Future of Dubai

18 pagesPDF

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FF UU TT UU RR EE OO FF DD UU BB AA II TheThe worldworld comescomes toto DubaiDubai firstfirst toto experienceexperience thethe future.future.

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The opportunity FF UU TT UU RR EE OO FF Future Of will build and back the companies using AI to break the bottlenecks in how DD UU BB AA II entertainment is made, promoted, discovered and paid for. First, we blow up the music. We follow the music to make it global. Our launch starts with four concrete moves: 1. Start with Ticket Fairy: 2. Generate first-year $5m for a 7.5–10% equity revenue through the stake. The only event Future of Entertainment company connected to a village. Bring ten of the digital bank. Currently the most cutting-edge Mercury Bank of live Western entertainment events, and soon to be the tech companies to Dubai Salesforce. Use its as rent-paying tenants— banking, financing, AI companies like operations and new SoundCloud, Midjourney, Universal Hospitality Suno and Patreon. Ten DubaiDubai --contract to build a San top tier tech companies Francisco–London–Dubai pay rent. thethe entertainmententertainment capitalcapital touring and events circuit. ofof thethe world.world.

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ROBBIEROBBIE NATASHANATASHA CRAIGCRAIG DAVIDDAVID IMOGENIMOGEN SUGABABESSUGABABES ALLALL SAINTSSAINTS WILLIAMSWILLIAMS BEDINGFIELDBEDINGFIELD HEAPHEAP TheThe opportunityopportunity ·· continuedcontinued DubaiDubai -- thethe entertainmententertainment capitalcapital ofof thethe world.world. 3. Bring the biggest names in our network to Dubai and 4. Build the next generation of entertainment companies launch the Future of Records studio. Record and launch Robbie through the accelerator. Advised by HF0, the world’s largest AI Williams’ new garage album, and finish Daniel’s Future of accelerator. A three-month residential programme for ten Records albums with Natasha Bedingfield, Craig David, Imogen companies per cohort, backed by investment, experienced Heap, Sugababes, All Saints and many of the top artists of the operators, shared AI infrastructure and access to the industry we last 30 years. The next Future of Records album could bring are building around them. We help founders raise their next together Fred again.., John Legend, Shaggy, Sean Paul, Estelle round with Khosla Ventures, a16z and investors in HF0’s and PinkPantheress. Make Dubai the backdrop to the recording network. sessions, music videos and launch campaigns—showcasing the UAE to the world and bringing fans here for concerts, festivals and We’re raising $5m for Ticket Fairy and a separate $5m for holidays. Give our companies real music, real projects and Future Of. A further $20m will take Future Of’s capital plan to customers to work with. $25m.

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F U T U R E O F D U B A I Ticket Fairy Ticket Fairy: “The Ticketmaster Killer” Currently the Mercury Bank of live events, and soon to be the Salesforce. F SAN FRANCISCO LONDON DUBAI UTU R The only event company connected to a digital EOF D bank. Its banking partnership brings accounts, U We will use that relationship and our artist network to bring B payments and credit cards together with event AI· Universal/UMG artists into a touring and festival circuit financing and AI operations. The linking San Francisco, London and Dubai. We will bring the world More than $300m in ticket sales processed. Access talent, build the events and connect promoters with financing comes to to more than $100m in third-party credit. That —giving us a say in touring and events. Dubai financing pays for talent, venues and production We’re raising $5m for a 7.5–10% equity stake in Ticket Fairy. first before tickets sell. It helps win multi-year platform to We will seek Dubai-government backing to establish it as the contracts. Ticket Fairy’s AI workforce handles contracts, main events infrastructure for MENA. experience vendors, crews, customer support and event the operations. The ambition is a massive expansion of concerts, festivals and future. touring across the region—showcasing Dubai to the world and Ticket Fairy has now secured the Universal bringing visitors to the UAE, with Ticket Fairy financing the Hospitality contract to license and white-label its growth and running the infrastructure behind it. platform. Figures and the “only” claim are company-reported. The Universal contract win is reported by Daniel. 4

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The Future Of Entertainment Village will bring together companies like SoundCloud, Midjourney, Suno and Patreon, giving them a base from which to build their business in the Middle East, and creating the cultural base for our accelerator. We will bring major artists, music projects, events and founders into the same community. The companies get exclusive access and proximity to major artists, founders and the creative work happening in the village. Dubai gains a concentration of international entertainment talent and technology. Future Of will lease the property and rent space to the companies. We will seek 12–18 months of rent-free use from a property owner who wants to bring that community to their development. FounderFounder HouseHouse FutureFuture OfOf EntertainmentEntertainment VillageVillage TheThe frontierfrontier entertainmententertainment techtech companiescompanies inin oneone building.building. TenTen toptop tiertier techtech companiescompanies paypay rent.rent. First-yearFirst-year revenuerevenue forfor FutureFuture Of.Of.

