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Dubai Startup Launches AI Cloud Gaming Platform at AI Week

Dubai Startup Launches AI Cloud Gaming Platform at AI Week

Hi Dubai24-04-2025
Dubai-based startup The Game Company (TGC) has launched its cutting-edge AI-powered cloud gaming platform at Dubai AI Week, marking a major leap in the city's push to become a global gaming hub.
The platform, developed entirely in Dubai, is aligned with the Dubai Programme for Gaming 2033—a national initiative aimed at positioning the emirate at the forefront of gaming and emerging technology. It offers access to over 1,300 AAA titles directly from the cloud, eliminating the need for expensive consoles or large downloads.
TGC's system runs on a proprietary AI framework that includes optimized GPU usage, predictive forward buffering for smooth gameplay, and cloud-agnostic integration to ensure seamless performance across devices. 'The launch of TGC's platform highlights the power of AI to transform industries,'
said Faisal Kazim, Head of the Dubai Programme for Gaming 2033. 'It's a proud moment to see a product of this calibre launched from Dubai, for the world.'
TGC CEO Osman Masud emphasized the broader impact of gaming, calling it a new economic and cultural infrastructure. 'Dubai gave us the platform and belief,'
he said. 'We're proud to launch a homegrown innovation that sets a new global benchmark.'
The platform has already drawn interest, with more than 43,000 registrations and 10,000 users onboarded during its alpha phase. TGC's partners include Tencent Cloud, BytePlus (TikTok), Immutable, and Fetch.ai.
Visitors to Dubai AI Week can try live demos of the platform, interact with its AI features, and experience real-time cloud gaming across multiple devices.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
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On the contrary, we remain on top of the organisation, and the family retains control of the public company.' Educated in the United States, Angelo Zegna holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BSc from The School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He then held international roles at Luxottica in São Paulo and New York, and Bain & Company in Mumbai before joining the family business as Head of Retail and Merchandising in the US market, later being promoted to Consumer Retail Excellence Director, and since 2024, CEO of EMEA and Global Client Strategy Director. Similarly, Edoardo Zegna also graduated with a BA from Georgetown and studied at the McDonough School of Business, and via design positions at The Gap and Everlane, worked his way up from Head of Omnichannel and Head of Content and Innovation roles at the family firm before his current position as Chief Marketing, Digital, and Sustainability Officer. Their father admits, 'You cannot generalise, and each company is different, but it depends on how you prepare them. They were schooled in the right places, they worked outside, they understand the world, they have the passion to make it, and they click with the rest of the organisation.' Footprints in the sand ZEGNA certainly isn't the only multigenerational Italian fashion house with a sprawling ancestral home that adds to its allure. In 1982, Brunello Cucinelli bought a castle in his home hamlet of Solomeo in Umbria, turned it into his company headquarters, and has been committed to expanding the restoration efforts ever since. Over 10 years later, Ferruccio Ferragamo, Chairman, President, and eldest son of Salvatore Ferragamo acquired the medieval village of Il Borro in San Giustino Valdarno, found in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany. Today, Ferruccio's son, also named Salvatore, acts as CEO of the estate, now a luxury hotel, winery, and organic extra virgin olive oil distillery. Perhaps a lesser-known legend is Oasi Zegna – a biodiverse ecosystem in Northern Italy home to half a million trees – which the house is seeking to demystify in Dubai. 'In 1910, Ermenegildo Zegna looked beyond what others could see. He had a vision and built Oasi Zegna. Where others saw a barren mountain, he envisioned a forest of more than 500,000 trees. He invested everything he had to acquire 100 square kilometres of land where people and nature could flourish,' reads the exhibition text on display at VILLA ZEGNA. Meanwhile, a soundtrack of birdsong and gambolling lambs echoes throughout the corridors of Dubai Opera, taking guests on an unexpected sensorial journey. As Chief Marketing, Digital, and Sustainability Officer, and great-grandson of Ermenegildo Zegna, Edoardo has a strong personal connection to Oasi Zegna. 'The founder did not do it for money. He didn't do it for fame. He didn't do it for ego. He did it because he felt it was right,' insists Edoardo Zegna. 'That, to me, is a beautiful sentiment. That, to me, is timeless legacy. So, no disrespect to any other entrepreneur that is doing it today, for other reasons. But for us, it's about telling an authentic story that began over 100 years ago that's represented with one sign…' At this point, Edoardo takes off his Oasi Lino jacket to reveal a discreet strip sewn on the back, a symbol of the 232 Road – now known as the Panoramica Zegna – that leads to the nature reserve and reforestation project in the Biellese Alps, in Piedmont, that's stamped as an insignia on ZEGNA ready-to-wear, and the last word in if-you-know-you-know brand recognition. 