Alat to build Saudi robots; and more Middle East AI News

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Lots of news this week, as usual! Riyadh has been buzzing with events this week, among them the media launch of the new Saudi electronics group Alat and the Saudi Media Forum.

Key news items include Alat’s announcement of a partnership with SoftBank to build industrial robots in Saudi Arabia, and the launch of a new AI centre for Saudi media. Much more below, including Oman’s 2025 AI budget, DEWA and Zayed University hackathons, and Sharjah’s development of a robot to help with coral reef farming.

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As always, thanks for reading!

/Carrington

Middle East AI News – 22-Feb-24

Robotics

Alat to produce industrial robots by year-end

#Saudi #robotics - Saudi’s new $100 billion electronics group Alat will produce industrial robots by the end of 2024 in partnership with Softbank Group, it was announced this week. Alat also announced partnerships with Carrier, Tahakom and Dahua Technology. (Alat, LinkedIn)

Startups

NYBL merges with Basserah

#Saudi #M&A - UAE-based AI startup nybl has merged with Saudi data automation firm Basserah. The merger is expected to enhance the rapid acceleration of the companies’ regional and global growth ambitions by creating a vertically integrated data-ai pipeline.?(Wamda)

R&D

AI model to be trained on Omani culture

#Oman #LLMs - Oman’s Ministry of Transport, Communications and Informational Technology (MTCIT) has launched an AI R&D programme in collaboration with the University of Technology and Applied Sciences. The programme was able to increase the number of AI research papers last year and it developing an LLM that will be trained on Omani data to include arts, history and culture. (Oman Observer)

CleanTech Hackathon

#UAE #hackathon - Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is organising the second cycle of its CleanTech Hackathon February 19-21. The competition attracts innovators and university students from around the world, to develop applications to combat climate change and support sustainability. (Emirates News Agency)

Zayed University annual DX hackathon

#UAE #hackathon - Zayed University (ZU) started its third Annual Digital Transformation Hackathon this week, which is taking place as part of the UAE Innovation Month. The hackathon focuses on AI and sustainability. (Emirates News Agency)

Digital Readiness

93% of Saudi orgs have AI strategy

#Saudi #digitalreadiness - 93% of organizations in Saudi Arabia have an AI strategy in place or under development, according to Cisco's latest AI Readiness Index. 82% of respondents plan to invest in upskilling employees on AI, while only 12% of local organisations have the infrastructure to meet AI workloads (Zawya)

National AI Strategy

Oman approves 2025 AI budget

#Oman #policy - Oman's Ministry of Economy has approved a RO 15 million ($39m) budget for government AI projects in 2025. The budget will be split between government agencies (RO10m) and governorates around the country (RO5m). Oman's five year plan emphasises the role of AI in supporting economic growth. (Zawya)

Education

Future Intelligence Programmers prepares for 5th intake

#Saudi #education - Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) is preparing for its fifth intake of middle school and high school students, into Future Intelligence Programmers. The introduction to AI programme, aims to train 5,000 Saudi students in March, and 30,000 by the end of the initiative. (LinkedIn)

Media

Saudi announces AI centre for media

#Saudi #CoE - Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Media and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) have launched the AI Centre for Media and the Future Camp of Generative AI for Media. The announcements were made at this week’s Saudi Media Forum, which is taking place this week in Riyadh. (LinkedIn)

Smart Cities

Saudi developer building ‘blockchain smart city’

#Saudi #blockchain - A real estate developer Shamayel United Development Company is building a blockchain smart city. Called Mayasem, in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah, is integrating every aspect of the new smart city with blockchain, whilst giving residents control over their own data. (Lara-on-the-block)

Robots

More robots deployed at Grand Mosque

#Saudi #servicerobots - The Presidency of Religious Affairs at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque, has deployed smart robots to assist worshippers and visitors at the Grand Mosque in Makkah (Mecca). The robots provide a wide range of information services and can provide information in 11 languages: Arabic, English, French, Russian, Persian, Turkish, Malay, Urdu, Chinese, Bengali, and Hausa. (SPA)

ServeU deploys cleaning robots in Abu Dhabi

#UAE #servicerobots - Facilities management company ServeU, a subsidiary of Union Properties, has integrated robots into its cleaning solutions. Two different models of cleaning robots have been successfully deployed in one of ServeU's?projects in Abu Dhabi. (Builtenvironments)

AI Policy

Qatar issues AI guidelines

#Qatar #regulation - Qatar’s National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) has published guidelines for secure adoption and usage of AI. The guidelines, a 36-page book in Arabic and English, cover people, process, technology. (The Peninsula)

UAE AI office partners with UNDP

#UAE #UNDP - The UAE’s Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications Office has signed an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to enhance research and development in AI and empower talents in the Arab region and beyond. (Emirates News Agency)

Space

SpaceKnow opens subsidiary in Saudi Arabia

#Saudi #spacetech - SpaceKnow, a New York-based technology company which transforms space data into actionable intelligence, has announced the launch of Space Guardian, the first approved company dedicated to satellite imagery and advanced AI analysis in Saudi Arabia. (Zawya)

Sustainability

MBZUAI founding partner for new UNDP sustainability platform

#UAE #UNDP - Abu Dhabi's Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUA) became a founding knowledge partner for the United Nations Development Programme's AI for Sustainable Development Platform this week. The platform aims to advance the use of AI to meet sustainable development goals. (UNDP)

Environment

EPAA develops robot for coral reef farming

#UAE #coral - Environment and Protected Areas Authority (EPAA) in Sharjah, is running a research project to use robotics for coral reef farming. The authority has developed a robot capable of farming coral reefs over large areas, to measure farming areas, to determine coral reef types and to monitor ambient temperatures (Sharjah24)

Video of the Week

Alat media launch in Riyadh

Watch the video of the Alat media launch event in Riyadh with CEO Amit Midha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology H.E. Eng. Abdullah Alswaha, and Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources H.E. Bandar Alkhorayef.

Watch via Youtube (90 minutes)

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