DSOA in Dh500m tech investment

The Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA) is planning to invest Dh500 million in information technology in the coming five years, an official has revealed.

The money, which has already been earmarked by the Dubai Government, will be invested through companies fully and partially owned by the authority.

“The government is committed to making Dubai a knowledge-based economy and this explains why it is ready to invest a lot in channels that will help in achieving this vision,” said Shahla Ahmed Abdul Razak, Deputy CEO of DSOA.

Dubai Silicon Oasis is a technology park located in a 7.2 sq km planned community next to Emirates Road. It is fully-owned by the Government of Dubai and plans  to become a world centre for electronic innovation, research and development.

Razak said DSOA was currently holding talks with a leading venture capital firm with a view to establishing a lasting partnership.

“We are hoping to come up with the best possible investment plan and this should be ready in the coming months,” she said. “DSOA is aiming to move from being purely a management authority to a reputable investor.”

The authority has a team of 600 engineers working in software development and design. Last year it created the Dubai Circuit Design (DCD) Centre with an initial investment of Dh10m to design and manufacture chips.

The new facility complements existing regional and global integrated circuit (IC) design companies already located at DSOA.

Integrated circuits are micro-electronic chips that are used in products such as computers, mobile phones, TV sets, plasma displays and games consoles.

Dr Jihad Kiwan, DSOA’s Executive Director of Technology and Investment Generation, said: “The establishment of the design centre will bring IC design talent to Dubai – especially experts in the fields of radio frequency and analogue capabilities, which are seen as bottlenecks in the design community.”
 

DCD, which is fully-owned by DSOA, is working with US firm Synopsys,  a world leader in electronic design automation software for semiconductor production.The centre, which currently has 15 engineers, is hoping to complete the design of its first chips on April 21.

Dr Kiwan said that the centre was in talks with a number of electronics companies in an effort to secure chip design and manufacturing deals.