'This is what we like to call the window into our world.' Empire-building according to ZEGNA 'I wouldn't call it an empire,' Gildo muses modestly of the Ermenegildo Zegna Group, before adding with a smile, 'It's a small kingdom.' In December 2021, ZEGNA became a public company by merging with a US-listed investment vehicle, raising $761 million while allowing the Zegna family to retain majority control. By 2024, the Ermenegildo Group – which now includes ZEGNA, TOM FORD Fashion, and Thom Browne – recorded revenues of €1,946.6 million, up 2.2 per cent YoY, and a profit of €90.9 million. How has the Zegna family succeeded where so many others have failed? 'We are pioneering. A pioneer is somebody that takes risk. Without risk, you go nowhere today. When we see an opportunity with the potential to succeed that's over 50 per cent, we go. So, we are a little bit incoscienti,' he jokes, meaning 'reckless' in Italian. 'Believe in the newness and take your chances when you see potential at the outset.' Gildo concedes that the risk of entering China in 1991 was greater than in Dubai in 2008, but recklessness comes at a price, of course. 'You have to be ready to fail,' he warns. 'If you fail, you start all over again. So, in the case of Dubai and in the case of Beijing, we were right. In other cases, which are minor, we were five years too early. Take India. I think we got in too early. Now we are back in a proper way, but that's part of the mindset.' ZEGNA'S next moves in the Middle East 'Retail is now,' Gildo maintains. 'In particular, if you want to go direct, you have to be on top of the situation every day. So, in the region, if you take the Middle East, right now we have 15 stores, and our aim is to grow at least to 20 stores in the mid-term. Out of those 15 stores, two thirds are direct and one third is franchised, but the goal is to convert the franchising to direct over time. It's an evolution. In Dubai, we have a beautiful joint venture with Al Tayer, but we are the majority.' The intended halo effect of migrating the Summer 2026 show from Milan and VILLA ZEGNA's Dubai Opera takeover is to propel the brand's regional success beyond Dubai. So, when it comes to the opportunity in Saudi Arabia, Gildo is watching with interest. 'We don't want to be overly distributed, but I do believe that by 2030, Saudi Arabia would be another important market,' he attests. 'You shouldn't open too many points of sale. We were offered 10 stores. I said, 'Forget about it!' We want to move gradually. Now we have one, and from one to three. We don't have a store in Jeddah yet. So, we will proceed gradually, be successful, and then move forward.' He considers, 'How big will Saudi be compared to Dubai? That I don't know. I don't think it will ever be the size of Dubai for us, to be honest with you, but I do think an interesting part of our growth will come from Riyadh. I also think Doha can be another interesting market, but Dubai is quite unique.' Sharing his strategy for expansion, he points out, 'The success of the brand is not like a turnkey. It's a matter of brand maturity, and how likely your brand is to be successful with the local customer. Timing is very important.' Gildo's advice to retailers is to 'See where you are today, project where you could be tomorrow, then take your own bet and follow the flows of your customer. Your customer may not be somebody else's customer, so you need to make sure you anticipate their moves.' ZEGNA and Dubai: Two success stories, one mindset With Dubai Mall ranking as his number one store and the highest-ever transaction in the house's history taking place at VILLA ZEGNA the day after he presented the Summer 2026 show in the city, Gildo is astute enough to observe that ZEGNA's destiny is inextricably linked to the success of Dubai. 'In the post-Covid years, I've seen an incredible explosion of this area, as you have seen with ZEGNA. I think that the two have gone hand in hand. And surely this region has partially helped the growth of ZEGNA.' He reflects, 'The modernisation of ZEGNA has helped us become one of the leaders in the market and we understood what was needed here – product that can be wearable now, impulse-driven, and innovative.' Dubai, like ZEGNA is on an unstoppable upward trajectory, so what advice does Gildo have for the emirate when it comes to building a sustainable, successful, multigenerational legacy just as he has done? 'It's too big a question! I'm flattered that you asked me, but I don't think that I'm entitled to give a reply,' he hesitates. Yet never one to back down from a challenge, he responds with charm, 'Keep going in the direction you're going and keep being enthusiastic about what you're doing by building on talent, modernity, and technology. You have an incredible organisation, an incredible project, and incredible resources. So just keep doing what you've been doing, in particular in the past five years. Stay the course and make sure that the execution is top. Maybe if there is one risk, it's that Dubai might be running too fast. Make sure you keep up the quality of service, the quality of people, the quality of experience, as you have done in the past five years. Whenever I visit this market, I feel an adrenaline rush. So, Dubai needs to keep its adrenaline levels high.' Using ZEGNA's data as an example, Gildo discloses, 'We have a thousand people visiting the store, every day. That's a lot by any standard. So, take advantage of this moment, show the world what you do best, go for newness, never give up, and keep your entrepreneurial spirit.' He adds, 'And if you ask me, I would give you the same answer about the way I run my business.' Gildo's final word? 'Make sure that you keep your high-end positioning.' And reflecting on ZEGNA's six-day domination of Dubai, he concludes, 'I think this event shows that we can go even higher.'

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