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Al Anbat News
26-07-2025
- Business
- Al Anbat News
Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Hosts Webinar in Partnership with London Tech Week: Jordan Showcases Digital Expansion Opportunities to the World
The Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, through the Jordan Source program recently organized a specialized virtual webinar titled titled From the UK to Jordan: Why Tech Leaders Can't Ignore This Thriving Hub in the Middle East.' The session was held in partnership with London Tech Week, and supported by the Embassy of Jordan in London and the British Embassy in Amman. The webinar brought together professionals, experts, and investors from both Jordan and the United Kingdom, Marking the first collaboration of its kind between the Jordanian government and London Tech Week, the event positioned Jordan on the global stage as a promising digital partner and reaffirmed its role as a regional hub for innovation and digital transformation. The webinar featured four main themes presented by leading experts and entrepreneurs in the technology and startup ecosystem, It opened with an overview of Jordan's evolving digital landscape, fueled by program like Jordan Source and the numerous grants, programs, and subsidies by the Youth, Technology, and Jobs (YTJ) program. The second session highlighted Jordanian innovation with global impact, showcasing tech solutions that address pressing humanitarian and developmental challenges. The third track explored the future of digital entrepreneurship in Jordan, focusing on youth-led startups in digital gaming and creative technologies. The webinar concluded with a discussion on the growing investment of global companies in Jordanian talent and their confidence in its ability to lead innovation and global expansion.
Technical.ly
03-07-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
This ecosystem leader wants founders to ‘make time for serendipity'
Entrepreneurship has been at the center of Darius Clair's career, whether by running a business himself or coaching DC-area tech founders. Clair, a Prince George's County, Maryland native who now lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia, is the first full-time hire at DC Startup and Tech Week as the director of programs and community— which he describes as 'the South by Southwest of the East Coast.' Through his role there, he launched an autonomous tech-focused meetup, accelerator and lab called LaunchT — and started hosting programming for it earlier this summer. 'There is a community here,' Clair told 'There are folks building here. If you look all around us, even across the country, autonomous technology is taking over. How do we support that from the district?' His advice for founders in autonomous tech or otherwise? Be strategic, but authentic. 'Obviously, everyone does have an agenda and something that they want to get done, but figure out how you can give and support and be reciprocal in relationships,' he said. 'That goes a long way.' For the latest installment of How I Got Here, caught up with Clair about LaunchT, his previous roles at major firms like Techstars and WeWork, a passion for venture capital and his love for the DMV. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Where did your career start? In commercial banking, and then in personal finance. At one point in time, while running my personal finance career, I was operating three businesses at the same time. One was an event planning business. I also ran a franchise with two other friends, and then I was running my financial practice. That's where it all started. Nothing was wildly successful, but that was always in the ethos of the work that I did. But at some point, I realized I wasn't necessarily fulfilled in some of the personal finance work that I was doing, and then life started to happen. I've made some transitions, and that led me to start working more with small businesses and figuring out how I could support them. Ultimately, that vein for wanting to support small businesses and support entrepreneurs led me to begin working at WeWork, and that's where I got exposure to the venture capital ecosystem. How I grew up, I didn't have access or awareness of all the different methods of investing, and so I didn't know anything about venture capital. That was where the floodgates started to open up — just being in the atmosphere around more entrepreneurs and startups. How did working at WeWork propel you forward? Even if it doesn't yield you anything in the moment, the seeds that you plant can bear fruit in the future. Darius Clair WeWork is where I started to really hone my community-building skills, supporting the startups and small businesses locally. I was fortunate enough to start supporting them nationally, and then globally, under WeWork's corporate umbrella. That introduced me to the folks at DC Startup and Tech Week. Because of the work that I was doing there, it allowed me to start working on the [conference's] early-stage track. I still had my first business, but because of the exposure with venture capital, I decided to pivot. Deals ultimately became D.E.A.L.S. Venture Group. That's where I wanted to become a venture investor. You also worked at Techstars. What was that experience like? I knew that I needed to be in the atmosphere where I could be more closely aligned with venture capital because of the challenges that I was facing with D.E.A.L.S. Venture Group. To be able to come into Techstars and be a part of a venture capital firm, that was really a strategic opportunity and pivot for me. I was fortunate enough to support over 60 