Abu Dhabi technology-enabled healthcare company M42 will consider an initial public offering in the future as it accelerates its expansion, its managing director and group chief executive has said.
The potential listing would support M42's growth, as it seeks partnerships to address healthcare sector demands, Hasan Al Nowais told The National.
"We're always open [to an IPO]. No commitments, no announcements so far, but we're evolving very quickly and at the right time, it's definitely something we'll consider," he said.
M42 was launched this year as a result of a merger between the healthcare units of Mubadala and artificial intelligence company G42.
The company is open to "potentially collaborating with, acquiring, or partnering" with other organisations to grow its footprint, although the current focus remains on integrating the business, Mr Al Nowais said.
In April, M42 acquired Sweden-based dialysis provider Diaverum from Bridgepoint Group as part of its global expansion strategy.
"We are an evolving company. Health care is an evolving industry, so there is something new every day, whether it's a new technology or a new drug," he said.
M42's plans for a potential listing come amid a flurry of listings in the Mena region on strong investor demand. The volume of IPOs on Mena bourses climbed by 44 per cent annually in the second quarter of 2023 during a period of robust economic growth, according to global consultancy EY.
The number of listings rose to 13 during the three-month period to the end of June, bucking the global slowdown in equity capital markets activity, it said.
Presight AI, another unit of G42 focused on data analytics and AI, drew Dh94.9 billion ($25.8 billion) in bids for its IPO in March, raising $496 million for the company.
In terms of operations, M42 is currently focusing on digital health and associated services, and recently unveiled its own generative AI large language model, Med42.
Med42, launched last month, is trained with more than 70 billion parameters and designed to respond to medical prompts and questions "ethically, safely and efficiently", according to the company.
Downloads for the clinical LLM, the first from Abu Dhabi, "exceeded our expectations", Mr Al Nowais said.
Med42 is also open source, which promotes transparency and allows M42 to quickly adapt to any changes to boost the service's reliability, he said.
"We wanted people to continue to test it and come back to us with feedback for us to improve on, unlike other LLMs, which are closed ... more importantly, this provides the level of transparency that's required," Mr Al Nowais said.
"We're constantly being kept in check in everything we're trying to do, from a data privacy standpoint and the technologies we launch. We're open to being criticised and improving the technology that we have."
Globally, the healthcare industry is adopting new technology as consumers seek more on-demand and convenient services.
Generative AI has become a go-to service for industry players because it helps to streamline operations and customer engagement.
The global digital health market is projected to reach about $826 billion by 2030, from an estimated $211 billion last year, growing at a compound annual rate of 18.6 per cent, data from Grand View Research shows.
Cop28 agenda
Health care contributes about 4.4 per cent of global emissions – meaning that if it were a country, it would be the world's fifth-largest emitter, according to a study by the non-government organisation Healthcare Without Harm and UK consultancy Arup.
To address the issue, M42 will be hosting a dedicated health day at the Cop28 climate conference in Dubai on December 3, featuring discussions between key players in the health care, technology and sustainability sectors.
The event is a first for Cop and M42 said it aims to boost co-operation in the healthcare industry's role in the fight against climate change.
"We're really looking at addressing a problem the world is dealing with at the moment, which is the reduction of the carbon footprint globally," Mr Al Nowais said.
"We know and we recognise we were part of the problem. Now we want to lead the solution or be part of leading the solution going forward."
Cop28 is a "stepping stone" in M42's efforts to create a unified front in health care to tackle sustainability issues, Mr Al Nowais said.
"We expect Cop to be a Cop of action and a lot of commitment, whether it be from companies, governments, or individuals to help address a serious problem the world's dealing with," he said.
Paltan
Producer: JP Films, Zee Studios
Director: JP Dutta
Cast: Jackie Shroff, Sonu Sood, Arjun Rampal, Siddhanth Kapoor, Luv Sinha and Harshvardhan Rane
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EQureos%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E33%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESoftware%20and%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%243%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Ramy%3A%20Season%203%2C%20Episode%201
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreators%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAri%20Katcher%2C%20Ryan%20Welch%2C%20Ramy%20Youssef%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERamy%20Youssef%2C%20Amr%20Waked%2C%20Mohammed%20Amer%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Match info
Manchester City 3 (Jesus 22', 50', Sterling 69')
Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 65')
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 1
Alonso (62')
Huddersfield Town 1
Depoitre (50')
MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
The%20specs
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The%20National%20selections
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Top Hundred overseas picks
London Spirit: Kieron Pollard, Riley Meredith
Welsh Fire: Adam Zampa, David Miller, Naseem Shah
Manchester Originals: Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sean Abbott
Northern Superchargers: Dwayne Bravo, Wahab Riaz
Oval Invincibles: Sunil Narine, Rilee Rossouw
Trent Rockets: Colin Munro
Birmingham Phoenix: Matthew Wade, Kane Richardson
Southern Brave: Quinton de Kock
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
'Midnights'
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
UAE Premiership
Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes
Fixture
Friday, March 29, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, The Sevens, Dubai
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
