SAP will enable the Middle East's smart cities and smart future of connected vehicles, Internet of Things, cloud, and telecommunications, thanks to innovative digital marketplaces, partnerships, and solutions announced at Mobile World Congress 2018 which was held last week in Barcelona.

The CEO of SAP, Bill McDermott has stated that the introduction and subsequent integration of Artificial Intelligence will help accelerate and achieve the ambitious national development goals and objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. In addition to this, McDermott believes AI will serve as the perfect foundation for smart city NEOM which is located in the country's Tabuk region.

Tech giant Huawei and Saudi service provider and operator, Smart City Solutions Company (SC2), have announced a newly signed agreement to collaborate on smart city projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Schindler, one of the world's leading providers of elevators, escalators, and moving walks, announced two groundbreaking mobility solutions: Schindler Ahead and myPORT at CTBUH (The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat) Middle East Conference 2018 held in Dubai.

SenSen has announced the launch of their new app, Gemineye, which has been deemed the “world’s first” smartphone app powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) for smart cities.

In a significant development in Bahrain’s infrastructure, Siemens Energy has emerged as the sole bidder for Bahrain’s Electricity and Water Authority’s (EWA) 400 kV substation project in Sitra Industrial Area, submitting a bid of BHD 59 million (USD 157 million).

The FTTH Council Asia Pacific crowned Singapore as the city with the most advanced Fibre-to-the-Home coverage in the region.

Singapore has managed to rank the top smart city in the world for the second consecutive year, followed by the Finnish capital (Helsinki) and Swiss city of Zurich.

Dubai Land Department (DLD) receivedSingaporean delegation headed by Lim Sim Seng, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Singapore Land Authority (SLA), in the presence of the Singaporean Ambassador to the UAE.

SK Telecom has signed a series of deals in an effort to provide support for startups focused on smart city innovation in the region.

Smart cities are predicted to create a great deal of business opportunities, projected to be valued at $2.46 trillion by 2025, a new study finds.

A new report by the International Data Corporation (IDC) indicates that investments in smart city initiatives will amount to more than $81bn globally in 2018, with Singapore, Tokyo, New York City, London and Shanghai as main investors.

Smart Dubai has upgraded its ‘Smart Inventory’ project in collaboration with the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) to enhance current inventory management system and render them paperless and more efficient, all the while utilising advanced technologies and smart solutions to save time.

A mixed-use community in the UK’s West Midlands, comprising of 25 businesses and catering to over 750 homes, has revealed its plans to install a smart energy lighting system. 

Indonesian property developer Lippo Karawaci and Japanese conglomerate Softbank have joined forces to develop and deploy smart city technology in Lippo village, near Jakarta.

STC has announced the successful deployment of the first ‘5G Smart Campus’solution in the MENA region.

stc announced the signing of a partnership with dizmo to launch a smart home platform in the future city of NEOM, as one of the set of sustainable solutions for smart cities, based on cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and orchestrated home control.

Tata Communications, a global digital ecosystem enabler, and Zain KSA, a pioneering mobile telecommunications and digital services provider that is committed to supporting innovation and spearheading the next-generation’s technological revolution in the Middle East, announced a strategic engagement to fuel digital transformation journeys of enterprises and government organisations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). With this collaboration the combined ecosystems will deliver solutions and platforms to remodel cities with smart street lighting, smart waste management, connected workplace, healthcare and connected cars.

Chinese internet company Tencent has announced that it is building a 2 million square meter smart city in Shenzhen.

The US city of Austin in central Texas has launched a mobile app to better prepare citizens for natural disasters and other emergencies, including COVID-19 updates.