Entrepreneur Carl Freer
A new lab is going to open in Dubai in 2015, and it is aimed at helping entrepreneurs who are interested in getting involved in the tech industry. It is going to be known as AstroLabs Dubai, according to recent reports, and one of the companies – other than AstroLabs itself – that is involved in the project is a tech giant already: Google. As entrepreneur Carl Freer or anyone else in the tech industry will tell you, there is a lot of growth in the market lately, and this is just one more indicator of how things are going.
The lab itself is going to be very large, coming in at around 6,500 square feet. Part of that will be a center devoted to learning and training, where entrepreneurs can pick up tips and skills from professionals. The lab will also have its own cafe, and it will have a promenade that should offer some stellar views.
A huge focus of the new space is going to be on the development of apps for mobile devices. This is something that has grown at an unprecedented rate in recent years, with apps being developed for all manner of smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. The labs aim to make it possible for entrepreneurs to make new apps that will reach the whole market with ease, giving them the technology to do so and a space in which to work. The main target for the labs will be startup companies considered to be high-growth ventures.
However, it is about more than simply helping the tech startups of the present. It is also about building for the future. Those who are starting the lab want it to help build a spirit of entrepreneurship in the area. They hope that helping some companies rise to prominence will make it easier for new ones to spring up afterwards. This culture could turn Dubai into a hotbed for tech companies for years to come. It is too soon to know if that will happen for sure, of course, but Google’s involvement shows that the tech world is looking at this in a positive light.
In many ways, it appears that AstroLabs and Google are attempting to compete with California’s Silicon Valley. This is the heart of startups in the United States, a place where many young tech companies like Facebook are based. It has been the premier spot on the globe for these companies for decades now, and the region continues to dominate and draw businesses. In fact, to use Facebook as an example again, the social media giant started out on the East Coast, but the company was moved to Silicon Valley very intentionally as it began to grow.
Could this new site in Dubai mean that smaller companies start moving there, rather than to Silicon Valley? Will the next Facebook be based overseas, rather than in the United States? These are all questions that can only be answered in the years to come, but if one thing is sure about Dubai, it is this: The overall growth in the area over the last decade has been incredible. The new lab very well could be one more step toward further growth and a shift in the vast tech industry.
