Private sector will choose Dubai for its talent, for its investments into AI that is global in nature and built out of this city.
Dubai seeks to develop a leading, proactive, and future-oriented model and lead the AI conversation.
Dubai is well on track to become a preferred global AI hub due to the concerted efforts of the government and in partnership with the private sector and will shape the Emirate’s next 185 years of development, a top official said.
Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, speaking at the AI Retreat 2024 event in Dubai, said that Dubai has become an indispensable partner of choice for AI developers, startups, and companies from around the world.
More than 2,500 distinguished UAE leaders and AI experts, policymakers, government officials and industry stakeholders took part in the AI Retreat to engage in conversations on AI legislation and policy, and on the ethical use of AI, as well as on the best ways of convening AI communities and talent.
Staying competitive
Al Olama urged the participants to utilise the available tools effectively to stay competitive and avoid falling behind in the global AI race.
“Dubai seeks to develop a leading, proactive, and future-oriented model and lead the AI conversation through the establishment of this platform and his recent announcement of 22 Chief AI officers in government departments across Dubai,” he said.
Moreover, he said that each officer had been appointed after a careful assessment of their skills to advance Dubai’s AI vision.
“Another initiative is the training of one million proficient engineers. This effort is not merely because these skills will remain relevant in ten years, but because individuals possessing them can elevate their nation’s power today.”
UAE ranks third globally in attracting AI talent relative to its population size, after Luxembourg and Switzerland, and first regionally – up from 11th place in 2021, according to a report by LinkedIn in collaboration with Stanford University.
AI is reality now
The UAE also ranked 15th globally for its AI skills, up from the 20th place last year.
The Minister had earlier stated that the UAE expects AI to contribute 14 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030 and increase productivity by 50 per cent.
According to PwC Middle East, the Middle East is expected to accrue two per cent of the total global benefits of AI in 2030, which is equivalent to $320 billion.
In absolute terms, the largest gains are expected to accrue to Saudi Arabia where AI is expected to contribute over $135.2 billion in 2030 to the economy, equivalent to 12.4% of GDP. In relative terms, the UAE is expected to see the largest impact of close to 14% of 2030 GDP.
“AI is not a future vision; it is our reality now. In Dubai, we operate differently. Our long-term vision for our physical infrastructure was first implemented in 1958, and it took essentially 185 years until 2023 for Dubai’s infrastructure to be considered among the best in the world. Similarly, with AI, we are looking at implementing our AI vision for the next 185 years, starting today,” he said.
Furthermore, he urged the private sector to start their journey from Dubai to invest in AI and enhance their talents for its enabling legislation, as much because AI is integral to DUB-AI.
“In Dubai, we don’t wait for change to happen, we accelerate change, we drive change, and we rally the rest of the world to work with us.”
The funding round led by MEVP, with participation from Aramco’s Wa’ed Ventures, Mubadala and Al Jomaih Holding.
Dubai-based digital platform for real estate investment – Stake – has raised $14 million in funding to spread wings into Saudi Arabia and expand its team this year.
The funding was led by MEVP (Middle East Venture Partners), along with Aramco’s Wa’ed Ventures, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest VC’s, Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi’s Sovereign Investor, Al Jomaih Holding, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest family conglomerates, and Republic, a leading US-based private investing platform.
“The new funding will enable Stake to continue scaling its presence in the UAE, while launching in Saudi Arabia, We believe that the real estate investment process needs to be fully digitised and we have only started scratching the surface in our vision of making real estate accessible, transparent, borderless, and liquid,” Rami Tabbara, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Stake, said.
Stake has been making headwinds in the Dubai real estate space over the past three years, amassing over 500,000 users.
Stake is set to become the first platform to offer individuals outside of the Kingdom the opportunity to invest into Saudi real estate opportunities. The Kingdom is a key market for both regional and international investors and presents vast growth opportunities for real estate fintech companies such as Stake.
“Saudi Arabia is forecast to grow by six per cent in 2025 making it one of the fastest growing G20 economies in the world. We want to give both our local and international users the opportunity to invest early and participate in that growth,” Manar, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Stake, said.
Since its launch in 2021, Stake has redefined the Dubai real estate market, allowing global investors to engage in fractional ownership with an entry point as low as AED 500. With over 200 properties worth AED 355 million sold via its app and over 50 per cent of their coming investors from outside of the UAE, the company is leading a wave of transformation within MENA’s financial and real estate landscape. In May 2024, Stake surpassed 100,000 transactions on the platform.
