Chinese e-commerce colossus Alibaba has taken its first venture into developing artificial intelligence home devices by launching its voice assistant speaker, which has drawn comparisons to Amazon's 'Echo'.

China's government has made no secret of its ambition to become a global leader in AI - previously stating that it envisaged itself to have achieved that target by 2030. However, it has now received a timely boost following the news that three of the country's largest technology companies have joined forced to create an AI Challenger contest.

Etisalat has lined up workshops, lectures, educational activities, and competitions alongside the launch of its innovative products to instill a spirit of creativity and research to mark the UAE Innovation Month.

Smart Dubai has launched its third-stage global search for blockchain start-ups that will contribute to the implementation of the Dubai Blockchain Strategy 2020.

The Canadian government have revealed its plans to embrace the 'innovation agenda' which it has touted for the last number of years, by inviting cities from all over Canada to come together in order to develop a 'Smart Cities Plan' together.

South Korean car manufacturing colossus Hyundai has confirmed that it is currently working on developing a 'long distance' electric car in an effort to compete with Tesla and other rivals in the electric automotive sector.

The Mayor of London has once again reiterated his desire to make the UK capital the 'smartest' city in the world by launching a new innovative tech entrepreneur program.

Nokia has announced that Canadian startup company HaiLa, which offers technologies that can drastically reduce energy consumption for Internet of Things devices, has won the 2019 Nokia Open Innovation Challenge.

South Korea, one of the prominent countries leading the charge towards the commercialization of 5G networks has conducted one of the world's first ever 5G auctions.

German car manufacturing colossus Volkswagen has announced that it will invest €20 billion in the development of electric vehicles in an effort to compete with US electric incumbent Tesla. The revelation ends months of speculation in relation to Volkswagen and its strategy towards ‘mass electrification'.