What inspired you to establish Innotech, and how has the company evolved since its inception?
The inception of Innotech was driven by our deep-rooted passion for robotics and automation, which stemmed from our background in Mechatronics engineering. While working in the oil and gas sector, we realized that our true interest lay elsewhere—specifically in the untapped potential of concrete 3D printing. Recognising a significant opportunity in this emerging technology, we made the bold decision to pivot towards revolutionising the construction industry with automation. Our ambition was clear from the start: to position Innotech as the leading concrete 3D printing company in the MENA region.

Our journey began with a small-scale pilot project in our first year. However, our determination and innovative approach quickly propelled us forward. By our second year, we had successfully constructed 30 buildings using our proprietary 3D printing technology. This rapid growth not only validated our vision but also attracted the attention of investors. Today, we are proud to have secured investment from three prominent venture capital firms across three different countries, further solidifying our position in the market.

How does Innotech leverage 3D printing technology to address key challenges in the construction and manufacturing sectors?
One of the most pressing challenges in the construction industry is the high cost and lengthy timelines associated with traditional building methods. At Innotech, we have successfully mitigated these issues by leveraging automation through concrete 3D printing. This technology allows us to significantly reduce construction costs while expediting project completion times.

Beyond cost and speed, another major concern in modern construction is energy efficiency. We have actively worked on addressing this by innovating with sustainable construction materials that enhance thermal insulation and reduce energy consumption in buildings. By continuously refining our 3D printing processes and materials, we ensure that our solutions contribute to a more sustainable and cost-effective construction ecosystem.

What unique value does Innotech bring to Oman’s technology ecosystem, particularly in automation and sustainability?
Innotech’s core mission aligns closely with Oman’s Vision 2050, which aims to transform the nation into a net-zero carbon economy. One of the primary ways we contribute to this vision is by significantly reducing the carbon footprint of construction projects. Traditional construction methods rely heavily on cement, a major contributor to CO₂ emissions. Our 3D printing technology optimizes material usage, reducing the need for cement while maintaining structural integrity.

Moreover, by automating construction processes, we help minimize labour-intensive practices, which not only cuts costs but also enhances safety and efficiency. Our innovations in automation and sustainability position us as a key player in Oman’s technological transformation, making construction more eco-friendly and cost-effective.

Can you share examples of how Innotech’s solutions have successfully improved efficiency and reduced environmental damage in projects?
One of our most successful projects involved reducing construction costs for a client by 8% through the implementation of our 3D printing technology. This cost efficiency was achieved by minimizing material waste and streamlining labour requirements. Additionally, we have made substantial progress in reducing environmental impact. Our 3D printing solutions use 15% less Portland cement than conventional construction methods, which significantly reduces CO₂ emissions.

By integrating smart construction materials and sustainable design principles, we continue to set benchmarks in environmentally responsible building practices. Our commitment to sustainability ensures that every project we undertake benefits our clients and contributes positively to the environment.

In the field of educational technology, what role does Innotech play in preparing the next generation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution?
Beyond our contributions to construction, Innotech is deeply invested in the educational sector. We believe that the future of Oman’s technology ecosystem depends on equipping the next generation with essential skills in automation and robotics. To support this, we have established a mobile educational lab, funded by BP Oman and operated in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.

This mobile lab travels across the country, introducing students to the fundamentals of robotics and automation through hands-on training. To date, we have provided practical training to over 1,200 students, inspiring a new wave of young engineers and innovators. By nurturing this talent pipeline, we are helping Oman transition into a knowledge-based economy.

What challenges have you faced in scaling your business and adopting advanced technologies in the region?
Scaling a business that introduces disruptive technology comes with significant hurdles. One of our biggest challenges has been navigating regulatory frameworks to secure permits for our innovative construction techniques. Since 3D printing in construction is still a relatively new concept in the region, obtaining approvals has been a time-consuming process.

Additionally, securing venture capital (VC) funding for hardware startups in the GCC has been another challenge. Unlike software startups, which generally require lower initial investments, hardware-focused companies demand substantial capital for research, development, and scaling. Despite these obstacles, our persistence and strategic partnerships have enabled us to overcome these barriers and continue our growth trajectory.

How does Innotech balance innovation with maintaining cost-efficiency for its clients in competitive industries like construction and manufacturing?
We believe that the key to making advanced technology affordable lies in vertical integration. Unlike traditional companies that outsource various aspects of their production, we made the unconventional decision to manage everything in-house. This includes research and development, material production, and manufacturing. While it was a bold and resource-intensive move, it has allowed us to drive down costs and ensure full control over quality and innovation.

