$33M invested in commercial agreements with startups by Dubai Government
Dubai Future Accelerator invests in 19 companies like Hyperloop One, Blockchain, Driverless Cars and Machine Learning
Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA) announced a $33.5M US deal between government entities and their first round of startups. Over 65% of startups in the program struck a deal between the seven government entities to create a prototype or pilot program of their technology in Dubai.
The program, which began in September paired 28 companies from across the word with seven of Dubai’s founding entities: Health, Energy, Knowledge, Municipality, Police, Transport and the investment portfolio Dubai Holding.
Less than 2% of the 2000 companies from 73 countries on all 7 continents who applied were chosen to join the inaugural program. The companies, which range from Fortune 100 multinational Honeywell to adventurous startups like Hyperloop One were chosen primarily on their ability to execute on their visions for the future.
Fourteen international companies taking part in the program have relocated their headquarters to Dubai. This proves the UAE’s newfound attractiveness among technology companies, which, until recently, opted to set up shop within established innovative environments elsewhere, such as Europe or Silicon Valley.
Round One of the program increased Dubai’s total spend on research and development by 6% in just three months. This, in turn, boosts the emirate’s competitiveness, and signals its transition to an innovation-led economy.
His Excellency Mohammed Al-Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and The Future, and Vice-Chairman of the Dubai Future Accelerators:
The UAE has become the foremost global platform for turning the future into reality. It is the ideal destination to materialize innovative ideas into tangible projects that have a significant impact on the economy and society — projects that can create better lives for us and for future generations
Loyyal is privileged to have participated in the inaugural Dubai Future Accelerator at the invitation of Dubai Holding. We look forward to a using blockchain technology to test loyalty and promotional projects across Dubai Holding’s portfolio and to expanding our presence in the region quickly.
Machine Colony is proud to have been a part of the first group at Dubai Future Accelerator, working with Dubai Holding. As part of our mission to bring machine intelligence into widespread adoption, we’re excited to be working with Arab Media Group and Dubai Properties Group on key pilots of the technology. The near future will see the real estate and tourism industries transformed in ways previously unimaginable, with Dubai leading the way.
“Dubai will be able to create over 5000 jobs in the next four years and save over 200 kilotons of CO2 per year.” said Blochin Cuius, CEO of MVMANT.
“Dubai Future Accelerators created an incredible opportunity for us to work with the Roads and Transport Authority to create solutions for the future of mobility in the United Arab Emirates,” said Rob Lloyd, CEO of Hyperloop One. “Dubai is an innovation leader and a place where big ideas like the Hyperloop come to life. The work being done at the DFA brings the future one step closer to reality in the region.”
“ConsenSys has been excited and honored to be part of the Dubai Futures Accelerator. The DFA was structured elegantly and enabled rich interaction with other global leaders in various emerging technologies. The DFA created a forum in which we could energetically and fluidly explore accelerating blockchain technology with various groups within the government of Dubai as well as with some of the most prominent corporations in the Emirate. It has been a great experience to explore the development of various bold blockchain-based visions with such forward looking leadership. In particular, Dubai Holding Group has been a wonderful facilitator and we have been impressed by their blockchain ambitions and knowledge both in the holding company and within their subsidiaries.”
“We’re excited to be working with Dubai Health Authority to gain unprecedented insights into the health and wellbeing of Dubai’s population and develop cutting-edge solutions for their Prevention and Healthy Lifestyle program,” said Fabio Pania, CTO and Founder of VINAYA. “Dubai has become an innovation hub for global technology businesses with big ambitions like ourselves. They are pioneers in their approach to tackling world challenges — the next five years is going to be the most exciting yet for Dubai.”
“The DFA has provided us the invaluable interaction with Dubai Municipality. Together we have developed a bespoke sensing and AI services that allows the government to improve their services to the citizens of Dubai; from improved granularity of air quality monitoring to automated regulation throughout the city” said Denis Konoplev (DK), Founder and CEO of Disperse. “This product was created through the integration of Dubai Municipality’s infrastructure and our sensing and AI platform. We believe what has been created here will act as model for cities across the world.”
The second round of the DFA will see four additional government and private entities join the program — namely, the Department of Economic Development, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, Etisalat, and du — bringing the total to 11 organizations.
