
HT Labs, The Doers Company sign MoU to strengthen India–Cyprus–UAE innovation corridor
The agreement was formalised at a high-profile event hosted at Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), under the aegis of the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ), with dignitaries, investors, and tech leaders from India, Cyprus, and the UAE in attendance.
The partnership aligns with a renewed wave of global cooperation following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Cyprus and a subsequent Cypriot delegation led by the deputy minister of research, innovation & digital policy to Dubai. The delegation included Cyprus's chief scientist along with key investors and business leaders, emphasising a tri-nation collaboration to boost startups, capital flow, and cross-border innovation.
The MoU enables HT Labs to tap into The Doers Company's expansive European ecosystem to fuel the global journey of OTTplay — India's first AI-powered OTT aggregator and recommendation engine. While Cyprus will serve as the entry point into Europe, Dubai Silicon Oasis will provide a testbed for innovation in digital infrastructure and media tech.
Avinash Mudaliar, co-founder & CEO, HT Labs, described the initiative as a 'strategic leap into the future,' highlighting HT Labs' focus on Technology-as-a-Service (TaaS) and its mission to deliver scalable AI-powered products across platforms.
'What truly elevates this journey is the camaraderie we've built — especially with visionaries like Demetris Skourides,' he added. 'With OTTplay leading our media-tech push, we're excited to align with DSO's smart city vision and deliver transformative experiences in entertainment and data intelligence.'
Demetris Skourides, chief scientist, Republic of Cyprus, said, 'I would like to thank Mr. Avinash for his trust in our ecosystem and look forward to further profiling how Cyprus and other investors can benefit from bidirectional value creation. Such collaborations are the foundational pillars that build the future.'
Badr Buhannad, deputy director general, DSO, said the partnership aligns with Dubai's Economic Agenda D33, enhancing the city's status as a hub for digital innovation and cross-border entrepreneurship.
Dusan Duffek, co-founder of The Doers Company and managing partner, Zero One Hundred, said Indian startups like OTTplay represent exciting global investment opportunities, adding, 'Now is the time to build bridges, not borders.'
Stylianos Lambrou, co-founder and CEO, The Doers Company, said their growing presence in Greece, Cyprus, and Dubai positions them to bridge the gap between Indian and European startup ecosystems.
In the long term, the MoU paves the way for a multi-regional platform to support deal flow, talent mobility, and co-creation of digital solutions. It also strengthens HT Labs' global footprint while unlocking international investment opportunities for Indian innovation.
About The Doers Company
The Doers Company is a globally respected platform for connecting tech, business, and innovation leaders across Europe, MENA, and beyond. Through high-impact events such as Reflect Festival (Cyprus) and the upcoming Doers Summit (Dubai), Doers fosters a powerful cross-pollination of ideas, capital, and collaboration opportunities. The partnership with Dubai Silicon Oasis further strengthens their vision of creating an interlinked innovation corridor from the UAE to Europe.
About OTTplay
OTTplay is India's first AI-powered OTT aggregator, offering personalised content discovery and bundled subscriptions to over 30 leading OTT platforms. With OTTplay Premium, users can enjoy an intelligently curated content experience tailored to their unique viewing preferences.
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It is one of the most striking stations, not just in the Northeast, but all of route, connected through Assam's Silchar, traverses the scenic Barak Valley, known for its rolling hills, lush forests, and tea old metre-gauge route was considered one of the most scenic in through misty hills, deep gorges, and crossing the iconic Haflong bridge, the journey to Agartala from Lower Assam was a spectacle. While most of that charm was lost with the broad-gauge conversion, which replaced the leisurely 30 kmph rides with faster, more efficient now suggest that the Northeast Frontier Railway is considering preserving parts of the metre-gauge network as a heritage route. Clockwise from top left: The curved Haflong bridge in both its old metre-gauge and new broad-gauge forms; the India-Bangladesh railway link at the Tripura border; the grand Agartala Railway Station inspired by the Ujjayanta Palace; the 2022 landslide at New Haflong station in Dima Hasao. (Images: PTI/AFP/Ministry of Railways) The conversion to broad gauge significantly enhanced connectivity, enabling direct train services from Agartala to major cities like Guwahati, Kolkata, and Agartala, the railway route via Akhaura extends to Bangladesh, forming part of Indian Railways' grand plan to link Kolkata and Agartala through Dhaka, bypassing the much longer route via Malda, New Jalpaiguri, Guwahati, and nine years after Agartala's broad-gauge connectivity, it is Mizoram's capital, Aizawl's an inauguration expected soon, the Northeast will be further integrated. However, the route remains susceptible to landslides, with 2022 witnessing a major disruption that cut-off rail connectivity for Itanagar, and Agartala -- done. What about the rest? The plan is already on track, with capitals like Manipur's Imphal, Nagaland's Kohima, Meghalaya's Shillong and also Sikkim's Rangpo, and then Gangtok, are next in line to be KOHIMA, SHILLONG, GANGTOK: THE NEXT FRONTIER FOR RAIL CONNECTIVITYThe Ministry of Railways aims to connect all Northeast capitals by 2030. Projects, at different stages, are underway to connect more Northeastern capitals by 82-kilometre Dimapur–Zubza line will bring rail connectivity close to Kohima, which lies around 20 kilometres away. However, Dimapur, the state's largest commercial centre located on the Assam border, has long been served by the New Delhi-Dibrugarh main line, which has been in operation for 110-kilometre Jiribam–Tupul line is nearing completion, with Imphal just 25 kilometres from the railhead. A 2023 image of the Noney Bridge, the world's tallest railway pier bridge at 141 metres, part of the 111-km-long Jiribam–Imphal railway line. The construction of the bridge is now complete. (Image: Ministry of Railways) Meghalaya's capital, Shillong, is also yet to be directly connected by rail. Byrnihat, part of the under-construction Tetelia–Byrnihat line, aims to eventually extend rail connectivity closer to the hill station. A future extension from Byrnihat to Shillong, roughly 100-kilometres away, is planned to directly connect Meghalaya's capital to the national rail Sikkim, the brother of the seven sisters, the 44-kilometre Sivok–Rangpo line is in progress.A second phase will extend it to Gangtok and further eastward to the China border at Nathu La. Over 80% of the Sivok–Rangpo railway line is planned to run through tunnels or underground, making it one of the most tunnel-intensive rail projects in the journey so far, and more milestones are yet to be all began in 1962, when the Saraighat Bridge reconnected Guwahati to the national rail network. It laid the foundation for the Northeast's integration with the rest of India. More than six decades later, the connectivity project has gained momentum, with one capital after another being connected through tunnels, bridges, and tough terrain. If all goes well, the 2030 target of linking every Northeastern capital by rail will be achieved.- Ends