Quick take:
- Saudi Arabia has unveiled more than $6.4 billion tech fund to be invested in various projects.
- The fund features Saudi Aramco’s $1bn Prosperity7 fund and $1bn investment from Neom Tech & Digital Co.
- Neom announced the launch of a one-of-a-kind cognitive metaverse project as part of its investment.
Saudi’s innovative company Neom Tech & Digital Co. on Tuesday announced the launch of a one-of-a-kind cognitive metaverse project at the 3-day technology conference, Leap held in Riyadh.
The company was participating in Saudi’s $6.4 billion tech fund unveiling, which also saw the Saudi Aramco Ventures’ Prosperity7 fund invest $1 billion. Neom said the metaverse project was part of its $1 billion investment.
Aramco’s venture capital fund was launched a year ago by Aramco chief technology officer Ahmad Al Khowaiter and is centred on developing futuristic technologies and revolutionary business models.
Commenting on the $1 billion investment, Mr Al Khowaiter said, “through the breadth of the Saudi Aramco ecosystem, its vast resources and its far-reaching footprint across geographies and sectors, Prosperity7 can present unparalleled opportunities for scalability and impact.”
On the other hand, Neom said its cognitive metaverse project dubbed XVRS is designed to serve residents and visitors of the smart giga-project. The project will also create a personal data management platform that cedes the control of data to the user.
Speaking at the conference, Joseph Bradley, chief executive of Neom Tech and Digital Company, said the future is about meta cities, which will focus more on features that enhance user experiences rather than scale.
“XVRS puts human needs at its core, it is designed to give people more time, space and enhanced safety. M3LD, meanwhile, will place data ownership back in the hands of users and restore trust in the data economy,” Bradley added.
Neom’s metaverse project will benefit from significant infrastructural development, which saw the country’s leading telecommunications company, Saudi Telecom launch Mena Hub, with an initial $1 billion ceding to be invested in regional connectivity and infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia has been trimming its overreliance on petroleum products by investing in innovative products. The country wants to become an innovation-driven economy.
Neom’s metaverse leap comes days after another middle-eastern country the UAE’s Health Ministry launched the world’s first metaverse customer service centre, demonstrating a paradigm shift from overreliance on oil in the region.
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