UAE Investors Keen on the Semiconductor Industry—According to a senior official from the Ministry of Economy, UAE corporations are eager to engage in technical industries, semiconductor enterprises, and information technology projects in the world’s largest economy.
During the recent UAE-US Innovation and Investment Conference, Ahmad Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs, said the following:
The goal of the meeting was to find new ways to strengthen trade and investment links between the two nations.
Investing in the United States is expected to reach $44.7 billion by the end of 2020 from investments made by UAE nationals, according to Mr. Al Falasi.
According to him, the UAE is the top Arab investor in the United States and the 20th most important country in the world.
The Mubadala Investment Company of Abu Dhabi, for example, is active in the United States. Through its platforms and subsidiaries, Mubadala bought assets from K-Mac Enterprises, the second-largest Taco Bell franchisee in the United States.
Medallia, an enterprise software company, and GlobalFoundries, the world’s third-largest semiconductor manufacturer, are also part of the company’s portfolio. The United Arab Emirates has invested $1.7 billion in research and development operations relating to innovation and technology, according to Mr. Al Falasi.
The United States has invested $19.4 billion in the United Arab Emirates through FDI. Last year, Helmerich & Payne, a publicly-traded company in New York, agreed to spend $100 million as a cornerstone investor in Adnoc Drilling’s IPO.
As stated by Mr. Al Falasi, the UAE is eager to keep up the current pace in trade and investment between the two nations and further improve the access of Emirati and American enterprises to potential prospects in the other country’s markets.
Additionally, he noted, new programs like the Golden Visa program’s expansion and the introduction of green and freelancer visas will encourage additional investment in the country.
According to the UAE’s Ministry of Economy, non-oil commerce between the United States and the UAE will reach $17.83 billion in 2020, up from $5.22 billion in 2005.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an essential source of growth for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the second-largest economy in the Arab world. For the next ten years, it plans to increase the industry’s contribution by Dh300bn ($81.68bn), up from the current Dh133bn.
The UAE also reformed its commercial firms’ statute to attract more foreign investment, and in 2020, it abolished the requirement for onshore enterprises to have an Emirati shareholder.
UAE Investors Keen on the Semiconductor Industry: New Technology
It was announced today that Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MAST), an independent graduate-level university specializing in advanced energy and sustainable technologies, has become one of only a few academic institutions worldwide to provide cutting-edge semiconductor designs for manufacturing — what is known in the industry as a “tape out.”
With the help of GLOBALFOUNDRIES, Mubadala’s Advanced Technology Investment Company, and Masdar Institute’s design-enablement and fabrication partnership, the “tape-out” achievement was made feasible (ATIC).
The Masdar Institute’s semiconductor technology is based on ‘GLOBALFOUNDRIES 28nm SLP low-power, bulk CMOS technology,’ which will allow researchers to collect measurements that will ultimately lead to lower semiconductor power consumption and greater speed. The chip will be delivered to Masdar Institute by the end of March 2014.
According to Masdar Institute President Dr. Fred Moavenzadeh, “The successful tape-out by our students has enabled the UAE to launch a new era in advanced semiconductor technology research and innovation. Our ability to grow our creative operations has been reinforced thanks to the leadership of the UAE’s ongoing support. “We believe that our pupils will continue to reach new heights.”
Geoffrey Akiki, the General Manager of GLOBALFOUNDRIES Abu Dhabi, said: “This tape-out demonstrates the unique strength of our collaboration with the United Arab Emirates. After only a few months of collaboration, we have achieved another mutual accomplishment in Abu Dhabi’s development as an innovative technology center. At the 28nm node, aggressive scaling presents unique problems that are not seen in larger technology nodes, and we are particularly pleased by the Masdar Institute researchers’ efforts to reach this point.”
According to Dr. Ibrahim Elfadel, Head of Masdar Institute’s Center for Microelectronics (iMicro), the purpose of the chip is to quantify the statistical reliance of circuit performance on process variables. Engineers in integrated circuits and semiconductor processes can utilize these data points to help them build courses and strategies that meet specific power consumption and circuit speed goals.
Ultra-low-power processors, such as those used in transportable and implementable medical devices, continuous environmental monitoring, and consumer electronics, will benefit significantly from such rules. Masdar Institute students, employees, and faculty are appreciative to the GLOBALFOUNDRIES team for providing the design environment and technological access they need to attain this significant milestone for the UAE.”
From 8-11 December 2013, Abu Dhabi hosted the 20th IEEE Conference on Electronic Circuits and Systems, where the chip design was discussed.
Students from Masdar Institute’s Microsystems Engineering department, Temesghen Hebte and Yue Xu have worked with Dr. Elfadel and Dr. Ayman Shabra at GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ Abu Dhabi offices for over a year. GLOBALFOUNDRIES Abu Dhabi recently hosted a group of UAE national students from the Microsystems Engineering program to learn about the breadth of semiconductor activities in the UAE.
The first GLOBALFOUNDRIES tape-out from the MENA area was performed in June 2013 by Masdar Institute students utilizing the GLOBALFOUNDRIES 65nm technology. The GLOBALFOUNDRIES PDK was used for the first time by Masdar Institute to construct semiconductor circuits from scratch in the MENA region.
As a significant part of Masdar’s mission to expand Abu Dhabi’s knowledge economy and provide solutions to humanity’s most pressing concerns, Masdar Institute is vital.
Through a long-term partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Masdar Institute seeks to cultivate tomorrow’s critical thinkers and entrepreneurs by fusing theory and practice. The Institute is dedicated to finding solutions to the issues of clean energy and climate change through education and research with its world-class experts and top-tier students.
