Richard Thompson
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4 Dec
Obstacles on the road to ‘cleantech’ growth in the UAE
As regional governments become increasingly aware of the social and economic threat posed by climate change, population growth and resource over-consumption, there is growing appreciation that improved energy efficiency, reduced use of non-renewable resources and environmental sustainability can only be achieved by successfully developing and harnessing new environmental technology – clean technology, or ‘cleantech’.
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4 Dec
UK pavilion brings together mind and machine at Expo 2020 Dubai
When you think of testbed locations for artificial intelligence (AI), you might think of the US, Japan or China, but the UK also deserves a spot on that list.
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3 Dec
Dubai’s digital twin in the UK’s industrial north
Anyone taking an evening stroll along the banks of Dubai’s creek on 12 November might have been concerned by the unusual droning sound coming from behind the walls of the British embassy. The unmistakable, if somewhat incongruous, skirl of bagpipes could be heard clearly throughout the city’s embassy quarter as a lone bagpiper welcomed guests
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11 Nov
Saudi Arabia university to collaborate with Virgin Hyperloop One
US-headquartered Virgin Hyperloop One (VHO) and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) have agreed to work together “on fostering the exchange of scientific and technological knowledge to further support the development of the country’s technology and transportation sector”.
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22 Oct
Abu Dhabi $250m tech fund will target Middle East and North Africa
The funds have a total value of US$250m and aim to support tech businesses in the region Mubadala Capital has launched its first Middle East and North Africa (MENA) focused tech investment funds with a total of $250m.
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11 Oct
Digitalisation initiatives dominate Dubai’s technology show
Few industry shows or exhibits come close to the annual Gitex show in Dubai when it comes to the size of the exhibit area, the number of exhibitors and the level of buzz generated among participants.
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7 Oct
5G inclusivity must be a top priority for Middle East telecoms firms
The ultra-fast, high-capacity data streams opened up by the fifth generation of wireless telecommunications technology (5G) will enable transformational technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) for autonomous vehicles to be introduced across the Middle East.
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30 Sep
Careem expands Iraq operations
Dubai-based technology firm Careem, which is in the process of being acquired by the US’ Uber Technologies, has expanded its operations into its third city in Iraq.
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30 Sep
Oman’s third mobile network to begin operations in 2020
UK-based Vodafone has signed a non-equity agreement with Oman Future Telecommunications (OFT) to roll out the sultanate’s third mobile telecoms network.
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4 Sep
Achieving IT startup success in the West Bank
The West Bank technology startup ecosystem is in its early stage but maturing.
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4 Sep
Dubai-backed fintech company Numbrs reaches $1bn valuation
Numbrs Personal Finance AG, a Zurich-based financial technology (fintech) company, backed by the sovereign wealth fund Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), has reached $1bn in valuation making it Europe’s latest unicorn, news agency Bloomberg has reported.
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19 Aug
In UAE, Dubai firms poised to launch blockchain data-sharing platform by 2020
Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Dubai-based Mashreq Bank and Norbloc (a DIFC-based fintech company), plan to launch the Middle East’s first blockchain know your customer (KYC) data-sharing consortium by 2020.
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18 Jul
Demand rising in Middle East for innovations enabling data intelligence
The cloud services arm of China-based retail giant Alibaba says it has seen an increasing demand across its customers in the Middle East “for innovations to enable data intelligence products such as image search, video streaming and online recommendation engine.” Alibaba cloud snaps at heels of Amazon and Microsoft in the Middle East Selina Yuan,