Qatar cooperates with Microsoft to support startups with artificial intelligence

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Qatar Science and Technology Park, affiliated with the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, announced its cooperation with Microsoft to include the “Microsoft Startups” program within its support system, allowing qualified founders to benefit from cloud computing and artificial intelligence technologies, technical expertise, and market access tools.

105 startup companies hosted by the oasis were nominated to join the program, 47 of which began benefiting from its benefits, up from 32 companies last August, which reflects the growing demand for its services within the innovation system in Qatar.

According to the Qatar News Agency, the cooperation provides a dedicated path for startups to join the program, to support the development of their projects in their early stages and transform them into scalable products. Benefits include $100,000 in credits to use Azure cloud services, which can be increased to $200,000 over two years, depending on the level of use and fulfillment of conditions.

The program also provides infrastructure for artificial intelligence services, “GitHub Enterprise” and “Visual Studio Enterprise” tools, in addition to working sessions with specialized engineers to provide technical support, and services that help companies enter markets and reach customers and investors.

The potential value of the “Azure” credits available to the 47 participating companies currently ranges between $4.7 million and $9.4 million, depending on the level of use and fulfillment of conditions, noting that these numbers represent the maximum total value available, and do not indicate a commitment to grant them in full.

For his part, the Director of the Business Development Department at the Oasis, Engineer Ahmed Al-Saeed, confirmed that the cooperation falls within the efforts to create a supportive environment for entrepreneurs, provide them with the expertise and build the necessary partnerships to transform their ideas into successful technology companies.

He explained that the partnership gives founders in Qatar capabilities that help them develop their products and compete in global markets, supporting the building of a knowledge-based economy and achieving the goals of the third national development strategy.

For his part, General Manager of Microsoft in Qatar, Ahmed Al-Dandashi, said that the cooperation brings the company's program for startups closer to entrepreneurs, and provides them with practical tools to build and test their products and expand the scope of their business.

He added that the benefit of 47 companies from the program represents a transition from ambitions to practical applications, and contributes to transforming local innovations into solutions that support Qatar’s move towards a diversified economy based on innovation.

Qatar Science and Technology Park supports entrepreneurs in multiple fields, including artificial intelligence, health, biomedicine, financial technology, sustainability, education and cybersecurity, from idea validation, through incubation, to expansion and investment.