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ConceptConcept imageryimagery Record and launch Robbie Williams’ new garage album, and finish Daniel’s Future of Records albums with Natasha Bedingfield, Craig David, Imogen Heap, Sugababes, All Saints and many of the top artists of the last 30 years. We already have around 50 songs from writing camps in London and Los Angeles, with many of the originators and most current creators of drum and bass and garage. We finish the whole album in a week, in studios peppered around Dubai, livestreaming the whole process and whipping social media into a frenzy for release. The songs that get the most attention come out first. Every subsequent single becomes a race, with everyone competing to get their song the most attention—and released next. CreateCreate FutureFuture ofof Records:Records: Star-studdedStar-studded hithit factoryfactory fromfrom DubaiDubai toto thethe worldworld

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Create · continued Future of Records: Star-studded hit factory from Dubai to the world The next Future of Records album We will make Dubai the place to push could bring together Fred again.., boundaries, create the newest music John Legend, Shaggy, Sean Paul, in the world and launch it globally— FRED AGAIN.. JOHN LEGEND Estelle and PinkPantheress. bringing audiences here for concerts, festivals and holidays. Dubai wants the world’s attention. We will create things here that Our companies will work on these cannot be found anywhere else in releases: testing which songs connect, the world: Dubai exclusives. building audiences, promoting the music, handling distribution and We will bring the most exciting artists, licensing, and turning listeners into music and ideas to Dubai, with ticket buyers and paying fans. Dubai’s name and branding running through the films, livestreams and We propose a $300,000 launch launches. We will film from investment in Future of Records. preparation onwards and shape the SHAGGY SEAN PAUL campaign around Dubai’s tourism and government priorities, showcasing the city on its own terms. London will watch its up-and- coming artists blow up in Dubai. If London is too unadventurous to take the bet, come here. The money is here, and people are willing to back brave work. ESTELLE PINKPANTHERESS

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BuildBuild TheThe Accelerator:Accelerator: 1010 killerkiller startups,startups, 33 monthsmonths toto demodemo dayday AdvisedAdvised byby HF0,HF0, thethe world'sworld's largestlargest AIAI accelerator.accelerator. HF0HF0 alumnusalumnus OpenRouterOpenRouter isis joiningjoining StripeStripe inin aa reportedreported $7.5$7.5 billionbillion acquisition.acquisition. F U T U R E O F D U B A I Ten companies per cohort, with Founders commit full-time for three We plan two cohorts after setup in year founders living and building together months. Solo founders or teams of two, one, then three a year, as part of Future for three months in Dubai. We invest in with at least one technical founder. The Of's $25m capital plan. A filmed founders using AI to break the bottlenecks job is to build, win users and establish a competition could take the founders' in how entertainment is made, promoted, route to revenue, with working demos stories to a global audience. discovered and paid for. every week. We will build entertainment companies We give them capital, experienced We prepare founders for demo day and around the artists, audiences and events operators, shared AI infrastructure and help them raise their next round with we bring to Dubai. access to major artists, live events and Khosla Ventures, a16z and investors in music releases. Ticket Fairy, the village HF0's network. and Future of Records will give them real projects to work on and potential customers to build for.

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People pay to make music for themselves, their friends and their communities. They can also pay to create with existing songs and other material under agreed licences, with royalties flowing back to rights holders. AI makes the long tail immensely valuable. Currently, a song licence worth $30 costs $30 to process. Automating licensing, administration and payments turns millions of those small transactions into an extremely lucrative business at scale. Converting viral hits into streaming revenue creates lottery- winner stories. Those stories inspire more people to make music, fuelling a virtuous cycle: more paying creators, more music finding audiences, more licensed uses and more revenue to reinvest. The virtuous cycle more paying music finds more licensed revenue to creators audiences uses reinvest viral hits → streaming revenue → lottery-winner stories → more people make music We will back companies earning from creation tools, audience development, distribution, licensing and payments, serving TheThe opportunityopportunity professional artists and everyday creators through the same connected system. FutureFuture ofof thethe musicmusic Future Of will own stakes in the companies serving that expanding market.economyeconomy -- paypay toto createcreate MusicMusic isis becomingbecoming somethingsomething millionsmillions paypay toto make,make, asas wellwell asas somethingsomething theythey paypay toto hear.hear. SunoSuno reportedreported moremore thanthan twotwo millionmillion paidpaid subscriberssubscribers inin earlyearly 20262026.