“We’re thrilled to be backing Stake in their Series A round. What they have achieved in the past 3 years is nothing short of incredible. The investment is truly innovative and we believe that their talented team, combined with our strategic funding, will propel them to greater success in the region,” Walid Mansour, Co-founder & Co-CEO of MEVP, said.
Tel Aviv, Dubai, Cairo, Riyadh, and Abu Dhabi are the top five emerging startup ecosystems in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
According to the Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2024, Tel Aviv is the only MENA ecosystem ranking in the Top 40 and remains the region’s leading ecosystem, globally moving up one place to No 4 (tied with Los Angeles).
The Israeli high-tech sector is the engine of the nation’s economy, accounting for 18 per cent of its gross domestic product, 48 per cent of exports, and 11 per cent of its workforce.
Despite a globally challenging year for funding, startups in Israel raised $7 billion in 2023, a return to the levels of investment from 2018 and 2019, before the relative anomalies of peak years in 2020 to 2022.
Dubai creates five unicorns
However, Dubai scored 10 out of 10 in the funding, measuring innovation through early-stage funding and investor’s activity. It has five unicorns, one of 19 emerging ecosystems with four or more unicorns in the last 10 years.
Cairo moved up in the Emerging Ecosystems Ranking from last year’s 51-60 range to the 41-50 range. It is the top MENA Ecosystem in bang for buck, measuring the amount of runway tech startups acquire, on average, from a VC round.
Riyadh and Abu Dhabi both moved up in the emerging ranking – Riyadh from last year’s 61-70 range to 51-60 and Abu Dhabi from the 81–90 range to the 61-70 range.
Abu Dhabi ranks second in MENA Ecosystem in performance, measuring the size and performance of an ecosystem based on the accumulated tech startup value created from exits and funding.
The emergence of Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, has grown to accommodate over 315 startups that have collectively raised $1.5 billion in funds since its 2019 inception.
Hub71 applications doubled in 2023, with 38 onboarded startups and 77 new commercial deals worth $134 million.
Supporting transformative ventures
“Our technology ambitions are being realised by Abu Dhabi’s underlying commitment to supporting transformative ventures that are making an impact globally while advancing our Falcon Economy for the long-term prosperity of the Emirate” Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and Chairman of Hub71, said.
Muscat created $313 million in ecosystem value between July 01, 2021, to December 31,2023. Ecosystem value is a measure of economic impact, calculated as the value of exits and startup valuations.
Sharjah created $424 million in ecosystem value between July 01, 2021, to December 31,2023.
It is the ranked fifth in MENA ecosystem in bang for buck, measuring the amount of runway tech startups acquire, on average, from a VC round.
Annual value of large exits (valued over $50m) falls by 47% year on year in 2023.
Cleantech and GenAI sub-sectors prove resilient, and outperform peer sub-sectors even as they tend to be more capital-intensive than traditional software startups.
18% of all VC funding went to GenAI-focused startups in 2023.
Next wave of technological breakthroughs could originate from rural India or Africa as from traditional powerhouses like California or London.
In 2023, the global startup economy witnessed a tapestry of contrasting narratives. Despite a general alleviation of inflation and a better-than-anticipated expansion of the global GDP, there was an air of cautious optimism regarding the resurgence of growth towards the close of 2023 and into the beginning of 2024.
However, these hopeful expectations were met with the persistent chill of a tech winter, as exits and funding failed to exhibit any indications of reverting to the levels observed before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Global Startup Ecosystems Report (GESR) 2024, 2023 saw 58 per cent fewer new unicorns than 2022, and 87 per cent fewer than the unicorn peak of 2021.
However, there was a slight uptick in unicorns in the first quarter of 2024, with 25 new unicorns – the most since the fourth quarter of 2022.
The annual value of large exits (valued over $50 million) decreased 86 per cent in 2022 compared to 2021, followed by a 47 per cent decrease in 2023 compared to 2022.
However, the value of large exits has shown some signs of improvement in the first quarter of 2024.
As in the past, the US led all countries in new unicorns for 2023, with 57 per cent of the global share. This was up slightly from 2022 when it had a 52 per cent share.
Though the total number is down, China nearly doubled its global share of new unicorns, from 6 per cent in 2022 to 11 per cent in 2023. The country attribution of each unicorn is based on where the startup is headquartered.