deals into portfolio companies over 18 months while working there. What inspired your new project, LaunchT? LaunchT is an initiative of DC Startup and Tech Week. My transition from Techstars naturally ended up becoming a full circle in joining DC Startup and Tech Week as the director of programs and community. After doing work with them for four years as their early-stage content lead, I was their first full-time hire. The reason they wanted to bring me on is to support DC Startup and Tech Week more broadly. But then also, how do we roll out new opportunities and initiatives to engage the DC Startup and Tech Week community more consistently, year-round? Part of that was LaunchT. What's your day-to-day like? I wear two hats. All things with DC Startup and Tech Week, right now we're ramping up in preparation for the actual week [this fall]. Solidifying venues, confirming the different tracks and the new tracks that we'll unveil this year. It's the 10-year anniversary. We want to go bigger and bolder this year and be more intentional about how we support the region and startups, and really providing the impact that we believe they need. That's one hat, and then the second hat is LaunchT — and building out the infrastructure of that. We started programming. We've created the Autonomous Tech DMV meetup. That'll be a monthly opportunity just to convene folks in the autonomous tech space, to be able to come together, to be able to connect, to be able to share resources, build relationships. We're also doing a virtual series every month. The virtual series is to engage a broader audience across the country to attract more talent to the DMV region. What advice do you have for entrepreneurs? One really good piece of advice that I've gotten and that I've learned over the years is, before you build something, make sure that there's a need for it. Without a doubt, you want to build something that you're passionate about, that you're convicted about, or that you have conviction around. But sometimes that doesn't always line up with what people need. The other thing I would say is: Be willing to build strategic relationships and genuine relationships. Make time for serendipity as you're going out and meeting people. A lot of times, we see founders are always looking for something or asking for something. But figure out how you can also provide value. Figure out how you can align motives and initiatives and value propositions with some of the different stakeholders that you have to engage with in the ecosystem. Even if it doesn't yield you anything in the moment, the seeds that you plant can bear fruit in the future. What's next for you? What are your future goals? Specifically for DC Startup and Tech Week, now that I'm a part of the team full-time, I want to add value. I want to see how we can really supercharge with the work that we've been doing. One thing I've been really passionate about is figuring out how we can build a more cohesive ecosystem in our region. Oftentimes, it does feel siloed and fragmented. Folks that come into this ecosystem don't really know where to go, and they've got to bump around until they meet the right people. There are so many times where we're hosting events, and there're multiple events on the same day. How do we become more efficient with that? Then, becoming more of an investor in startups. My work with District Angels lends to that as well, and supporting them from an investor relations perspective on the volunteer side. [I want to be] leaning into that so that I can continue to build my investor muscle, to start putting money where my mouth is.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Yahoo
AI systems may make mistakes now but are quickly getting smarter: Hinton
TORONTO — If mistakes artificial intelligence make have you doubting it can't ever rival humans, one of the technology's pioneers says you should think again. Geoffrey Hinton says AI keeps getting better at reasoning and has surpassed the skill level many experts expected it to be at by 2025. Yet every time the technology messes up, he says people have an itch to conclude that AI didn't understand what was being asked of it. The way he sees it is that AI can solve simple, immediate problems, but stumbles on anything more complicated like humans do. While improving the technology so it is not tripped up by anything complicated will be a challenge, he says it's more of a stumbling block than a hurdle that can't be overcome. Hinton's remarks were made at the University of Toronto, where he was speaking at one of the 300 events that make up the inaugural Toronto Tech Week. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025. Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Metro
12-06-2025
- Business
- Metro
CEO turned away from London tech event because 'she had her baby with her'