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The connected industry The Amazon play for music: an entire industry working as one We will invest in founders removing the bottlenecks across Every artist has a thousand songs on their hard drive, but the music business, connecting their companies through they are the least likely to know what a hit is! shared AI. ONE SONG ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ FIND THE STRONGEST BLOW IT UP RUN THE BUSINESS GROW THE ARTIST'S SINGLE CAREER Coordinate advertising, Connect distribution, Test the catalogue on social clippers, influencers, video publishing, licensing, AI Expand into touring, festivals, media and with micro- and PR. Use audience data to management, booking, merchandise, licensed reuse influencers. The goal: identify time the release and turn accounting and legal and new IP. the strongest first release attention into streams and a services. within 30 days. lasting fan community. Distribution Licensing Management Touring Festivals Merch & IP Each stage creates business for the The system will be open and plug-and- We will own stakes across the whole next. AI agents will connect the work and play. Outside companies can connect; industry, with each company's success data that artists and companies agree to each business keeps its own customers, creating business for the others. share, so a song's audience response chooses its suppliers and can sell informs its promotion, release and worldwide. commercial opportunities.

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The team International pop star: 6× platinum, five number ones, Grammy nominee and BRIT Award winner for Best Male. Daniel took two-step garage from London's underground to a global audience, with a number- one record made on his PC. He brings five years in technology startups and relationships across music, venture capital and banking, including HF0 and Mercury. DanielDaniel Bedingfield'sBedingfield's BlackBlack BookBook connectingconnecting thethe world’sworld’s leadingleading artists,artists, foundersfounders andand F U T U R E O F D U B A I investorsinvestors

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The team Team Our first fund brings together: Daniel Bedingfield: vision, creative direction, artist relationships and driving the team forward. Thea Myhrvold — Founder Evan Stites-Clayton — Jeff Hoffman — Chairman, and CEO, Getbee General Partner, HF0 Global Entrepreneurship Muhammad: finance, Network Microsoft board member — Co-founder and former CTO of capital strategy and requested by Daniel; exact Teespring, backed by a16z, Serial entrepreneur with fundraising. board and title unverified. Khosla Ventures and Y experience at Hugo Riley: branding, Combinator. Advising our Priceline.com/Booking.com Three-time founder with an culture and regional accelerator on building and uBid. Brings company- exit and more than 15 years presence. companies and preparing building experience and a building technology founders for demo day. global network connecting businesses. Brings AI,An experienced COO: to be founders, investors and fundraising and enterprise-recruited to run delivery, staffing governments. partnership experience acrossand budgets. the US and Middle East, including work with Microsoft. HF0 — The world's largest AI accelerator We will use those relationships to find Advising our three-month programme. HF0 founders early, put their products to work on alumnus OpenRouter is joining Stripe in a real releases and events, and introduce them reported $7.5 billion acquisition. to artists, customers and investors.

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BridgeBridge London contributescontributes musicmusic andand creativecreative UniversitiesUniversities andand founderfounder demodemo daysdaysDubai-London-SFDubai-London-SF London relationships.relationships. acrossacross thethe UAE,UAE, SaudiSaudi ArabiaArabia andand thethe triangletriangle SanSan FranciscoFrancisco contributescontributes technologytechnology andand widerwider GulfGulf cancan helphelp usus findfind talent.talent. startupstartup connections.connections. CompaniesCompanies willwill alsoalso bebe expectedexpected toto winwin WeWe wantwant toto helphelp makemake DubaiDubai aa DubaiDubai bringsbrings thethe programme,programme, studio,studio, eventsevents customerscustomers internationally.internationally. globalglobal entertainmententertainment capitalcapital byby andand residentresident communitycommunity intointo oneone place,place, withwith bringingbringing artists,artists, founders,founders, GovernmentGovernment support,support, sponsorssponsors andand accessaccess toto regionalregional opportunities.opportunities. technologytechnology andand commercialcommercial propertyproperty partnerspartners wouldwould strengthenstrengthen thethe activityactivity together.together. TheThe offeroffer toto foundersfounders isis practical:practical: aa placeplace toto plan.plan. WeWe willwill pursuepursue themthem asas specificspecific build,build, experiencedexperienced help,help, creativecreative projectsprojects toto agreements,agreements, withwith thethe businessbusiness costedcosted workwork onon andand introductionsintroductions toto prospectiveprospective aroundaround whatwhat isis actuallyactually secured.secured. customers.customers. RegionalRegional routesroutes includeinclude broadcasters,broadcasters, brands,brands, promoters,promoters, hotels,hotels, tourismtourism businessesbusinesses andand developersdevelopers commissioningcommissioning music,music, films,films, performancesperformances andand otherother content.content.

