multi-vendor strategy. WeRide, which operates in Abu Dhabi, will be the first tech partner for the service. (Middle East AI News)
Baidu’s Apollo Go to launch 100 robotaxis in Dubai
#UAE #AutonomousVehicles – Baidu’s Apollo Go is expanding into the UAE through partnerships with Dubai’s RTA and Abu Dhabi-based Autogo. The company will deploy 100 autonomous vehicles in Dubai by the end of 2025, scaling to 1,000 by 2028. Meanwhile, trials in Abu Dhabi have begun with full commercial operations expected by 2026. (Middle East AI News)
Funding
InfiniLink raises $10m to advance AI data centre connectivity
#Egypt #semiconductors - Cairo-based semiconductor startup InfiniLink has secured $10 million in seed funding from MediaTek, Sukna Ventures, and Egypt Ventures. The investment will drive the development of integrated optical engines for AI-driven data centres, enhancing bandwidth and energy efficiency in next-generation computing infrastructure. (PRWeb)
IPOs
Cerebras clears U.S. security concerns over G42 partnership
#UAE #AIchips - AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems has resolved U.S. national security concerns regarding its ties with Abu Dhabi-based G42, clearing a path for its IPO. G42, which committed a $335 million investment last year, is set to acquire over 22 million Cerebras shares. (LinkedIn)
GenAI
Maaden adopts Microsoft Copilot to boost efficiency
#Saudi #AI - Saudi mining giant Ma’aden is deploying Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service to enhance workforce productivity as it targets a tenfold growth by 2040. The AI tools help automate tasks, analyse data, and draft documents, saving up to 2,200 work hours monthly. (Middle East AI News)
AI Labs
Morocco plans second international AI centre
#Morocco #AIresearch - Morocco is collaborating with the UNDP to establish a second international AI centre. The new hub will complement the existing AI centre at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, which operates in partnership with UNESCO. (Hespress)
Dubai AI Week
HIMSS Executive Summit Dubai partners with Dubai AI Week
#UAE #healthtech - The HIMSS Executive Summit Dubai has been announced as a partner event of Dubai AI Week. Attendees will receive complimentary access to the AI-focused event, offering insights into cutting-edge innovations and networking opportunities in healthcare and AI. (HIMSS)
For all the details and links for Dubai AI Week (21-25 April) see our updated article.
[ This newsletter was AI edited & human edited ]