Entrepreneur and influencer Rama Chakaki attended aa live webinar with Al-Monitor PRO Thursday to discuss innovation, artificial intelligence and social impact in the Middle East.
Chakaki is COO of aiXplain inc, partner of Transform.VC and co-founder of VIP.fund. He pointed out that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have particularly embraced AI.
The UAE is “taking the lead” on AI, he said, training young men and women in the industry.
Earlier this year, the Dubai International Financial Center launched an AI “license” and the Emirates also has a dedicated AI ministry.
But the sector is not as advanced in other parts of the region.
“Readiness varies from country to country,” said Chakaki, adding that artificial intelligence models require “volumes of data” and that “some countries are more advanced than others.”
GCC states focus on linguistic AI, such as translation and transcription.
A prominent example is Amazon’s Alexa, he said, and his company aiXplain is working on creating automated speech patterns to recognize different dialects of Arabic.
Chakaki also discussed the burgeoning startup scene across the Middle East. He praised the growth of educational, medical and financial tech startups in the region, but said more can be done to connect them to Western capital.
“One area we can improve on is the connection between east and west,” said Chakaki. “While we are growing these startups, taking them from their early stage and giving them more mature capital.”
An example is Anghamiwhich in February became the first Arab technology company to go public on the NASDAQ New York Stock Exchange.
At Transform.VC, Chakaki said they are working to connect Silicon Valley to regional startups.
The growing role of women in Middle Eastern startups is also important, according to Chakaki, who said men and women invest slightly differently. “Women prefer social impact startups over men,” she said, and despite her contrary reputation, the Middle East and North Africa have a history of women’s empowerment.
“In the 1970s, we had very fair societies that supported women,” she said. “Women held very high positions in government, they were also in industry and often managed money alongside their male counterparts. “
Chakaki also discussed the need to make charitable work more business savvy. Its VIP.fund looks for early-stage tech startups run by refugees and economically marginalized people. “How can we move the needle a little bit with philanthropy to make it more entrepreneurial?” she asked.
Entrepreneur and influencer Rama Chakaki attended aa live webinar with Al-Monitor PRO Thursday to discuss innovation, artificial intelligence and social impact in the Middle East.
Chakaki is COO of aiXplain inc, partner of Transform.VC and co-founder of VIP.fund. He pointed out that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have particularly embraced AI.
The UAE is “taking the lead” on AI, he said, training young men and women in the industry.
Earlier this year, the Dubai International Financial Center launched an AI “license” and the Emirates also has a dedicated AI ministry.
But the sector is not as advanced in other parts of the region.
“Readiness varies from country to country,” said Chakaki, adding that artificial intelligence models require “volumes of data” and that “some countries are more advanced than others.”
GCC states focus on linguistic AI, such as translation and transcription.
A prominent example is Amazon’s Alexa, he said, and his company aiXplain is working on creating automated speech patterns to recognize different dialects of Arabic.
Chakaki also discussed the burgeoning startup scene across the Middle East. He praised the growth of educational, medical and financial tech startups in the region, but said more can be done to connect them to Western capital.
“One area we can improve on is the connection between east and west,” said Chakaki. “While we are growing these startups, taking them from their early stage and giving them more mature capital.”
An example is Anghamiwhich in February became the first Arab technology company to go public on the NASDAQ New York Stock Exchange.
At Transform.VC, Chakaki said they are working to connect Silicon Valley to regional startups.
The growing role of women in Middle Eastern startups is also important, according to Chakaki, who said men and women invest slightly differently. “Women prefer social impact startups over men,” she said, and despite her contrary reputation, the Middle East and North Africa have a history of women’s empowerment.
“In the 1970s, we had very fair societies that supported women,” she said. “Women held very high positions in government, they were also in industry and often managed money alongside their male counterparts. “
Chakaki also discussed the need to make charitable work more business savvy. Its VIP.fund looks for early-stage tech startups run by refugees and economically marginalized people. “How can we move the needle a little bit with philanthropy to make it more entrepreneurial?” she asked.
