Artificial intelligence start-ups continue to attract increased investments, reporting mega deals in the third quarter of the year even as many businesses struggled due to the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, a report has shown.
AI start-ups raised a record $17.9 billion in funding across 841 deals globally in the July-September period, CB Insights revealed in its latest report. This marks an 8 per cent jump in funding and a 43 per cent surge in the number of deals on a quarterly basis.
The year-to-date funding for AI companies stood at $50bn, surpassing 2020 levels by about 55 per cent, the New York-based intelligence and research company found.
Mega-rounds (deals worth more than $100 million) accounted for about 5 per cent of total deals in the third quarter and there were more than 45 mega-round deals in each of the first three quarters in 2021 – the highest quarterly numbers ever.
This is compared to last year, when only 79 mega-rounds took place, the report said.
The third quarter also reported 104 merger and acquisition deals related to AI start-ups, a yearly increase of almost 197 per cent.
“Quarterly M&A deals have surpassed 100 for two consecutive quarters, putting total M&A exits at a record 253 in 2021 YTD. Annual IPOs [initial public offerings] and Spacs [special purpose acquisition companies] are also up this year … in the third quarter, there were three Spacs and eight IPOs [related to AI companies],” CB Insights said.
The largest merger and acquisition deal of the quarter was PayPal’s purchase of buy now, pay later platform Paidy for $2.7bn. The Japanese payments platform uses machine learning to determine consumer creditworthiness and underwrites transactions instantly.
It was almost 370 per cent bigger than the next largest deal – the acquisition of Chorus.ai by Zoominfo for $575m.
The AI market is booming as governments invest in technology to drive efficiency and cost savings in the post-pandemic era.
The UAE, the Arab world's second-largest economy, is projected to benefit the most in the Middle East from AI adoption. The technology is expected to contribute up to 14 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product – equivalent to $97.9bn – by 2030, a report by consultancy PwC showed.
Overall, investors poured money into AI-focused companies at a historic rate during the Covid-19 pandemic, a separate study by Stanford University reported.
Total global AI investment, including private investment, public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and minority stakes, increased by 40 per cent last year for a total of $67.9bn, compared with a 12 per cent jump from 2018 to 2019, the Stanford study said.
The third quarter also included the emergence of 13 new AI unicorns – nine in the US and two each in Latin America and Asia, CB Insight said. This brought the total number of billion-dollar AI start-ups to 119 in the third quarter, almost 60 per cent more than the same period last year.
Three AI start-ups reached $2bn or more in valuation, with smart search developer Algolia the highest-valued new unicorn in the third quarter at $2.2bn. Computer vision start-up Black Sesame Technologies and drug discovery start-up XtalPi were each valued at $2bn.
Healthcare AI companies attracted the maximum annual investment at $8.5bn this year (January-September period), surpassing 2020’s record of $6.6bn. It was followed by the FinTech ($3.1bn) and retail ($2.6bn) sectors.
The third quarter was healthcare AI’s strongest quarter ever, with $3.2bn raised across 149 deals. FinTech and retail raised $1.2bn (68 deals) and $740 million (38 deals), respectively, in the three-month period.
US-based AI companies led fund raising in the third quarter, raising $10.4bn from 324 deals, up more than 120 per cent from the $4.7bn raised through 225 deals in the prior year period.
AI start-ups based in Asia raised $4.8bn from 321 deals, about 129 per cent more on a yearly basis. Canadian start-ups raised $446m from 24 deals in the quarter against only $81m raised during the same period last year.
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Jawan
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
UAE FIXTURES
October 18 – 7.30pm, UAE v Oman, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 19 – 7.30pm, UAE v Ireland, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 21 – 2.10pm, UAE v Hong Kong, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 22 – 2.10pm, UAE v Jersey, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 24 – 10am, UAE v Nigeria, Abu Dhabi Cricket Oval 1
October 27 – 7.30pm, UAE v Canada, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 29 – 2.10pm, Playoff 1 – A2 v B3; 7.30pm, Playoff 2 – A3 v B2, at Dubai International Stadium.
October 30 – 2.10pm, Playoff 3 – A4 v Loser of Play-off 1; 7.30pm, Playoff 4 – B4 v Loser of Play-off 2 at Dubai International Stadium
November 1 – 2.10pm, Semifinal 1 – B1 v Winner of Play-off 1; 7.30pm, Semifinal 2 – A1 v Winner of Play-off 2 at Dubai International Stadium
November 2 – 2.10pm, Third place Playoff – B1 v Winner of Play-off 1; 7.30pm, Final, at Dubai International Stadium
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.4-inch IPS LCD, 400 nits, toughened glass
CPU: Unisoc T610; Mali G52 GPU
Memory: 4GB
Storage: 64GB, up to 512GB microSD
Camera: 8MP rear, 5MP front
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C, 3.5mm audio
Battery: 8200mAh, up to 10 hours video
Platform: Android 11
Audio: Stereo speakers, 2 mics
Durability: IP52
Biometrics: Face unlock
Price: Dh849
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
