DUBAI: The Future Investment Initiative holds it final day in Riyadh with discussions ranging from venture capitalism, digital finance, fashion to investments in medical innovations.
The opening plenary will talk about how young companies could thrive with the torrent of venture investment into private markets from non-traditional sources, including hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds and family offices.
Watch the livestream of FII 2021’s third day:
(All times in GMT)
14.13 — Universities are 'late to act' on climate change, the president of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology said as he set out actions his establishment is taking.
11.52 — “The future will be defined by a tech race between the companies that adopt and embrace EV technology and that’s why I would believe Tesla’s value today of over $1 trillion is based on its technological prowess,” said Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson as he gave an update on the Saudi-backed firm.
11.31 — Electric cars have been under discussion at the Forum, and Maha Achour of Metawave Corp believes self-driving vehicles could be commonplace within a decade
#FII5: We are still 10 years away from "self-driving," but auto-pilot exists with #tech such as sensors, radars, and camera, "with time, we will be able to eliminate the driver," Maha Achour of Metawave Corp says#ImpactOnHumanity @FIIKSA https://t.co/XNaptWsrcT pic.twitter.com/00NViLgEKd
— Arab News (@arabnews) October 28, 2021
10.39 — Never mind oil, digital healthcare is where investors can get big bangs for their bucks, says Peter Ohnemus, president and CEO of Zurich-based dacadoo. He says there are likely to be returns of up to 35 percent in every year of the next decade.
09.32 —Fawaz Farooqui, MD of Cruise Saudi, has ambitious plans for the sector, and believes a million tourists will come to Saudi Arabia on cruise ships within seven years.
08.46 — Whenver there is a discussion about artificial intelligence, there's always an undercurrent of 'will the robots overthrow the human race'. Bruno Maisonnier, founder and CEO of AI firm AnotherBrain, said humans have always feared technological advancements, going all the way back to the discovery of fire.
08.12 — More detail on the comments from Saudi Aramco’s Ahmad Al-Khowaiter on what the company is doing on hydrogen capture. He believes the technology is there to expand the sector, but the issue is how to transport the energy source.
07:24 – Sanford R. Climan, president of Entertainment Media Ventures, Inc.; Ignace Lahoud of Majid Al-Futtaim Holding, and Robert Simonds, CEO and co-chairman of Eros STX Global Corporation meanwhile are on a panel discussion on the future of entertainment in the region, highlighting the growing sophistication of local content and where it sits in international show business.
07:16 – Saudi Aramco’s Al-Khowaiter says “blue hydrogen is ready today to scale.”
07:13 – On carbon capture, Saudi Aramco’s Ahmad Al-Khowaiter says “the question of technology feasibility is not there, the technology is at scale today.”
07:08 – The most optimal production of hydrogen is the combination of blue and green – it’s never going to be one or the other, Aramco’s Ahmad Al-Khowaiter says.
07:04 – Ahmad Al-Khowaiter: “We are looking at $1.5 to $2 a kilogram for low carbon hydrogen, but the biggest challenge is transport, it will take some time to be cost competitive.”
06:45 – A parallel session, which includes Saudi Aramco’s chief technology officer Ahmad Al-Khowaiter, is also being held to explore investing in hydrogen and scaling technology.
06:10 – The scheduled speakers for the opening plenary, John R. Selby, managing director of Thiel Capital; Fadi Ali Ghandour, executive chairman of WAMDA; Ronaldo Mouchawarm, vice president of Amazon MENA; Akash Shah, chief growth officer at The Bank of New York Mellon; Dr. Hani Enaya, the head of private investments at Sanabil Investments, will try to answer how changes are playing out across different markets around the world, and how should founders navigate these new opportunities while continuing to grow and scale.