By keeping all operations under one roof, we can rapidly iterate on our technology, reduce dependency on external suppliers, and pass on cost savings directly to our clients. This approach has been instrumental in making our 3D printing solutions accessible to a broader market.

What are your long-term goals for Innotech, and how do you envision its role in shaping Oman’s technological and educational future?
At Innotech, our long-term vision is to fully automate construction processes, making homeownership more affordable and environmentally sustainable. We envision a future where advanced robotics and AI-driven automation will significantly reduce the cost of building homes, making sustainable housing accessible to everyone.

Moreover, we aim to expand our educational initiatives, ensuring that future generations are equipped with the skills required to lead Oman’s technological revolution. By fostering innovation in both construction and education, we hope to play a crucial role in shaping the nation’s future as a leader in automation, sustainability, and technological advancement.

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The round was co-led by Wa’ed Ventures, the $500 million innovation-focused venture capital fund backed by Saudi Aramco, and by BOLD Capital Partners, a U.S. disruption and transformation focused venture firm. Existing investor Khosla Ventures and new investor KB-Badgers, a South Korean firm investing from its sustainability-focused fund, were among a total of almost 20 investors in the round. New investors contributed more than half of the funds raised.

Funding is earmarked to accelerate development and scale production of new homes for the U.S. market, where new home demand continues to increase, as well as to establish manufacturing operations in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, two of the largest and fastest growing construction markets in the world. The addition of operations in the Gulf region aligns with Mighty Buildings’ strategy to transform housing construction globally, while addressing sustainability, climate-resilience, and the global housing shortage.

“The team at Mighty Buildings have reaffirmed our confidence in the incredible and diverse potential for innovation lying within the construction tech industry. Our investment in the company reflects our belief that innovative materials, as those used in Mighty Buildings’ proprietary 3D-printing, will be a major driver for scalability and sustainability of homebuilding in the Gulf Region,” said Fahad Alidi, Managing Director at Wa’ed Ventures.

Mighty Buildings is meeting a rapidly growing demand for sustainable, prefabricated housing, as evidenced by the delivery of over 50 units to date, an important milestone that reflects the company’s progress in developing scalable housing technology. By focusing on its mission, the company is making it easier, faster and more cost-effective to build homes, while pushing the construction industry towards lower carbon, climate resilient solutions.

“This recent funding underlines Mighty Buildings’ leadership in the modular homebuilding market. It will accelerate our growth by funding the international expansion to one of the most exciting homebuilding regions in the world. We are thrilled about the support from such esteemed investors for our mission: solving the housing and climate crises by transforming the way the world builds homes,” said Mighty Buildings’ CFO Rene Griemens

Following the opening of its innovative, industrial scale factory in Monterrey, Mexico, in 2022, the company continues to emphasize its strategy of transformative home building. Mighty Buildings’ patented factory-based 3D printing manufacturing process speeds construction by 3-4x, providing for the completion of a home’s envelope in less than one week with drastically less water and near zero waste. Using its patented Lumus material, which is 5x stronger than concrete, the technology of Mighty Buildings creates climate-resilient homes that resist severe weather, hurricanes and earthquakes.

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In six months, the team processed 150,000 coded spare parts to define a 3D printing adoption matrix based on technical feasibility and economical attractiveness.

This was made possible thanks to SP3D data-driven funnel approach methodology, its unique machine-learning based software DigiPART, the availability of material coding information records and the commitment of a multidisciplinary PDO team.

PDO now has an agile decision-making tool to enable its 3D printing deployment roadmap, speeding up Additive Manufacturing (AM) deployment by an estimated two years, and helping the company to remain at the forefront of innovation in the Middle East.

“After having selected non-suitable parts, ourselves, we contracted SP3D for their ability to enrich our partial dataset. This helped to select the right spare parts to focus on for PDO’s AM journey,” – Mohammed Yahyai – 3D Scoping workstream Lead, Lead Rotating Equipment Engineer.

“PDO now has access to an agile decision tool covering over 60,000 spare parts. Customized business cases filters enable PDO to select the most relevant parts to print and install or switch from physical to digital inventory.” Commented Paul Guillaumot, CEO of Spare Parts 3D

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NYUAD Computer Science undergraduate students, Cole Beasley and Pedro Velasquez, won the Hack3D event that focused on anti-counterfeiting methods in 3D printing. Competitors were first tested in reverse engineering a 3D CAD model, and during the final round, teams were given a plastic female connector object to an unknown piece and an STL file which contained information for a 3D printer.

