Could you share some insights about AIQ?
AIQ is a new company, and it’s three years old. Some great technology has been developed over the last three years. We’ve developed some cool IPs and filed 14 patents. As a startup, I’d say we’re now taking it to the next level. You know, traditionally, in a startup, you take anything that’s given to you and run with it to generate some revenues and prove your worth. However, we are now adopting a much more strategic approach at AIQ in the marketplace, showcasing our thought leadership and leveraging AI as an enabler.
Is your focus primarily on the energy sector?
It’s a joint venture between ADNOC and G42. Currently, the main shareholder is ADNOC at 60%, with G42 holding 40%. To date, we have primarily focused on the energy sector. But if you look at the IP we’ve generated and consider what we’ve accomplished with some of our products and solutions, you’ll find that these are AI-driven solutions that can be applied to parallel industries such as mining. Look at our solutions, particularly those provided to some of our internal customers, including partnerships and joint ventures like Borouge. You’ll see that these solutions have the potential to be leveraged by other industrial organisations as well.
How do you see the utilisation of AI in the oil and gas industry, which has lagged in adopting digital technologies?
People often view the energy sector as unexciting or not glamorous. It’s often seen as a hardcore industry. However, with the current focus on sustainability, enhancing efficiency, achieving net-zero goals, and prioritising health, safety, and the environment (HSE), there’s a growing recognition that digitisation is essential. You can’t effectively utilise AI as an inferencing layer without the underlying technology infrastructure. Therefore, everything within the industry needs to undergo digitisation.
We are currently offering an additional layer built upon this digitized foundation. We leverage AI to address some of the industry’s fundamental challenges while delivering value to the business. This value comes in the form of improved profitability, scalability, sustainability, and enhanced health and safety measures.
So, what are the challenges that you’re solving within the energy sector with your solutions?
The opportunity is endless when you consider the challenges we are addressing. Take, for instance, our AI-based computer vision product, initially developed for a specific use case: identifying instances of Man Overboard for safety and health (HSE) purposes. However, as we explore its broader applicability, we are now investigating how to incorporate technologies like Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) into educating the workforce operating in the field on health and safety aspects.
Is your focus primarily on the UAE market?
Not at all. Our current endeavors involve strategic partnerships with industry giants such as Schlumberger and Halliburton on a global scale. In fact, we have recently introduced our first product on the Amazon Web Services marketplace. Our unique advantage has been the access to authentic data from ADNOC, which has enabled us to rigorously test and refine our products and solutions, ensuring their robustness, scalability, and suitability before bringing them to market.
Do you believe AI is the pivotal technology for enhancing sustainability within the energy sector?
I wouldn’t say AI is the sole key technology, but it certainly plays a crucial role as an enabler. AI should be viewed as a tool that facilitates the advancements needed for sustainability within the energy sector.
What are your priorities as the CEO?
As the new incoming CEO, my role and mission involve taking AIQ to the next level. We are focused on significant organisational growth and maximizing the potential of our existing products and solutions. Our next challenge is to achieve automation and autonomous control of the wellheads, going beyond digitalisation. The idea is that by implementing autonomy, we can eliminate the need for daily physical inspections of wellheads, which presents various challenges related to health, safety, logistics, and more. Through autonomy and leveraging AI, we aim to gain real-time access to monitor these locations, enabling informed decision-making and performance improvement while mitigating HSE risks.
Could you provide examples of some of the clients you have collaborated with?
All you have to do is look at ADNOC’s joint ventures. If you think about it, we have a broad range of JVs, not just locally but globally. So, essentially, anything we’re delivering to ADNOC is also being extended externally. Our aim is to ensure that our solutions remain open and scalable. As we enter the market, we leverage the local and global system integrators with the skills and know-how to expand our reach.
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