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8X Ventures is a deep technology-focused venture capital (VC) fund targeting start-ups that fundamentally change industries and economies through a strong scientific research foundation.
“We believe sustainable solutions are complex, interdisciplinary and require in-depth technical and market research. Capturing this value early allows us to strategically impact long-term outcomes. Industry investing in these technologies can have far-reaching impacts while generating high risk-adjusted returns.
The venture capital fund aims to bridge a critical gap in patient capital for deep tech in the UAE and across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.
“The fund is actively investing in India, the UK and Singapore. Once we invest, we work with them to expand their operations in the UAE and the wider region,” he said.
8X Ventures has made 12 investments so far.
“Of these, five are deep tech start-ups that are critical and relevant to the UAE and beyond,” he added.
Gupta is full of praise for how easy it is to do business in Dubai and the UAE.
“Dubai and the UAE have long been the forerunners in the region for the ease of doing business, ranking first in the Middle East and 16th globally in the World Bank’s 2020 Ease of Doing Business report,” he said.
He cited two recent initiatives to make talent more accessible in the UAE.
“For example, the young nation has issued new licenses and visas to attract precocious talent, from freelancers to doctors and retired professionals. The Talent Pass license for freelancers is aimed at members of the creative community and, more specifically, is Arts, technology, marketing, media, education, culture and consulting industries.
“Alternatively, consider the UAE’s 10-year Golden Visa for entrepreneurs, inventors and scientists,” he said.
He said several initiatives by the far-sighted government have made it easier to start a business, such as the establishment of the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises in 2020.
“The UAE Ministry of Economy has recently launched an updated program aimed at developing 8,000 SMEs and start-ups by 2030. Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 has created an incentive program offering up to $800,000 (Dh29,38,320 AED No equity subsidy to cover initial cost allocation. Seed-stage startups get free housing, health insurance and office space in Abu Dhabi for two years. Series A companies get 50% housing, insurance and office over three years Rent concessions,” he said.
Additionally, the Abu Dhabi General Market (ADGM) has adopted some of the most advanced regulations for venture capital in the region.
Gupta, who has worked in and studied in the city-state in Singapore, believes that Dubai has bigger opportunities than the Southeast Asian nation in terms of the deep tech startup ecosystem.
“The UAE has little locational advantage as other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman are bullish on investing heavily in quality deep technology solutions. Accessing these markets from the UAE is Crucial,” he said.
The data shows that as of September 2021, 31 deep tech startups in the region have raised over US$32.5 million (AED119.37 million), however, this pales in comparison to Europe, India, China and the US.
While the GCC may not have a first-mover advantage, it can leapfrog in terms of technology and adoption,” Gupta said.
8X Ventures seeks to fuel this growth.
“Based in Dubai, we are uniquely positioned to invest/collaborate with deep tech start-ups in India, Singapore and the UK and help them expand into markets in the region. We are on track to successfully launch four such start-ups ( see box), and they will have a significant impact on the industry and the economy of the region,” he said.
“The aim is to empower entrepreneurs to solve big and fundamental problems by fusing technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, 3D printing, robotics, Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain,” he added.
put your money where your mouth is
The 8X Ventures portfolio includes start-ups such as XYMA, Solinas, D-Nome and ZenPulsar. They are making a significant contribution to the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals set by the UAE, while significantly improving the quality of life in the region.
XYMA Analytics solves the problems of traditional process sensors with its novel ultrasonic waveguide based sensor technology. This helps industries leverage the patented Industrial Internet of Things to continuously monitor their process parameters to democratize the industry’s sensor-based process efficiency and provide plant-wide distributed and concurrent sensing solutions for data-driven decision-making. This is difficult to do with traditional sensing solutions. XYMA also has a soft sensing tool that uses physics-based models and sensor data to improve the measurement and prediction of end-user asset conditions.
ONGC, Reliance Industries, Shell and ExxonMobil are some of the global giants that employ its technology.
Solinas Integrity, a deep tech startup based at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M), is addressing pipe leaks and tank cleaning issues in the water and sanitation industry by developing next-generation pipe integrity management solutions. Solinas develops next-generation robots for internal condition assessment and defect detection of pipelines, such as on-site visual inspection, surface analysis, crack and hole detection, and more. Robots can easily identify defect locations and analyze them so that asset managers can take preventive maintenance actions and reduce losses. Several state governments in India have tested and implemented this solution.
D-Nome uses cutting-edge D-Lamp technology to make genomics-based diagnostics affordable and easy to use. D-Nome has created a disruptive platform technology, D-LAMP, which is the world’s first room temperature (37 degrees Celsius) RT-PCR without the need for an RT-PCR machine at all. D-LAMP is a one-step, simple protocol that does not require skilled technicians. Using D-LAMP, diagnostic laboratories can now reduce operating costs by a factor of 10 and deliver results 5 times faster. D-LAMP is a versatile platform technology with a huge adjacent market addressing the fast-growing screening and diagnostics market worth USD 4 billion (Dh1469.2) at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15%.
D-Nome has a major impact on all respiratory diseases and is also associated with a large industry in GCC livestock screening and veterinary diagnostics.
ZeNPulsar’s data-centric AI technology helps strengthen the integrity and trust of social media, helping organizations monitor online reputation activity, including disinformation and harmful narratives. The startup analyzes billions of data points from multiple social media platforms to extract unique value for the financial services industry, corporates and governments. Its cutting-edge, data-centric AI technology cuts through the noise of social media, allowing users to identify early market signals, emerging trends, and viral spread.
Who is the brains behind 8X Ventures?
Chirag Gupta is a Managing Partner at 8X Ventures.Prior to 8X, he held leadership positions at 500 Global (the most active early-stage venture capital firm with $3 billion in assets) [Dh11.02 billion] Assets Under Management or AuM), Careem (Mena’s first unicorn acquired by Uber for $3.1B) [Dh11.39 billion] ), McKinsey (the world’s best management consulting firm), PricewaterhouseCoopers and Korn Ferry International. He has helped multinational corporations (MNCs), small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups develop and implement strategies. He has also worked with the governments of eight countries to develop their entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Gupta holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Nanyang Business School in Singapore. He studied business analytics at Harvard University. He is a graduate of Business Studies from Delhi University, India.
Esha Arya is a General Partner at 8X Ventures. She is also vice-chairman of JBM Group, a US$2.2 billion (AED8.08 billion) conglomerate with operations in 10 countries. She holds a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD in France and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Boston University in the United States. She also co-founded ThirdEye AI, a provider of custom artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for smart cities, smart logistics, smart mobility, and Industry 4.0.
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