Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence and cloud company G42 has received a $1.5 billion investment from Microsoft, which will help to further boost G42's global expansion plans and strengthen the UAE's position as a global technology hub.
The expanded partnership will also include the creation of a $1 billion fund to support developers aimed at enhancing the Middle East's technology talent pool, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
"Microsoft’s investment in G42 marks a pivotal moment in our company’s journey of growth and innovation, signifying a strategic alignment of vision and execution between the two organisations," said Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and chairman of G42.
As part of the move – which will also focus on bringing AI infrastructure and capabilities to underserved nations – Brad Smith, vice chairman and president of Microsoft, will join G42's board of directors.
"The partnership between G42 and Microsoft is expected to benefit the UAE and the region by providing access to advanced generative AI capabilities, expanding data centre infrastructure, supporting the development of a skilled AI workforce, driving innovation and competitiveness for businesses and positioning the UAE as a leader in AI technology," a G42 representative told The National.
The UAE aims to become a global AI leader and continues to tap into new-age technologies in preparation for the economy and society of the future.
The Emirates has attracted interest for its potential to become a global AI hub, and has pivoted towards partnerships with technology majors from the West.
“We will combine world-class technology with world-leading standards for safe, trusted and responsible AI, in close co-ordination with the governments of both the UAE and the US," Mr Smith said.
In February, Sam Altman, chief executive of generative AI platform ChatGPT maker OpenAI, was said to be in talks with investors, including the UAE government, to raise funds – reportedly to be as much as $7 trillion – aimed at boosting the world’s chip-building capacity to power AI, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Last August, the UAE and Saudi Arabia were reported to have bought thousands of AI chips from market leader Nvidia, as the Arab world's two biggest economies expand their AI strategies, the Financial Times reported.
G42, meanwhile, has been at the forefront of the UAE's AI growth strategy.
In October, G42 unveiled a new entity, Core42, that merged three of its key units – G42 Cloud, its research and development arm Inception and ICT unit Injazat – to focus on delivering AI solutions and services on a national scale.
It also announced a partnership with OpenAI, focusing on using its models in verticals where G42 operates, including financial services, energy, health care and public services.
With the latest Microsoft investment, "we are not only expanding our operational horizons but also setting new industry standards for innovation", said Peng Xiao, group chief executive of G42.
The announcement also continues the long-running partnership between G42 and Microsoft. In April last year, the companies announced a plan to develop AI solutions for the public and industrial sectors.
In September, they forged an agreement to introduce sovereign cloud offerings powered by advanced AI and, in November, Microsoft announced the availability of G42’s Jais Arabic large language model on its new Azure cloud service.
Jais, launched in August, is an open-source bilingual Arabic-English model developed by Inception. At the time, it was said to be the most accurate LLM for Arabic and aimed to bring one of the world's most widely used languages into the AI mainstream.
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The burning issue
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About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
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Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
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All%20We%20Imagine%20as%20Light
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
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Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
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What The Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix
When Saturday
Where Diriyah in Saudi Arabia
What time Qualifying takes place from 11.50am UAE time through until the Super Pole session, which is due to end at 12.55pm. The race, which will last for 45 minutes, starts at 4.05pm.
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From: Lonely Loris is a Sunda slow loris, one of nine species of the animal native to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore
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