Future Beat: Ask and ye shall receive

Hi there. Ask and ye shall receive. After lots of talk about needing AI regulation, the EU has stepped up to become the first major jurisdiction to draft rules with teeth. Though not yet approved, the EU AI Act - expected to come into effect sometime in 2026 - will apply to anyone who develops and deploys AI systems in the EU, including companies headquartered elsewhere.

While the draft rules will continue to evolve right up until getting put into law, it's a move that may ripple out to place more global protections on this technology.

Meanwhile, the cradle of much of this innovation - Silicon Valley - is still the top attraction for start-ups, according to a new ranking (see The Big Story below). The report highlighted how much room there is to grow in emerging markets, particularly in Mena. But what is it going to take to shake up the status quo?

Be well,

Kelsey Warner, Future Editor

The Big Story

Silicon Valley remains top place for start-ups but Mena cities on the rise

In brief?| Silicon Valley has maintained its position as the world's best start-up ecosystem but cities in the Mena region are on the rise even amid a global market correction that has scaled back funding, according to a report from Startup Genome.

“For more than a decade, near-zero per cent interest rates proved a safe haven for start-ups with ample VC funding sources,” the San Francisco-based research company said.

That all changed in the first quarter of 2022 when Russia's invasion of Ukraine, an energy crunch and supply-chain disruptions, as well as rising inflation and interest rates, combined to create widespread uncertainty.

Overall, 2022 registered an annual decline of 35 per cent in VC funding.

Startup Genome looked at more than 3.5 million start-ups across 290 locations and found that the top three ecosystems from 2020 weathered the storm and maintained their positions into 2023, based on metrics such as start-ups' business performance, funding, market reach and talent.

The Mena region held steady in the correction from 2021 to 2022. Even during the downturn, the region remained above 2020 funding amounts.

Quoted?| “I call it the North Star of data and insights into start-up ecosystems all around the world ... we're in a prime position today to attract start-ups that are looking for new geographies to expand to because there might be a correction in their respective countries” - Amer A?di , head of marketing and operations at Hub71 in Abu Dhabi

Why it matters?| The incumbents stayed at the top, but a bigger number across a wider geography of emerging start-up ecosystems are beginning to take up turf.

Meanwhile, Startup Genome emphasised that 2023 is a year of opportunity, pointing out that start-ups that fundraised during and just after the global financial crisis had slightly higher exit multiples than those funded during economic expansions.

Future in focus

Fresh powder |?Neom's plans for a ski town are taking shape . This week international hotel chain Anantara announced a resort on Saudi Arabia's snow-capped Trojena, set to be home to the first outdoor ski resort in the Gulf.

Trending topics |?Listen to an interview ?with LinkedIn's head of emerging markets, Ali Matar, who talks about how employers are responding to the changing times and what employees can do to stay competitive in a dynamic market.

Help wanted |?The UAE Space Agency is in search of private partners to co-develop its most ambitious space project yet –?a mission to an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter . A new campaign called 'Space Means Business' was launched this week, inviting local and international companies to be involved in building the MBR Explorer spacecraft.

Predicting the future: Signal or noise?

Richard Branson’s space tourism venture Virgin Galactic plans to fly?its first commercial passenger space mission ?as soon as June 27. Shares in the company jumped 28% on the news.

This is a signal.?The company's commercial debut has been delayed numerous times but, once operational, stands to compete with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX in the space tourism business, albeit with more modest missions to suborbital space.

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