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Abu Dhabi – The UAE Space Agency and Krypto Labs, the Abu Dhabi-based global innovation hub, held the GeoTech Innovation Program's Demo Day yesterday, wherein two of the program’s incubated startups, Farmin and Ayn Astra, showcased their innovative businesses and smart solutions in the field of satellite data processing to a panel of investors and industry experts at Krypto Labs in Masdar City.
A joint initiative by the UAE Space Agency and Krypto Labs, the GeoTech Innovation Program, which received over 80 applications across the UAE, awarded AED 500,000 in kind to two winning startups who took part in an incubation program at Krypto Labs. With the collective aim of supporting and fostering knowledge-based activity in the UAE space industry, the incubation program assisted in accelerating and transforming their ideas into commercially viable, scalable, and market-ready products.
The GeoTech Demo Day gathered a panel of experts in space technology and key representatives of the public and private entities who discussed the challenges and future opportunities of the global and local space sector. The prestigious panel included Dr. Khaled Al Hashmi, Director of Space Missions, Science and Technology at the UAE Space Agency, Dr. Saleh Al Hashemi, Managing Director at Krypto Labs, Mr. Jassem Nasser, Chief Strategy Officer at Thuraya, Dr. Wathiq Mansoor, Chair of Electrical Engineering Department and Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center at University of Dubai, Mr. Asher Siddiqui, Advisor and Head of Technology Investments and Mr. Allen Herbert, Vice President of Business Development and Strategy at NanoRacks LLC.
With a vision to provide a more sustainable future for farms, Farmin, one of the two incubated startups, aims to reshape the future of agriculture by combining artificial intelligence and satellite imagery to continuously map entire fields, in order to track farm progress, monitor crops, maximize the yield’s profitability and minimize costs. In its efforts to monitor land deformations effectively, Ayn Astra also presented its innovative platform, which leverages satellite data and advanced processing algorithms for monitoring land deformation.
H.E. Dr. Eng. Mohammed Al Ahbabi, Director General of the UAE Space Agency, said: “We are immensely proud of our partnership with Krypto Labs, a collaborative platform in which we can reflect innovations within the industry into our existing and future projects. Such partnerships will only work to strengthen the UAE’s position as a leading innovator in the space industry allowing startups to thrive.”
Dr. Al Hashemi pointed out that this program is also a significant step further to achieving the National Space Strategy of 2030, which calls for achieving the UAE’s vision in the field of space exploration, technologies and applications.
Commenting on the event, Dr. Saleh Al Hashemi, Managing Director of Krypto Labs, said: “Our vision aligns with the UAE Space Agency’s commitment to positioning the UAE as a global leader in the space sciences. GeoTech, and many more of our collective initiatives, reflect our efforts in contributing to the local space sector by fostering, supporting, and accelerating the projects of Emirati scientists and entrepreneurs whose innovations heighten and accentuate the UAE’s global standing as an international hub for emerging startups.”
Emphasizing the significance of startups for the local economy, he added: “We are constantly holding initiatives aligned with the 4th industrial revolution objectives with an aim to accelerate and encourage the emergence of exceptional talents and innovative ideas, which, when equipped with the right formula of guidance, mentorship and support, can transform into large-scale products, whose solutions hold the potential to impact thousands – if not millions – of people across the globe.”
About Krypto Labs
Krypto Labs is a global innovation hub that offers custom business incubation and acceleration programs, corporate innovation, funding for start-ups, and an inspiring coworking space. Krypto Labs is a strategic partner with Silicon Valley-based 500 Startups, which is among the world’s most active seed investors with over 2,000 startups. Krypto Labs is headquartered in the sustainable eco-development Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Krypto Labs is also associated with ADFG. ADFG (together with its controlled entities) has assets under management of US$20 billion and offices in the UAE, the UK and Eastern Europe.
The Krypto Labs incubation and acceleration programs are carefully designed to support early-stage and established start-ups with vital assistance, including mentorship, funding, networking, and other support services to allow innovators to concentrate on their core competencies.
Our sustainable state-of-the-art premises are inviting, inspiring, embedding and confidence boosting. Krypto Labs provides the entrepreneurial community with private offices and a co-working space where entrepreneurs, tech startups, researchers, SMEs and others can focus and achieve in the company of like-minded individuals. Our tenants are able to avail themselves to numerous benefits, including, but not limited to, a coffee shop, gymnasium, tech shop, video and audio studio, fully-equipped meeting rooms, event space, 3D-printing lab, top-quality ICT infrastructure and support, VR experience, and guidance on how to register their companies with Masdar Free Zone. Krypto Labs also provides world-class innovation programs through strategic partnerships in corporate innovation and ecosystem development.
For more information about Krypto Labs, please visit www.kryptolabs.com
About the UAE Space Agency
The UAE Space Agency, the first national space agency in the region, was established in 2014, and is responsible for organizing, regulating and supporting the national space sector under federal law. This includes the complete oversight and funding of space missions such as the Mars Hope Probe, the UAE’s unmanned mission to Mars.
The primary goals of the UAE Space Agency are to contribute significantly to diversification of the national economy, prepare the upcoming generation of Emiratis for leadership in the space sector through a range of capacity building programs, and raise awareness about space sciences and STEM fields among the general public. In addition, it is responsible for expanding and enhancing the UAE’s international standing in space-related fields, and for issuing policy and laws for the space sector.
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