Listed on Abu Dhabi’s Securities Exchange, and valued at $ 4 billion, the merger indicates space tech, geospatial solutions, and AI capabilities coming together to create a durable value chain.
With Abu Dhabi’s ambitious plans to develop a high-tech space tech center, fostering a conducive environment for NewSpace as well as incubation of frontier technologies such as AI, a lot of transformation is afoot in the UAE.
Recently, Bayanat, a geospatial analytics firm, decided to merge with satellite operator Yahsat, which offers integrated satcom services in over 150 countries and is known for the popular satellite phone Thurayya.
Multi-Billion Dollar Deal
The merger of the two companies, to be effective by mid-2024, will create UAE’s first AI-powered Space firm, valued at $4 billion. The combined entity would be the biggest AI-powered space tech and geospatial company not just in the Middle East, but the broader MENA ( Middle East & North Africa) region, strategically positioning Abu Dhabi at the vanguard of next-gen innovation.
Bayanat provides solutions across government, environment, energy, and resources, as well as smart cities and transportation. Its transition over the years from mapping and surveying to tailor-made geospatial solutions reflects the changing technology landscape and market outlook.
Bayanat and Yahsat shareholders will own 54% and 46% respectively of the new combined entity, with strong institutional backing from G42, an AI development holding company, Mubadala, a state-backed sovereign wealth fund, and IHC, who will together own 42%, 29%, and 8%.
Towards Diversification
Strengthened financial position, cutting-edge AI prowess, and product diversification with the joint synergy between geospatial and space will lead to new opportunities for transformation benefitting societies and fuelling innovation, scalability, and sustained growth.
“Together, we will leverage our key synergies to reinforce our position as a key engine of growth and strategic solutions provider to the UAE government and its agencies, while expanding our reach to global customers”, says H.E. Tareq Al Hosani, Chairman, Bayanat
“The merger is a compelling opportunity to amplify value creation for shareholders, utilizing synergies and strategic consolidation to create a technologically advanced champion, further reinforcing the UAE’s position as a leader in the AI and space sectors”, believes Musabbeh Al Kaabi, Chairman of Yahsat.
Both see immense potential in catering to a wider customer base and developing more innovative solutions for the local as well as global market.
Power of Convergence
In a recent interview with Geospatial World, before the merger, Bayanat MD said that geospatial intelligence, AI, and Big Data analytics are becoming increasingly crucial across all industries to provide greater insights that inform important decisions.
Indeed, fast-paced innovation as well as the growing convergence of geospatial and space data is leading to solutions that are valuable all across, enabling better decision-making.
Two of the key takeaways from this merger are the growing multi-sectoral applications of geospatial, and the increasing convergence and synergy between geospatial and space, which are mutually reinforcing.
To create a viable value chain across sectors and use cases, geospatial and space increasingly complement each other as force multipliers. Space infrastructure – from satellite constellations to ground stations – is essential to fetch the most reliable geospatial data.
Together with sensor fusion, high-speed connectivity, and advanced analytics, there is a great need for the most accurate and reliable spatial insights that can be used for tasks as complex and varied as utilities monitoring to vegetation change detection.
Versatile Applications
With trends such as ‘Cloudification of geo’, miniaturization of sensors, and increased data analytics capability, there is a great demand for solutions that combine spatial insights and space data.
The market shift towards immersive products has not only widened the applications but made them more versatile. It won’t be a cliché to say that the utility of geospatial and space is limited only by our imagination.
The geospatial domain’s transition towards customized, on-demand solutions, coupled with precise space data, is creating valuable solutions and analytics for everything from telecom to energy to smart urbanism.
The convergence is powering the future of multiple sectors and paving the way for a better and truly connected tomorrow.
With AI, 5G, and IoT gaining traction, the joint power of space data, geospatial solutions, and AI analytics, will open new vistas of opportunities and promise.
