Masdar City’s global initiative, Innovate, will host an exhibition showcasing groundbreaking technologies from 20 international startups and small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs), focusing on the areas of urban mobility, clean energy, agritech, food security, and artificial intelligence, at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2022.
The Innovate program will also present a series of six virtual panels from the 17th to the 19th January, featuring industry experts and innovators, to discuss critical climate topics including, ‘The future of innovation in clean energy’, ‘Reaching Net-Zero using artificial intelligence’, ‘The future of urban sustainability’, ‘The future of water security’, and ‘The future of agritech and food security’. A session on women leading the region to a sustainable future, will be moderated by Microsoft for Startups, and a Youth 4 Sustainability Ecothon showcase will also take place.
Launched in November 2021,Innovate was created to provide startups and SMEs with a platform to showcase their sustainable innovations and opportunities to engage with potential investors. The companies will also have the opportunity to expand or move their operations to Masdar City Free Zone.
Abdulla Balalaa, Executive Director, Masdar City, said, “Innovation has become the cornerstone of the world’s progression towards a sustainable future for everyone. At Masdar City, supporting the advancement of ground-breaking sustainable technologies is the foundation of what we do. Hence, the Innovate initiative was created to allow us to further support companies around the world in bringing their cutting-edge technologies to a global audience. We are very excited to host Innovate’s first physical and virtual activities at such a prestigious event as Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and give thanks to our partners who will be supporting us there. These include the Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund, the Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft for Startups, as well as Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 and DANA Accelerator.”
Balalaa continued, “At Masdar City, we have created a highly unique ecosystem of education, R&D, technology, and innovation, which is designed to bring companies together in a unique environment where they can build their networks, explore multiple investment opportunities, and test new technologies. Via Innovate’s platform, we look forward to inviting innovation-focused startups and SMEs to join us in Masdar City, where their work is recognized for the vital role it plays in providing the solutions to advance the global green transition.”
Exhibiting companies at Innovateduring ADSW 2022 will represent the key industries of AI, clean energy, agritech and food security and urban sustainability. The companies include Aerodyne, FortyGuard, Tenderd, and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence under the category of artificial intelligence; Exelx, Hydro Water Energy, SmartHelio, Sunbox, and Volts under the category of clean energy; The Futurist Company, Manhat, QS Monitor, Wayout International, Proteinea, Desert Control, Circa Biotech under the categories of agritech and food security; and Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre, Blueflite, and Kasi Technologiesunder the category of urban sustainability.
Masdar City is home to more than 1,000 businesses, encompassing a variety of organizations – from multinationals and SMEs to homegrown startups – committed to advancing the sustainability agenda and spearheading the innovations to realize greener, more sustainable urban living. These include, among others, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the UAE Space Agency, Siemens, the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) and its two pillar entities, Technology Innovation Institute (TII) and ASPIRE, Tabreed, Honeywell, and the world’s first university dedicated to artificial intelligence, the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence. Masdar City is also home to leading HealthTech company, G42 Healthcare (G42), which is known for introducing one of the world’s largest Covid-19 testing and diagnostics laboratories, and establishing the Omics Center of Excellence, the region’s largest and most advanced Omics facility in terms of technology coverage, automation, computational capacity, and throughput.
To learn more about Innovate and Masdar City, please visithttps://masdarcity.ae/innovate