In a landmark agreement poised to significantly elevate India’s standing on the global innovation stage, HT Labs, the dedicated product and innovation arm of HT Media, has formally inked a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Doers Company, a prominent European innovation powerhouse renowned for orchestrating flagship events like Reflect Festival and the upcoming Doers Summit. This pivotal collaboration, formalized at a high-profile gathering within Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) under the esteemed Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ), is set to catalyze a groundbreaking tri-national innovation corridor linking the vibrant tech ecosystems of India, Cyprus, and the United Arab Emirates.
The signing ceremony in Dubai was graced by top-tier stakeholders, including key government dignitaries, influential investors, and leading technology figures from all three nations, underscoring the strategic importance and high-level support for this initiative. As detailed in an official press release from HT Media, this partnership arrives at a critical juncture of renewed diplomatic and economic engagement, following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s impactful visit to Cyprus and a subsequent return diplomatic mission to Dubai led by the Cypriot Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation & Digital Policy.
This innovative collaboration is designed to empower HT Labs to scale its operations globally by seamlessly integrating into The Doers Company’s extensive and well-established innovation network across Europe. Under the terms of the MoU, Cyprus is strategically positioned as a crucial gateway for Indian innovations into the European market, while Dubai Silicon Oasis will serve as an ideal launchpad for real-world testing and deployment, particularly in cutting-edge domains such as media-tech, advanced digital infrastructure, and smart city development. With HT Labs’ flagship product, OTTplay—India’s pioneering AI-powered OTT aggregator and recommendation engine—leading the charge, the partnership is primed to deliver scalable, AI-driven innovations with profound international relevance and impact.
Demetris Skourides, Chief Scientist of Research, Innovation & Technology, Republic of Cyprus, warmly welcomed this transformative collaboration, stating, “I would like to thank Mr. Avinash [Mudaliar] 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.”
Echoing this enthusiastic sentiment, Badr Buhannad, Deputy Director General, Dubai Silicon Oasis, commented, “The Doers Summit and this new MoU perfectly align with Dubai’s Economic Agenda D33 and our broader goal of being a global innovation and digital economy hub. This partnership reinforces our mission to attract forward-looking ventures and connect European and Middle Eastern innovators, accelerating cross-border collaboration in support of the UAE’s vision for digital economy growth and global competitiveness.”
Speaking at the momentous signing, Avinash Mudaliar, Co-Founder and CEO of HT Labs, articulated the strategic vision behind the initiative: “At HT Labs, this isn’t just an expansion—it’s a strategic leap into the future. Dubai Silicon Oasis offers the ideal launchpad to take India’s most disruptive, AI-driven innovations to the world. 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.” He further emphasized the strong collaborative spirit, adding, “What truly elevates this journey is the camaraderie we’ve built—especially with visionaries like Demetris Skourides, whose insights and collaboration have made him not just a strategic ally, but a trusted friend in our cross-border mission.”
Dusan Duffek, Co-Founder of The Doers Company, shared his expansive vision for the partnership, highlighting India’s burgeoning tech landscape: “With India’s young, tech-savvy population and growing global relevance, startups like OTTplay offer some of the world’s most exciting opportunities. It’s time to build bridges, not borders, and connect this energy with global capital and strategic partners.”
Adding to this, Stylianos Lambrou, Co-Founder and CEO of The Doers Company, underscored the strategic positioning of their organization: “Our strong presence in Cyprus, Greece, and now Dubai positions us perfectly to open the gateway for Indian startups into Europe, while also enabling European tech ventures to find a route into India.”
The MoU meticulously lays the groundwork for a long-term, multi-regional innovation platform dedicated to fostering comprehensive co-development, facilitating deal flow for promising ventures, promoting seamless talent mobility across borders, and attracting cross-border capital infusion. The overarching objective is unequivocally clear: to co-create globally scalable, AI-powered platforms and unlock an unprecedented wave of internationalization for pioneering Indian technology ventures, driving mutual prosperity and innovation.
OTTplay, the flagship product of HT Labs, currently aggregates content from over 30 leading OTT platforms into a single, user-friendly subscription model. It is further enhanced by personalized AI-driven recommendations, revolutionizing content discovery. Beyond OTTplay, HT Labs is also the innovator behind Slurrp, a rapidly expanding recipe aggregator, and numerous other deep-tech, content-first initiatives designed to address evolving consumer needs.
The Doers Company, through its high-impact events such as the Reflect Festival in Cyprus and the eagerly anticipated Doers Summit in Dubai, consistently works towards building critical bridges between innovators, investors, and policymakers across Europe, the Middle East, and now significantly, India. This new MoU stands as a landmark step forward in their overarching mission to create an interconnected global innovation ecosystem.
Key Highlights:
- HT Labs and The Doers Company have signed an MoU to establish an India-Cyprus-UAE innovation corridor, aiming to boost cross-border tech collaboration and AI-driven growth.
- The partnership positions Cyprus as a gateway to Europe and Dubai Silicon Oasis as a testbed for HT Labs’ AI innovations, particularly its flagship OTTplay platform, for global scaling.
- The collaboration is supported by government dignitaries and aligns with strategic diplomatic engagements, aiming to foster co-development, talent mobility, and cross-border capital flow.
- Leaders from all entities emphasized the importance of building bridges for innovation between India’s vibrant tech ecosystem and the European and UAE markets, with a focus on scalable, AI-powered solutions.