With 15 unicorns, Silicon Valley again led all ecosystems for the most new unicorns in 2023, though this was down 80 per cent from 2022.
While startup funding was down in 2023, there were several positive sub-sector stories. The cleantech and GenAI sub-sectors proved resilient, outperforming peer sub-sectors even as they tend to be more capital-intensive than traditional software startups.
While global Series A funding fell 46 per cent in 2023 compared to 2022, average Series A deal size increased in the second half of 2023 compared to a year ago.
However, the first quarter of 2024 showed signs of further improvement.
Cleantech and GenAI steal limelight
The cleantech, which provides sustainable solutions in the fields of energy, water, transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing, and generative AI (GenAI) sub-sectors offer another positive note, demonstrating that frontier innovation can still attract investor enthusiasm regardless of global funding conditions.
“History tells us that those who invest during or immediately after a downturn reap the highest benefits. Now is the time to start building, capitalising on the unique opportunities that arise in times of transition,” JF Gauthier, Founder and CEO of Startup Genome, said.
Having experienced a previous peak in 2018, the sub-sector has re-emerged, showing late-stage growth in the second half of 2023, a promising sign given the capital and innovation needed to combat the climate crisis.
“While late-stage cleantech funding has not yet fully recovered to its 2021 peak, it has proven incredibly resilient compared to other sub-sectors, including ones that far outraised cleantech in absolute funding in recent years. Late-stage cleantech startups raised 2.5x more funding in the second half of 2023 than in the first half of 2020 – a steeper increase than advanced manufacturing & robotics,” the report stated.
Unlike most other sub-sectors that tend to be dominated by US startups, Europe has taken the lead on early-stage cleantech funding. When combined, the three most active cleantech countries of Europe – the UK, France, and Germany – have overtaken the US and China.
These “Euro Leaders” increased their cleantech Series A funding amount by nearly 50 per cent in 2023 compared to 2021, while China and the US decreased by 40 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.
“Cleantech startups, finance providers, and forward-thinking corporates globally are looking to the EU for climate innovation policy best practice in themes including circular economy, sustainable finance, and carbon accounting,” Lucy Chatburn, Principal, Ecosystem Consulting, Cleantech Group, said.
Globally, about 15 per cent of cleantech Series A funding went to startups located in the Euro Leaders, compared to just 4 per cent in both the US and China.
GenAI leads funding
One of the major startup stories of the past year was the surge of GenAI. The data certainly supports this narrative: in 2023, 18 per cent of all VC funding went to GenAI-focused startups. Even as global funding was down, GenAI had its best funding year to date by far.
GenAI VC funding increased threefold in 2023 compared to 2022. Deal counts nearly doubled. While this surge in AI funding was the result of several factors, the release of ChatGPT 3.5 for the general public on November 30, 2022, served as a launch point for the year to come as investors and enthusiasts alike turned their attention to this cutting-edge technology.
In 2023, US-based GenAI startups increased their share of all VC deals to 65 per cent, an increase from 57 per cent in 2022.
“As world leaders start to grasp the potential of this new technology, it is becoming an increasing concern for both domestic and global politics. This may place some GenAI startups in a difficult position as these considerations fall beyond the scope of the typical startup business model,” the report revealed.
Given all the investment, the GenAI space is poised to continue at its recent pace well into 2024 and beyond.
“By 2040, Frontier Technologies will be thousands of times more powerful than they are today, and many innovators are trying hard to create new, superior designs. For instance, Amazon’s R&D investment is greater than the total GDP of 40 countries,” Daniel Doll-Steinberg, Co-Founder and Partner of EdenBase, said.
At the same time, he said that innovative startups aim to leverage AI, blockchain, and other technologies to disrupt and automate entire industries and business processes.
“This is a global race with the highest stakes. Those who harness these technologies effectively will reap huge productivity gains and shape the trajectory of the 21st-century economy. New superpowers will be born.”
For the first time, he said that the playing field is levelling, opening an era in which the next wave of technological breakthroughs could as likely originate from rural India or Africa as from traditional powerhouses like California or London, heralding a new chapter of global innovation driven by accessibility.
The top three ecosystems have maintained their same positions from 2020, with Silicon Valley remaining at the top, followed by New York City and London tied for the second spot.
Tel Aviv has moved up one rank and is now tied with Los Angeles at fourth.
