Microsoft announces first ever AI Centre of Excellence for Energy in UAE

Abu Dhabi: Microsoft on Tuesday announced that it will open an AI Centre of Excellence for Energy in the United Arab Emirates — a global first for the company — to empower organisations in the industry in accelerating digital transformation and equipping their workforce with AI skills.

Revealed during Adipec, the AI centre is expected to open in early 2020 of next year, and is supported by several partners, including ABB, Accenture, AVEVA, Baker Hughes, C3.ai, Emerson, Honeywell, Maana, Rockwell Automation, Schlumberger, and Sensia.

“Microsoft’s mission is to empower every individual and organisation on the planet to achieve more,” said Omar Saleh, Microsoft’s head of Energy and Manufacturing for the Middle East and Africa region.

“Our aim with the AI Centre of Excellence is to foster innovation, develop effective collaboration, and champion AI skills development for the energy industry. We believe in the power of AI to drive business transformation,” he added.

Along with a focus on digitisation, Microsoft said the AI centre would also work with coalitions towards tackling the industry top of mind challenges and aspirations, with a primary mandate to create societal impact, as it focuses on environmental sustainability, worker safety and energy efficiency needs.

At Microsoft we are working on building lasting, meaningful alliances with energy industry players, technology partners and academic institutions,” said Darryl Willis, Microsoft’s global vice-president of energy.

“Together, we will infuse the energy sector with the power of the intelligent cloud, enabling innovation to flourish as never before,” he added.