- The technology will be launched across Majid Al Futtaim’s diverse industries and countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
- The Accommodation and Retailers Coalition (A.R.C.) will offer a unique, neutral AI-powered voice assistant, launched as part of the partnership.
Dubai, UAE: Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure conglomerate across the Middle East, Africa and Asia today announced during the World Economic Forum in Davos, its partnership with Los Angeles-based technology company, I.AM+. Founded by innovator and global music artist, will.i.am, I.AM+ will offer Majid Al Futtaim its Omega platform, an AI-powered conversational and contextual voice assistant that will enable an entirely new level of experiential retail at various customer touchpoints.
Projected to be the next wave of convenience and technology in retail, the Omega platform engages consumers in conversational and contextual style interactions. The technology delivers deep cross domain knowledge for a seamless customer experience, by passing and sharing common traits across several industries and services. The solution addresses a rising gap between what consumers want from their shopping experience and the level of satisfaction with their experiences across various domains.
With a presence in 20 countries and 14 industries including; Shopping Malls, Grocery Retail, Family Entertainment Centres, Consumer Finance and Cinemas, Majid Al Futtaim embarked on a digital transformation journey to merge physical and virtual experiences through seamless omnichannel offerings. The company aspires to be as prominent digitally as it is physically by adding a digital dimension to its businesses and enhancing its data and analytics capabilities. The partnership with I.AM+ will enable Majid Al Futtaim to deliver conversational and contextual experiences, powered by AI technology, across its diverse business.
As part of the partnership with Majid Al Futtaim, I.AM+ announced the A.R.C., a coalition of retailers, brands and service providers who will offer a neutral voice AI platform that is private by design. The coalition is intended to embrace the opportunity of voice technologies and address the challenges, collectively, to deliver a world-class AI experience for customers. Majid Al Futtaim is the first retail conglomerate to be announced as a member of this coalition.
Commenting on the partnership, Alain Bejjani, Chief Executive Officer at Majid Al Futtaim - Holding, said: “Majid Al Futtaim and I.AM+ share a common vision to enhance people’s lives and everyday experiences using the latest technology. Our partnership helps us to tap into the true potential of AI, where Omega will allow us to better understand our customers and introduce the most personalised shopping experience. What you see now is merely a fraction of what is to come as we continue to pursue pathbreaking technologies that support our digital transformation agenda across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.”
Working together, Majid Al Futtaim and I.AM+ will offer customers first-look access to imminent intelligent consumer devices designed for home automation and control, entertainment and communications that each incorporate the Omega platform.
“I.AM+ is honoured to be collaborating with Majid Al Futtaim, a prestigious lifestyle conglomerate that is one of the most important players in consumer retail and leisure experiences,” commented will.i.am, Founder & CEO of I.AM+. He added “we believe that both the Retail and Finance industries will be among the sectors that benefit most from Omega and the voice computing revolution.”
Majid Al Futtaim has a proven track record of bringing game-changing unique experiences to the Middle East, Africa and Asia. This includes building the world’s best indoor ski resort, partnering with Dreamscape to deliver the most immersive VR experience and joining forces with Michelin Star Chef Gary Rhodes to revolutionise the luxury cinema experience.
Majid Al Futtaim’s experiences will harness the power of I.AM+’s Omega to drive brand loyalty, while building, maintaining and enriching direct customer relationships.
-Ends-
About Omega
Omega is a conversational, voice first, A.I platform. It is designed to be private and built from the ground up to protect user privacy. It is conversational, understands context, is cross domainable and proactive in anticipating user needs. It is designed to be voice first but with simultaneous multimodality allowing for seamless fusion of voice and U.I.
The platform offers powerful benefits to help engage both enterprise level B2C customers and B2C general consumers across many industries such as entertainment, retail, grocery, fashion, financial services, hospitality travel and more. The platform is also being used by Deutsche Telekom and deployed in Europe for providing customer care for their customers under the persona of “Tinka.”
About Majid Al Futtaim
Founded in 1992, Majid Al Futtaim is the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
A remarkable business success story, Majid Al Futtaim started from one man’s vision to transform the face of shopping, entertainment and leisure to ‘create great moments for everyone, every day’. It has since grown into one of the United Arab Emirates’ most respected and successful businesses spanning 20 international markets, employing more than 43,000 people, and obtaining the highest credit rating (BBB) among privately-held corporates in the region.
Majid Al Futtaim owns and operates 24 shopping malls, 13 hotels and four mixed-use communities, with further developments underway in the region. The shopping malls portfolio includes Mall of the Emirates, City Centre malls, My City Centre neighbourhood centres, and four community malls which are in joint venture with the Government of Sharjah. The Company holds exclusive rights to the Carrefour franchise in 38 markets across Middle East, Africa and Asia, and operates a portfolio of more than 243 outlets in 14 countries.
Follow Majid Al Futtaim:
https://twitter.com/majidalfuttaim
https://www.facebook.com/MajidAlFuttaim/
https://www.instagram.com/majidalfuttaim/
About I.AM+
Founded in 2012 with the mission of saving people time by helping them get things done faster and better, than with existing devices and services. And importantly, without compromising on user privacy.
I.AM+ is charting new horizons in voice and AI technology, offering a conversational, contextual, cross-domainable voice A.I platform for consumers and enterprises. The platform is device agnostic and will power a variety of intelligent consumer electronics devices. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, the company also maintains offices in New York City, Bangalore, and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.iamplus.com.
Follow I.AM+:
https://twitter.com/iamplusofficial
https://www.facebook.com/iamplus/
https://www.instagram.com/iamplus/
© Press Release 2019Disclaimer: The contents of this press release was provided from an external third party provider. This website is not responsible for, and does not control, such external content. This content is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither this website nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this press release.
The press release is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Neither this website nor our affiliates shall be liable for any errors or inaccuracies in the content, or for any actions taken by you in reliance thereon. You expressly agree that your use of the information within this article is at your sole risk.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, this website, its parent company, its subsidiaries, its affiliates and the respective shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, advertisers, content providers and licensors will not be liable (jointly or severally) to you for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, incidental, punitive or exemplary damages, including without limitation, lost profits, lost savings and lost revenues, whether in negligence, tort, contract or any other theory of liability, even if the parties have been advised of the possibility or could have foreseen any such damages.
