- The Hedera Hashgraph Association(HBAR) has officially announced a partnership with the Saudi Arabian government.
- The Saudi Vision 2023 played a vital role in the success of the $250 million investment.
- The DeepTech Venture Studio seeks to empower over 500 companies by providing the necessary equipment and resources to develop innovation.
The Web3 franchise has steadily grown from a “suspicious” digital asset in 2009 to a multi-trillion-dollar franchise. Today, the applications of web3 have extended beyond its first success, redefining the financial systems. Decentralized applications are the latest stage of web3’s evolution and have garnered much attention.
Many innovators, investors, and developers have turned to blockchain technology to participate in the next evolution of technology, ushering in the decentralized digital economy. As a result of this wave, various organizations have placed themselves in a strategic position to dominate the franchise.
One such organization, the Hedera Hashgraph Association, has recently attained an immense venture capital investment. As per the announcement the Ministry of Saudi Arabia(MISA) has announced a five-year partnership worth $250 million with Hedera Hashgraph Association to launch the DeepTech Venture Studio.
This latest milestone aligns with the region’s Saudi Vision 2030, in which Saudi Arabia gears up to dominate the tech industry more via blockchain technology.
Hedera Hashgraph Association gains $250 million from Saudi Arabia.
Today, the world is experiencing a paradigm shift from centralization to decentralization. The success of the Crypto industry, the vast applications of blockchain technology, and the promise of the metaverse have shifted the mentality of millions of individuals and organizations to turn their attention towards web3.
This rising trend soon caused many governments to take the same leap forward. For instance, Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria have each taken a step forward with their government openly advocating blockchain-based technology while developing the necessary guidelines for such an ecosystem. Regions like Singapore, Switzerland, El Salvador, and many more have each approved for a web3-based economy.
Still, one area stands out in terms of adoption rate and potential: Saudi Arabia. For some time now, the region has been an open advocate for blockchain technology, further contributing to its growing crypto community. This presented greener pastures for anything web3-related, an opportunity Hedera Hashgraph Association couldn’t miss out on.
Recently, the Hedera Hashgraph Association(HBAR) has officially announced a partnership with the Saudi Arabia government. According to the announcement, Saudi Arabia has formally employed HBAR to develop the DeepTech Venture Studio, a dedicated web3 platform designed to empower the region’s companies to leverage blockchain technology and other technological innovations.
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The partnership has a five-year limit and is worth $250 million. Funding HBAR will be required to build the web3 platform and fine-tune it to the government’s specifications. The Hedera Hashgraph association said on its X account, “In the presence of Their Excellencies, MISA & Hashgraph association have signed an MoU during the #SaudiSwissRoundtableMeeting, aiming to foster innovative investment opportunities in KSA through partnering locally and globally to support the entrepreneurship ecosystem.“
The DeepTech Venture Studio seeks to empower over 500 companies by providing the necessary equipment and resources to develop innovation in lines of artificial intelligence (AI), distributed ledger technology (DLT), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR), and quantum computing.
HBAR designed the DeepTech Venture Studio to become the hub for a technological revolution in Riyadh, highlighting the region’s commitment to diversifying its economy and actualizing its Saudi Vision 2030.
In the past decade, Saudi Arabia has developed a friendly web3 ecosystem within its borders, fostering unprecedented growth in its digital economy. This partnership underscores its strategic shift from a traditional oil-based economy and showcases its dedication to adopting new technology.
For years, many regions, especially in Africa, have struggled to employ web3 technology in its day to day activities. Due to the complexity surrounding regulatory bodies and web3 technology, many have been deterred from broaching the subject, contributing to its slow adoption rate.
Saudi Arabia intends to utilize DeepTech Venture Studio to provide technical engineering, training and certification, and project delivery services to upcoming regional startups. Hedera Hashgraph Association also indicated that the Venture Studio will support web3 startups in product development, business strategy, commercialization, marketing, legal and regulatory compliance, and venture capital investments. These features include access to IPO listing on the Saudi Exchange, Tadāwul.
The Saudi Vision 2023 played a vital role in the success of the $250 million investment. The document envisions a future where Saudi Arabia dominates the digital frontier.
The initial phase of the Studio focuses on ramping up local startups and onboarding the first 100 projects that meet the criteria. The phase will follow up on subsequent stages aimed at accelerating and scaling up their operation locally and globally.
Since its founding, the Hedera Hashgraph Association has strived to accelerate the adoption rate of web3 by giving potential startups and organizations the resources they lack.
Saudi Arabia continues to pour its resources into actualizing the Saudi Vision 2030, and blockchain technology is a critical element of such a future. The region understands that the secure, fast, and transparent make of web3 provides an ample use case. It can revolutionize its education sector, tourism, and hospitals and improve various governmental services. With the Hedera Hashgraph Association and other web3 entities, Saudi Arabia may have the making of a blockchain-based economy. A feat Africa can emulate if its government can acknowledge the potential of web3.
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