Recently, for the second time, I was in the Dubai Airshow, together with delegates from almost 100 countries and more than 120,000 visitors, in one of the most important events in the aerospace industry.
I had the honor of being part of the Vista Investor Committee, contributing to the reflection and support of the organization, in defining and carrying out actions aimed at the continuous improvement of VISTA (The East-West Startup Hub), the Airshow’s startup showcase. So that more and more innovative companies can present themselves to investors, testing limits and the future of aviation, in its trends and latest technological innovations.
Airshow, since its founding in 1989, has focused on the conventional aerospace and defense industry. But since 2021, when Amazon Web Services joined the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center to hold a space startup competition at VISTA, space and startups have gradually moved into the spotlight, and are now considered very seriously. If in 2021 VISTA was a little “hidden” in a corner of the huge exhibition hall, and its size was even reduced, in this 2023 edition, having moved to the center of the pavilion with a prominent central stage and large posters, , it became a must! “Aerospace” startups from various geographies joined investors from all over the world for 4 days, to whom they presented their products, services and innovative ideas. Located in the Airshow, VISTA is already, and will increasingly be, a strong platform for startups and scaleups for entrepreneurs, investors, partners and aerospace customers.
In these days of the event, we attended discussion panels and inspiring challenges, we participated in mentoring clinics, and in my case also in almost two dozen of hundreds of meetings between investors and entrepreneurs. All this resulting in valuable networking, through direct contact between the industry and Business Angels and VCs, many of whom are investors specializing in the aerospace sector. There were competitions, where startups – Aerospace, Drones and UAVs, Robotics, Logistics, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Cyber Security, Defense, Travel and Tourism, Hospitality, Sustainability, Blockchain, Cargo, E-commerce, AI, AAM, Software and Space – they were able to connect with potential customers and partners, participate in exclusive networking events and present their solutions to technology leaders, investors and corporate entities in the aerospace ecosystem.
VISTA aims to promote collaboration between actors in the aerospace sector, with the hope that this will result in the creation of lasting partnerships. Space exploration and science are high on the agenda, and emphasis is placed on advancing the technologies that drive the space industry. As expected, special attention was given in the debates to the role of Artificial Intelligence and also to the decisive issue of cybersecurity and its challenges, on land and in space. Fortunately, startups, experts and investors today recognize the enormous importance of finding the best solutions in all these themes. Looking ahead, space initiatives are expected to take center stage in many of the world’s geographies, urging global technology companies to develop innovative and sustainable technologies.
I met dozens of startups, and some scaleups, from all over the world, including Beyond Vision, a company from my Portugal, supported by Nvidia and which produces drones for various purposes, from agriculture to image collection, equipped with 4G and 5G communications, multispectral cameras and Artificial Intelligence algorithms.
Not that I still had any doubts, but I (re)affirmed my belief in the importance of technologically innovative startups and their impact on the present and future of humanity, on earth and in space.
It was also pleasant to participate in the Airshow Gala Dinner at Atlantis The Palm, “served” with excellent music from Maroon 5, and it will be with great pleasure to me continue to contribute with my five cents, together with the excellent team of hosts, to the planning of VISTA, as part of the Dubai Airshow´25.
As I have been doing for many years, within the scope of my activity at Invicta Angels and EBAN, in this and other initiatives, in Portugal and internationally, I will do my best to continue to contribute the best I know to strengthening the early investment ecosystem stage in the North of Portugal and Europe.
Happy New Year of 2024!
Adapted from an article written by the author at LinktoLeaders.