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Investment focus Bottleneck solutions A company must address a specific bottleneck in creating, Entertainment,Entertainment, todaytoday promoting, discovering or earning from entertainment. A generic AI anan artistartist withwith manymany songssongs ·· whichwhich oneone shouldshould lead?lead? example:example: musicmusic discoverydiscovery (illustrative)(illustrative) product needs a credible entertainment business before it fits our mandate. Selection combines the founders' A credible path to profit is the previous work, available numbers, minimum. It need not be immediate. Founders using AI Bottleneck practical diligence and Daniel's We will examine who pays, why they test the catalogue, Discovery judgement about the opportunity. return, what delivery costs and what find the strongest many songs, no clear way single — not generic AI to know which to promoteWe look for people who can build, remains after computing, support work full time during the programme and customer acquisition. and collaborate where there is a We also ask what survives when commercial reason to do so. similar software becomes cheap to Most investments should have the build: customer trust, useful rights, AA crediblecredible pathpath toto profitprofit potential to become very large permitted data, distribution, taste or promotepromote thethe singlesingle ·· growgrow thethe audienceaudience ·· whowho payspays businesses. A smaller profitable reliable execution. These advantages company can also belong if its service must be developed and Illustrative example only · not an implemented product or a result materially improves other businesses demonstrated. and Future Of can benefit from that contribution.

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Build Shared infrastructure, experienced operators Today · each company rebuilds the same thing Most startups spend 60–70% of their time solving the same problems. Shared agent infrastructure could handle recurring own own own own own product product product product product work and connect useful services across the portfolio. We could establish a dedicated company to maintain and 60–70% 60–70% 60–70% 60–70% 60–70% license that infrastructure if there is a sound business for it. same same same same same Block Gemini was identified as a possible development problems problems problems problems problems partner; that relationship remains exploratory. Company A Company B Company C Company D Company E The programme combines a year-round operator with experienced visiting operators. Proposed · each company connects to one shared agent layer Founders would test products against real creative work, get regular commercial feedback and prepare for their next own own own own own investment round. Evan was identified as an adviser on the product product product product product programme, drawing on HF0's accelerator model. Any formal Company A Company B Company C Company D Company E involvement or access to outside investors remains to be agreed. We will judge the support by working products, paying Shared agent infrastructure customers, retention and viable delivery costs. Integrations recurring work handled once · useful services connected across the portfolio matter when they improve those results. Proposed connection model. The 60–70% figure above is the supplied estimate; no time or effort saving is quantified or claimed here.

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Capital We are seeking two separate $5m investments, followed by a further $20m for Future Of. Ticket Fairy · standalone Future Of · $25m total · includes the initial $5m $5m$5m$5m $5m$5m$5m $20m$20m TicketTicketTicket FairyFairyFairy FutureFutureFuture OfOfOf ··· initialinitialinitial FutureFuture OfOf ·· remainingremaining follow-onfollow-on ·· oneone furtherfurther raiseraise The initial capital plan has two A subsequent $20m for Future Of would We have not settled allocations, destinations: bring its capital plan to $25m and investment sizes, ownership terms, support the wider investment management fees, carry or founder $5m into Ticket Fairy: the proposed programme. Ticket Fairy's $5m remains remuneration. The budget and structure equity transaction and regional separate from that total. must show what each stage can deliver expansion opportunity. with the capital actually raised. Future Of's budget must provide for $5m into Future Of: the first stage of company investments, follow-on reserves, establishing the operating team, village staff, premises, programme delivery, and studio, making initial investments shared infrastructure, legal and and preparing the accelerator. administrative costs, and the PR and content work needed from the start. The proposed $300,000 Future of Records investment sits within that plan.

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FF UU TT UU RR EE OO FF DD UU BB AA II TheThe worldworld comescomes toto DubaiDubai firstfirst toto experienceexperience thethe future.future.