Entrepreneur and influencer Rama Chakaki attended aa live webinar with Al-Monitor PRO Thursday to discuss innovation, artificial intelligence and social impact in the Middle East.
Chakaki is COO of aiXplain inc, partner of Transform.VC and co-founder of VIP.fund. He pointed out that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have particularly embraced AI.
The UAE is “taking the lead” on AI, he said, training young men and women in the industry.
Earlier this year, the Dubai International Financial Center launched an AI “license” and the Emirates also has a dedicated AI ministry.
But the sector is not as advanced in other parts of the region.
“Readiness varies from country to country,” said Chakaki, adding that artificial intelligence models require “volumes of data” and that “some countries are more advanced than others.”
GCC states focus on linguistic AI, such as translation and transcription.
A prominent example is Amazon’s Alexa, he said, and his company aiXplain is working on creating automated speech patterns to recognize different dialects of Arabic.
Chakaki also discussed the burgeoning startup scene across the Middle East. He praised the growth of educational, medical and financial tech startups in the region, but said more can be done to connect them to Western capital.
“One area we can improve on is the connection between east and west,” said Chakaki. “While we are growing these startups, taking them from their early stage and giving them more mature capital.”
An example is Anghamiwhich in February became the first Arab technology company to go public on the NASDAQ New York Stock Exchange.
At Transform.VC, Chakaki said they are working to connect Silicon Valley to regional startups.
The growing role of women in Middle Eastern startups is also important, according to Chakaki, who said men and women invest slightly differently. “Women prefer social impact startups over men,” she said, and despite her contrary reputation, the Middle East and North Africa have a history of women’s empowerment.
“In the 1970s, we had very fair societies that supported women,” she said. “Women held very high positions in government, they were also in industry and often managed money alongside their male counterparts. “
Chakaki also discussed the need to make charitable work more business savvy. Its VIP.fund looks for early-stage tech startups run by refugees and economically marginalized people. “How can we move the needle a little bit with philanthropy to make it more entrepreneurial?” she asked.
Entrepreneur and influencer Rama Chakaki attended aa live webinar with Al-Monitor PRO Thursday to discuss innovation, artificial intelligence and social impact in the Middle East.
Chakaki is COO of aiXplain inc, partner of Transform.VC and co-founder of VIP.fund. He pointed out that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have particularly embraced AI.
The UAE is “taking the lead” on AI, he said, training young men and women in the industry.
Earlier this year, the Dubai International Financial Center launched an AI “license” and the Emirates also has a dedicated AI ministry.
But the sector is not as advanced in other parts of the region.
“Readiness varies from country to country,” said Chakaki, adding that artificial intelligence models require “volumes of data” and that “some countries are more advanced than others.”
GCC states focus on linguistic AI, such as translation and transcription.
A prominent example is Amazon’s Alexa, he said, and his company aiXplain is working on creating automated speech patterns to recognize different dialects of Arabic.
Chakaki also discussed the burgeoning startup scene across the Middle East. He praised the growth of educational, medical and financial tech startups in the region, but said more can be done to connect them to Western capital.
“One area we can improve on is the connection between east and west,” said Chakaki. “While we are growing these startups, taking them from their early stage and giving them more mature capital.”
An example is Anghamiwhich in February became the first Arab technology company to go public on the NASDAQ New York Stock Exchange.
At Transform.VC, Chakaki said they are working to connect Silicon Valley to regional startups.
The growing role of women in Middle Eastern startups is also important, according to Chakaki, who said men and women invest slightly differently. “Women prefer social impact startups over men,” she said, and despite her contrary reputation, the Middle East and North Africa have a history of women’s empowerment.
“In the 1970s, we had very fair societies that supported women,” she said. “Women held very high positions in government, they were also in industry and often managed money alongside their male counterparts. “
Chakaki also discussed the need to make charitable work more business savvy. Its VIP.fund looks for early-stage tech startups run by refugees and economically marginalized people. “How can we move the needle a little bit with philanthropy to make it more entrepreneurial?” she asked.
