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Cognit will bring to market IBM's Watson to transform industries, professions with evidencebaseddecisions
Abu Dhabi, UAE: Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala), the Abu Dhabi-based investment and development company, and IBM (NYSE: IBM), today announced 'Cognit Technology Solutions LLC' as the business entity to provide IBM's computing system Watson to organizations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Cognit has been established specifically to apply IBM's Watson computing capabilities to local industries and to support a regional ecosystem of entrepreneurs, app. developers and startups who are creating Watson apps and services throughout MENA.
Cognit was announced during a media conference at the New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) campus against the backdrop of UAE Innovation Week. Sami Issa was introduced as the newly appointed General Manager of Cognit. Issa was joined by MounirBarakat, Executive Director, Information & Communications Technology at Mubadala, and Brian Mulada, Chief Financial Officer, IBM Watson.
A panel line-up featuring dignitaries from organizations representing three of the high-growth sectors for Cognit; healthcare, education and government - outlined the vision for cognitive computing to transform their industries; Tawam Hospital, Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) and Dubai Municipality.
IBM's Watson represents a new era in computing which uses natural language processing and machine learning to reveal insights from large amounts of unstructured data. IBM is currently working on hundreds of projects to expand Watson's industry domain knowledge across areas including healthcare, law, education, insurance and finance, as well as teaching the system languages such as Spanish, Portuguese,Japanese and now Arabic.
Homaid Al Shemmari, CEO, Aerospace & Engineering Services (AES) at Mubadala, said, "Cognit will enable technological innovation all around us, providing Watson technology to local forward-thinking organizations across multiple sectors. The joint venture is a significant addition to Mubadala's ICT portfolio and fortifies our ambition to develop the UAE as a regional ICT hub. Mubadala and IBM are committed to Cognit and confident about the success of the joint venture."
"The collaboration with IBM to bring Watson applications to the region is aligned to the UAE's strategic goal and vision to become a knowledge-based economy," said MounirBarakat, Executive Director, Information & Communications Technology, AES, at Mubadala. "Establishing this joint venture is a definitive reflection of Mubadala's strategy to foster long-term economic growth and deliver world-class solutions to the MENA region."
A separate business entity, Cognit, is now the exclusive provider for IBM Watson in the MENA region, spearheading innovation for local organizations that stand to benefit from evidence-based decision making in today's data driven world. IBM's open, Watson platform enables organizations of all sizes to analyze large volumes of unstructured and digitized information to discover new actionable insights.
"We are very excited to be partnering with IBM to accelerate the deployment of cognitive computing acrossthe UAE and the MENA region and the development of Arabic Watson" said Sami Issa, General Manager, Cognit. "Unveiling Cognit during UAE Innovation Week underscores the pivotal role we expect to play in igniting innovation."
Cognit aims to cultivate a regional ecosystem of entrepreneurs, start-ups and app developers that will be able to harness Watson capabilities in innovative ways. These deep collaborative partnerships will enable a new wave of unique services brought to the Middle East and North Africa, igniting local talent and technology skill-sets to support the diversification of the local economy. IBM has already established a growing Watson ecosystem of over 77,000 developers, students, entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts, as well as over 350 commercial partners, by placing the power of Watson in their hands via the Watson Developer Cloud.
Brian Mulada, Chief Financial Officer, IBM Watson, commented, "The MENA region is primed for this type of technology. Since introducing Watson through local client engagements, we've seen a strong response, and look forward to broadening cognitive adoption by growing the Watson ecosystem through Cognit. Additionally, our partnership with Mubadala is key to accelerating Watson's ability to understand Arabic."
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About Mubadala Development Company
Established and owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi, the company's strategy is built on the creation of partnerships and on long-term, capital-intensive investments that deliver strong financial returns, contribute to the growth and diversification of Abu Dhabi's economy, and create opportunities for current and future generations in the United Arab Emirates.
Mubadala brings together and manages a multi-billion dollar portfolio of local, regional and international investments and partners with leading global organizations to operate businesses across a wide range of industry sectors. These include aerospace, semiconductors, metals & mining, oil & gas, renewables, information & communications technology, healthcare, real estate & infrastructure, utilities, and defense services.
For more information about Mubadala please visit www.mubadala.com.
About CognitTechnology Solutions LLC
Cognit provides Watson cognitive computing technologies to enterprises in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to solve important economic and societal challenges. The company, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, is a joint venture between Mubadala Development Company and IBM.
IBM's Watson represents a new era in computing, one where cognitive systems use natural language processing and machine learning to reveal insights from large amounts of unstructured data. Watson is the first open cognitive computing technology platform and it continuously learns from previous interactions, gaining in value and knowledge over time. In addition to being offered through client engagements, Watson is available to the developer community via a collection of cognitive APIs that can be combined to create Watson applications.
Cognit delivers Watson cloud-based technologies to clients across a variety of industries including healthcare, retail, education, banking and finance. The organization is also establishing a broad regional ecosystem of partners, entrepreneurs, start-ups and app developers who will apply Watson in innovative ways throughout the MENA region.
To learn more about Cognit, visit www.cognit.ae
IBM Watson: Pioneering a New Era of Computing
Watson is the first open cognitive computing technology platform andrepresents a new era in computing where systems understand the world in theway that humans do: through senses, learning, and experience. Watsoncontinuously learns, gaining in value and knowledge over time, fromprevious interactions. With the help of Watson, organizations areharnessing the power of cognitive computing to transform industries, help professionals do their jobs better, and solve important challenges.
To advance Watson, IBM has two dedicated business units: Watson, established for the development of cloud-delivered cognitive computingtechnologies that represent the commercialization of "artificial intelligence" or "AI" across a variety of industries, and Watson Health, dedicated to improving the ability of doctors, researchers and insurers andother related health organizations to surface new insights from data to and deliver personalized healthcare.
For more information on IBM Watson, visit: ibm.com/Watsonand ibm.com/press/watson
Join the conversation at #ibmwatson. Follow Watson on Facebookand see Watson on YouTubeand Flickr.
© Press Release 2015
