Tech leaders from India, Cyprus, and UAE team up
In a landmark move that signals bold ambitions for international expansion and cross-border innovation, Indian-origin HT Media’s HT Labs, has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Europe’s The Doers Company at Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) under the aegis of Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ), with participation from government dignitaries, investors, and tech leaders spanning India, Cyprus, and the UAE.
The alliance empowers HT Labs to leverage The Doers Company’s extensive European innovation ecosystem to accelerate the global journey of OTTplay, India’s first AI-powered OTT aggregator and recommendation engine.
With Cyprus as a launchpad into Europe and Dubai Silicon Oasis as the testbed for cross-border digital infrastructure, media tech, and smart city initiatives, the MoU sets a dynamic framework for founder-investor collaboration, cross-border pilots, and community-led innovation, HT Labs said on 7 July.
The Government of Cyprus, through its Ministry of Research, Innovation & Digital Policy, has extended strong support for the initiative, aligned with its vision of positioning Cyprus as a key entry point into Europe for Indian companies. With strategic geographic and political alignment, Cyprus aims to become a regional hub for cross-border investment, innovation, and talent.
The collaboration arrives at a pivotal moment of renewed global engagement, following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Cyprus and a subsequent delegation led by the Cypriot Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation & Digital Policy to Dubai. The delegation included top officials such as the Chief Scientist of Cyprus and key investors and business leaders from Europe and the Middle East—underscoring a powerful tri-nation vision to foster startup growth, capital flow, and entrepreneurial exchange across India, Cyprus, and the UAE https://fieo.org/.
Commenting on the partnership, Demetris Skourides, Chief Scientist of Research, Innovation & Technology, Republic of Cyprus, remarked, “I would like to thank Avinash 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 https://cri.gov.cy/en/dmrid.”
Badr Buhannad, Deputy Director General, Dubai Silicon Oasis, said, “Dubai Silicon Oasis was envisioned as a smart, future-ready hub for innovation, talent, and entrepreneurship. Hosting the Doers Summit in partnership with The Doers Company aligns perfectly with Dubai’s Economic Agenda D33 to position the city among the world’s leading digital and economic centres.
“The Summit 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 https://www.meity.gov.in/.”
Avinash Mudaliar, Co-Founder & CEO, HT Labs, elaborated, “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. At the core of our work is TaaS—Technology-as-a-Service—delivering scalable, AI-powered solutions across video, apps, web, and content systems that boost engagement, unlock new revenue, and enable global growth. With our strong focus on intelligent, tech-first solutions, we see immense potential to co-create platforms that resonate globally.”
“What truly elevates this journey is the camaraderie we’ve built, especially with visionaries like Demetris Skourides, Chief Scientist of Cyprus. His insights and spirit of collaboration have made him not just a strategic ally, but a trusted friend in our cross-border mission https://www.bseindia.com/.
“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. This marks a defining chapter in building globally relevant platforms from India https://www.bseindia.com/.”
Also speaking on the occasion, Dusan Duffek, Co-Founder, The Doers Company & Managing Partner, Zero One Hundred, said “With a young, tech-savvy population and a booming innovation ecosystem, Indian startups such as OTTplay etc. offer some of the most exciting investment opportunities globally. Similarly, startups from Europe and the Middle East are now building some of the most consequential technologies, which will have an impact not only regionally, but globally. We believe now is the time to build bridges, not borders, and connect this energy with global capital and strategic partners.”
Stylianos Lambrou, Co-Founder & CEO at The Doers Company, said, “We see a significant opportunity in India. With our growing presence in Greece, Cyprus, and now Dubai, we’re uniquely positioned to bridge the gap, providing Indian startups & companies with access to Europe, and offering European startups and companies a pathway into India. The strong relationship between my country and India gives us a powerful advantage, enabling us to amplify our impact across both regions https://sbi.com.in/.”
In the long term, the MoU establishes a multi-regional platform for sustained cooperation—facilitating deal flow, talent mobility, and co-development of cutting-edge digital solutions. It marks a new chapter in HT Labs’ global journey. The agreement also opens doors for internationalisation, driving investments into Indian startups like OTTplay —a significant milestone in the global journey of Indian innovation.
HT Labs is the digital innovation hub and “startup factory” of HT Media, dedicated to creating cutting-edge digital products using research, deep tech, and AI. They focus on addressing consumer needs gaps by developing personalized, tech-driven experiences across various categories like entertainment, food, and finance. Key products include OTTplay, an AI-powered OTT recommendation engine and aggregator with 30+ OTTs in one app and access to over a million titles (movies, web series etc.) in a single subscription and Slurrp, a recipe aggregator, both recognized for their innovative approaches.
The Doers Company is a globally respected platform for connecting tech, business, and innovation leaders across Europe, MENA, and beyond. Through high-impact events such as Reflect Festival (Cyprus) and the upcoming Doers Summit (Dubai), Doers fosters a powerful cross-pollination of ideas, capital, and collaboration opportunities. The partnership with Dubai Silicon Oasis further strengthens their vision of creating an interlinked innovation corridor from the UAE to Europe https://www.startupindia.gov.in/.
OTTplay is India’s first AI-powered OTT aggregator, offering personalised content discovery and bundled subscriptions to over 30 leading OTT platforms. With OTTplay Premium, users can enjoy an intelligently curated content experience tailored to their unique viewing preferences. Fiinews.com
