Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), the integrated free zone technology park, and Intel, the Silicon Valley-headquartered tech giant, have announced the launch of the new phase of ‘Intel Innovation Centre.’
The new facility is directly aligned with the ‘Project Mustakbal,’ an initiative that was revealed by Intel during the event and seeks to further accelerate the Middle East’s digital transformation.
Hosted at Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus (Dtec), DSOA’s wholly owned tech incubation centre, Intel Innovation Centre is set to become a hub for future technological development in the region that will feature artificial intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Video analytics and Autonomous Driving.
The centre’s offerings will span three categories: Market-ready Solutions, Intel Select Solutions and Intel Technology Showcase Demos. Juma Al Matrooshi, deputy CEO of DSOA, officially inaugurated the Intel Innovation Centre along with Taha Khalifa, Client Computing Sales Director and EMEA Territory GCC Country lead at Intel Corporation, in the presence of Eng. Muammar Al Katheeri, executive vice president, Engineering and Smart City, DSOA; Steven Long, vice president, Sales and Marketing Group and GM of CCG Sales, Intel; and senior officials from the two entities as well as Intel’s business partners.
“Four years ago, we launched with Intel the region’s first Internet of Things (IoT) ignition lab that has already added significant value to tech start-ups and entrepreneurs in the UAE,” said Al Katheeri.
“Today we celebrate our partnership with Intel as we step forward together into a new milestone through the inauguration of the Intel Innovation Centre that has found an ideal home at DSO. With its dynamic mix of business partners and boasting an environment that fosters the entrepreneurial spirit, DSO continues to push the boundaries of technological innovation,” he added.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), there is a 12 percent year-over-year growth in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) spending to enable digital transformation.
Intel is moving through a transformation to a data-centric company with the new phase focused on innovation.
“The UAE is one of the leading countries in innovation and we are very proud to contribute with Dtec to accelerate digital transformation in the Middle East and launch ‘Project Mustakbal’ our digital transformation initiative in the region,” said Khalifa.
“The innovation centre underlines Intel’s continuous efforts to support the innovation community by facilitating access to the latest Intel technologies and hereby support the Dubai 2021 vision. It has already been popular with more than 1,000 visitors in the last four years. In that time, we have welcomed over 50 government delegations from around the world. We have received more than 100 high profile executives and CEO’s from local and multinational companies,” he added.
The potential advantages of region-wide digital transformation are immense. An analysis by American worldwide management consulting firm McKinsey & Company indicates that a unified digital market across the region could see 160 million potential digital users by 2025 and contribute up to 3.8 percent – approximately $95 billion – to the gross domestic product (GDP) annually.