A CEO has called for business events to be more inclusive after being turned away for having her baby with her. Davina Schonle, founder of AI company Humanvantage, was hoping to attend London Tech Week with her young daughter, who was in a pram. But after a three-hour drive to attend the event, she was disappointed to be refused entry because she had her daughter with her. Davina said she limits how long she is apart from her baby, and believes she should be able to 'build my company with her by my side'. Her post about the experience on LinkedIn sparked a discussion about inclusion in the tech industry. A 2023 McKinsey report showed women made up around 35% of entry-level tech roles but only 14% of senior leadership positions, demonstrating a clear gender imbalance. Meanwhile research by Prospects in 2024 found 29% of IT professionals in the UK are female or non-binary. Davina said: 'As someone passionate about innovation, tech and the future of work, I was excited to attend, connect, have meetings and contribute. 'In today's age shouldn't we be more inclusive? 'This moment was more than inconvenient. It was a clear reminder that as a tech industry, we still have work to do when it comes to inclusion beyond buzzwords. 'Parents are part of this ecosystem. Caregivers are innovators, founders, investors, and leaders. 'If major events like London Tech Week can't make space for us, what message does that send about who belongs in tech? 'I don't necessarily mean make it a kid inclusive event in general, or do I? Doesn't our future belong to the kids?' Davina's post on LinkedIn has received more than 3,800 reactions and 1,000 comments in two days. Commenters suggested boycotting London Tech Week unless they change their rules over allowing parents with children to attend. Others thanked Davina for advocating for parents in the tech industry London Tech Week told The Independent: 'We're aware that one of our attendees wasn't allowed to enter with their child yesterday. 'As a business event, the environment hasn't been designed to incorporate the particular needs, facilities and safeguards that under-16s require. 'We want everyone in the tech community to feel welcome at London Tech Week. 'We've reached out directly to the person involved to discuss what happened and use this experience to inform how we approach this at LTW in the future.' Metro has approached Davina Schonle for more information Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Nursery worker accused of hurting babies 'got fed up if she couldn't vape' MORE: This is how much more single people pay to live alone in London MORE: Bridgerton star fights off prolific phone thief as crowds watch on
The Star
12-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
BP focuses on AI to boost performance
Key driver: The BP oil refinery in Whiting, Indiana. The plant processes large volumes of crude from Canada, and it is working with Palantir Technologies to embed data engineers to optimise processes on site to reduce costs and improve operational uptime. — Reuters LONDON: When engineers prepare to drill for oil, they know the spot deep underground where the well must end and can choose their starting point, but there are many possible routes in between. Optimising that subsurface path – evaluating geological opportunities and challenges to ensure a successful job – has been a time-consuming task for engineers. Now, through British Petroleum Plc's (BP) technology centre in Houston, a new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tool is dramatically streamlining the process and running thousands of scenarios to determine the best trajectory. 'It basically takes the time it would've taken people to do that from months down to days,' said BP executive vice-president of Technology Emeka Emembolu. 'The technology is a massive game-changer and it's getting us better outcomes in the wells we're drilling.' AI is being used by many companies across the oil industry. Exxon Mobil Corp deployed the technology to help develop its flagship offshore discovery in Guyana. Autonomous drilling has played a role in productivity improvements seen in the Unites State's shale industry. The potential for this technology to deliver significant gains in operational efficiency has particular relevance for BP. Under pressure from unhappy shareholders and aggressive activist investor Elliott Investment Management, the company is seeking to reverse a long period of poor performance by boosting growth and profitability. After several years of focusing on clean energy, oil drilling has renewed importance as BP pivots back toward fossil fuels. The financial targets that underpin chief executive officer Murray Auchincloss's strategy reset all require doing more with less – curbing capital expenditure, cutting costs, raising returns and giving more cash to shareholders. To help achieve these goals, BP is pushing AI into every part of its operations, Emembolu said in an interview in London, where he will be speaking at the Tech Week conference. 'Our technology agenda is central to growing oil and gas, central to helping us focus our downstream business and to invest in the transition with discipline,' Emembolu said. The drilling optimisation tool is already being used in fields from the Gulf of Mexico, a key driver of US oil output growth this year, to Azerbaijan, where BP earlier this month advanced a US$2.9bil natural gas project. In the Eagle Ford shale formation in Texas, Emembolu said an AI-generated 'morning report' is directing field hands to locations most urgently in need of work and reduce the amount of time spent driving between sites. Near Chicago, where BP's Whiting refinery processes large volumes of crude from Canada, the company is working with Palantir Technologies Inc to embed data engineers to optimise processes on site to reduce costs and improve operational uptime. Disruption at the facility can have a significant impact on BP's earnings, such as in the first quarter of 2024 when a storm led to a lengthy shutdown. The technology is also being used outside of core oil and gas businesses – identifying optimal locations for the fastest electric vehicle chargers, helping Indian motorists avoid lines at fuel stations with mobile notifications, and advising German convenience store managers on how many pastries to bake each morning. 'In terms of costs, we're looking at things from all scales,' Emembolu said. 'Nothing is too big or too small for us to look at.' — Bloomberg
