The Estonian scientific collaboration start-up, Guaana, has been chosen for the largest government-supported accelerator, the Dubai Future Accelerators, to create and implement scientific solutions.
The Dubai Future Accelerators is a three-month programme connecting companies, entrepreneurs and businesses with leading government departments to create transformational solutions with a global impact. Backed by a AED1 billion fund (USD275 million) the uniqueness of this programme lies in its drive to turn theoretical concepts into reality – to not only visualise innovative ideas, but to see them being implemented on a citywide scale, the company said in a statement.
“I have never seen a government so focused on accelerating the future and actually making innovation happen, not only talking about it,” Marko Russiver, the founder and CEO of Guaana, said. “We are here to tackle the biggest challenges the academia is facing today, from infrastructure to funding and open collaboration.”
Just 30 companies selected out of 2,300
In less than a month, 2,274 companies from 73 countries and all seven continents, applied to be part of the first cycle of the programme (including one submission from Antarctica). The 30 companies selected for the accelerator address seven key “21st century opportunities” to “create breakthrough solutions for pressing global challenges”, the company said. This includes cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics, 3D printing, distributed ledgers, virtual reality, biomimicry and biotechnology, as well as new business models and next generation research systems.
The Dubai Future Accelerator is part of a larger programme, called the Dubai Future Agenda, and is hosted by the Dubai Future Foundation in partnership with seven founding entities of the Dubai government. The accelerator was launched in July 2016.
Guaana was founded by Marko Russiver and Edgar Aronov in 2014 and it has built a shared online space for scientists with the aim of connecting them globally to accelerate scientific research and collaboration with the help of modern-day technologies.
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Cover: Guaana team – Marko Russiver (CEO), Alice Tark (COO), Henry Kehlmann (lead developer).