The top five accounted for a collective $4.4 trillion in ecosystem value, 54 per cent of the total of the Top 40 ecosystems while the remaining 35 ecosystems are collectively worth $4 trillion in ecosystem value.
India has three states – Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai – in the top 40 rankings of the Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2024.
The GSER is created in partnership with the Global Entrepreneurship Network, Dealroom, Crunchbase, and Bella Private Markets.
Bengaluru, ranked 21st (tied with Sydney), has created $158 billion in ecosystem value between July 01, 2021, to December 31, 2023. Ecosystem value is a measure of economic impact, calculated as the value of exits and startup valuations.
Delhi is ranked 24th and Mumbai at 37th. However, Mumbai experienced a rankings decline this year, falling six spots.
In Asian rankings, Bengaluru is placed at 6th, Delhi at 7th, Mumbai at 10th, Chennai at 18th, Hyderabad at 19th and Pune at 26th.
Bengaluru: A beacon for startups
“The Government of Karnataka is committed to making Bengaluru the best place for founders to start and scale their businesses through conducive policies by the state government,” Dr Ekroop Caur I.A.S, Secretary to Government, Department of Electronics Information Technology Biotechnology and Science & Technology at Government of Karnataka, said.
Bengaluru is a beacon for startups, producing the most unicorns in India, with success stories including Flipkart, Zerodha, Cred, PhonePe, Flipkart, Big Basket and Swiggy. Global innovation thrives here, with many Fortune 500 companies operating R&D and Global Capability Centres.
The infrastructure is bolstered by government support, with policies to encourage IT growth, making Bangalore a central node in the global tech landscape.
Total early-stage funding in Bengaluru between July 01, 2021, to December 31, 2023, stood at $3.8 billion while creating 33 unicorns.
In 2021, Mumbai’s seven large exits were 6th among Asian ecosystems; however, in 2022, this number dropped to three, and in 2023, zero. Unfortunately, early-stage deals have followed a similar trajectory. While Mumbai startups secured 31 Series A deals in 2021, 9th among Asian ecosystems, there were just 11 deals in 2023, tied for 17th.
“Mumbai still has many strengths it can leverage. Because of its market size, B2C startups that achieve product-market fit have tremendous scaling opportunities,” the report stated.
Apple to usher in a wave of next-generation devices and services that blur the lines between reality and imagination.
Apple’s advancement in artificial intelligence suggests a transformative shift in the tech giant’s approach. Historically known for its seamless integration of high-quality hardware, software, and services, Apple is now poised to transcend its conventional strategy and embrace a new paradigm as a hardware-AI-cloud company.
The forthcoming iPhone 16 lineup is a significant step towards realising this evolutionary journey, as every iteration promises comprehensive support for Apple’s cutting-edge AI feature suite.
However, this shift marks just the beginning of a larger narrative. The integration of AI is poised to catalyze a wave of groundbreaking devices that extend beyond traditional boundaries.
Transformative power of AI
Envision a future where home robotics, augmented reality glasses, and intelligent AirPods with built-in cameras are not just novel concepts but tangible realities, all made possible by the transformative power of AI.
Moreover, Apple is expected to introduce a new class of services, such as an AI-driven health coach, and innovative sensors capable of monitoring vital health metrics like body temperature and glucose levels.
The much-anticipated World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) on Monday (June 10 -14) is , unveiling the overseas launch of the Vision Pro.
While the Vision Pro currently serves as a developmental benchmark rather than a mainstream consumer product, it sets the stage for a potentially groundbreaking evolution in the form of augmented reality glasses priced at around $1,500. Should this vision materialise, it will underscore the Vision Pro’s significance as a strategic precursor to a truly revolutionary device by Apple.
Apple TVs face a pivotal juncture
Furthermore, in a rapid technological progression, older Apple TVs face a pivotal juncture as they lose compatibility with Netflix.
Despite Netflix’s long-standing presence on earlier versions of Apple TV, the lack of an App Store-like updating process has prompted the streaming giant to discontinue support for the second- and third-generation Apple TV models introduced in 2010 and 2012, respectively.
This decision signals a transformative shift towards the latest generation of Apple TV systems, underscoring the evolving landscape of digital entertainment consumption.
As the tech industry eagerly awaits Apple’s announcements at the WWDC, the future holds exciting prospects for novel advancements and transformative breakthroughs that will shape the digital realm for years to come.