Beasley and Velasquez were able to identify critical geometrical points and create a piece which would match and connect with the initial object. Beasley commented, “This competition was a great experience. Through the extent of the challenge, we had to think and approach the presented problem with differing skill sets to complete one single task. Between the actual challenge presented to us as well as the interactions with the sponsors through the business fair and technical talks, Hack3d and CSAW as a whole was a valuable learning tool for anyone interested in the cybersecurity field.”

Velasquez added, “CSAW 19 was full of rewarding moments after every problem solved. We still have a lot to learn about cybersecurity and we are very excited for next year.”

To earn spots in the coveted final rounds, this year’s contestants bested 1,225 teams from 90 countries.

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Technology has had an undeniably profound effect on the way business in the Gulf region is conducted. Artificial intelligence, machine-learning, 3D-printing, big data, virtualisation, mobility and cloud – all have helped shape a bright new landscape.

These technologies have been around for many years, but as they have become more affordable, they have become even more pervasive. Businesses of all sizes, from all industries, at every point in the supply chain, are using such tools to reinvent operational models, products, services and delivery methods.

While internal efficiencies and cost-effectiveness have certainly been boons in the era of digital transformation, customer care has arguably been the greatest beneficiary. Enterprises are now able to delve deeper than ever before into what makes their customers tick, devising all-new ways of personalising experiences.

Perhaps the greatest challenge faced by smaller companies is the delivery of 100% uptime, as this goes hand in glove with transformative customer experiences. A survey conducted by industry analyst firm Techaisle, among IT and line-of-business decision makers, showed 87% of midmarket managers believed cloud solutions would help with growth. But researchers also discovered that a massive 94% of SMBs regard backup and disaster recovery to be of key relevance to their business.

The very nature of cloud allows small businesses to add value very quickly. It is easy, for example, for a hometown retailer to leverage the cloud’s cost-effectiveness and flexibility, to create apps for e-shopping, to complement their brick-and-mortar operations. Customers benefit from time saved travelling and hunting for parking spots.

With the right service, products and price, previous adopters of this kind of setup have seen sales increases of up to 400%. Digital transformation thus enables smaller, nimbler companies to rethink their go-to-market strategies and tweak cost and operational efficiencies to enhance market share, while larger enterprises can use the new framework to predict and tackle disruptive trends.

Growth vs Unexpected Interruptions
However, to make good on these growth promises, firms must consider the all-important elements of business continuity and security. Small and medium-scale enterprises are especially vulnerable to unexpected interruptions, data loss and security threats.

For them, a welcome side effect of cloud computing is the automation of backup and security from their provider. The ability to restore data in case of failure or accident is vital to a small business, whether it is a product pioneer or part of a hyper-competitive, pre-existing market.

Even before the time of cloud, almost every business used IT systems that were mission-critical. An airline’s ability to track flights; an insurance company’s ability to manage policy applications and claims; and the financial systems relied upon by accountants in all businesses – if any one of these points fails, operations grind to a halt. It is only prudent, therefore, to consider the operational and financial impacts of downtime and plan for a don’t-panic contingency.

For critical workloads, disaster recovery systems and regular backups act as a kind of insurance policy against the lost business opportunities and mega-dollar costs that can arise in their absence. Disaster Recovery and data backup packages can cost SMB owners as little as a few hundred dollars per month, and ensure they can get back online in minutes if an outage should occur.

The Cloud Economy: More with Less
The global decline in oil prices, along with currency fluctuations, and their impact on regional revenues, has led to a renewed focus across the GCC on optimising operational costs. If serious about competing, no business leader will consider cutting staff, because this will lead to a decline in service. Instead, the focus has been on doing more with less.

The cloud economy is made for this challenge. On-premises infrastructure, such as storage and servers is very expensive to install, configure, operate and maintain. SMBs can hand over all that equipment, and the daily personnel burden associated with it, to trusted cloud providers, which run them in scale-ready data centres. Business costs can drop by 20 to 30%, as clients benefit from providers’ economies of scale.

The economies lie in providers’ use of virtualisation technology. Expensive physical hardware is consolidated into banks of powerful servers running countless virtual machines. SMBs see a marked difference in their IT costs, providing the same systems to employees using less expensive hardware, with a reduction in operational overhead, and with security and business continuity baked in. At the same time, they enjoy enhanced agility and access to the innovative measures delivered by digital transformation.

In other words, they can do more with less.

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