Dubai – Mubasher: The Dubai Internet City (DIC) has lured around AED 7.8 billion in funding since its launch, executive director Ammar Al Malik said.
In the last 12 months, several partners in the technology business hub have lured strong investments, sources told Gulf News.
These include the takeover of e-retailer Souq.com by US e-commerce giant Amazon for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition is estimated to have been in the range of AED 2.2 billion ($600 million), sources added
In December 2016, Careem, a Middle East competitor to Uber Technologies, had raised as much as AED 1.5 billion from Japanese, Chinese, and Saudi investors.
While an online shop Mumzworld was another business attracted multi-million-dollar funding from Wamda Capital and Al Tayyar Travel Group.
In late 2016, one of DIC’s partners attracted another major funding after involving in a Chinese consortium buying Media.net at a value of ADE 3.28 billion.
The DIC, a global business and technology community, said that the latest round of funding for businesses based there reflects its status as innovation hub that connects its partners with the right investors, according to DIC's statement.
“Our specialised ecosystem continues to provide cutting-edge companies of all sizes with the right environment to achieve their strategic business goals, translating into a diversified local economy and productive partnerships that accelerate the implementation of the Smart Dubai vision,” Al Malik said.
DIC has a network of 1,600 business partners spanning across industries including artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT), big data, cybersecurity, and robotics.
