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Middle East Tech Enthusiasts Prepare For Step Conference 2023
The highly-anticipated 11th edition of the popular tech festival takes place in Dubai Internet City between February 22nd-23rd, 2023.
Step Conference is a much-anticipated event in the calendar of every tech enthusiast and startup visionary in the Middle East. This year, the event is set to return to Dubai with a retro-futurism-themed lineup of events. From the DTC Hub and 1-on-1 investor meetings to major tech reveals, workshops, and entertainment, the expo is shaping up to be a highlight of this year’s conference circuit.
As well as offering the opportunity to mix with top entrepreneurs and gain insights from industry leaders, Step Conference will explore the latest trends across 6 content tracks:
- Learn from global influencers in the tech and startup scene with the Start Track, covering success stories, growth, fundraising, and more.
- Dive into the latest financial technology trends with the Fintech Track, including blockchain, digital currencies, and cashless payments.
- Explore the future of transport, smart cities, and AI with the Future Track, featuring industry leaders in autonomous tech.
- Uncover the latest trends in digital marketing, advertising tech, and more with the Digital Track.
- Discover the latest lifestyle and well-being tech with the Wellness Track.
- Join the Earth Track to explore Greentech, sustainability, and environmental impact.
As well as a packed schedule of events, Step 2023 hosts a packed lineup of industry leaders and innovators. This year’s roster of speakers includes representatives from Morning Brew, Pattern, Velocity Global, and Hotjar.
If you’re a budding startup entrepreneur or simply want to hear about the latest from the world of technology, don’t miss out on Step Conference 2023. Tickets are still available through the official website, where entering code DSC-FZM3 will help you out with a special Early Bird price!
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Google Releases Veo 2 AI Video Tool To MENA Users
The state-of-the-art video generation model is now available in Gemini, offering realistic AI-generated videos with better physics, motion, and detail.
Starting today, users of Gemini Advanced in the MENA region — and globally — can tap into Veo 2, Google’s next-generation video model.
Originally unveiled in 2024, Veo 2 has now been fully integrated into Gemini, supporting multiple languages including Arabic and English. The rollout now brings Google’s most advanced video AI directly into the hands of everyday users.
Veo 2 builds on the foundations of its predecessor with a more sophisticated understanding of the physical world. It’s designed to produce high-fidelity video content with cinematic detail, realistic motion, and greater visual consistency across a wide range of subjects and styles. Whether recreating natural landscapes, human interactions, or stylized environments, the model is capable of interpreting and translating written prompts into eight-second 720p videos that feel almost handcrafted.
Users can generate content directly through the Gemini platform — either via the web or mobile apps. The experience is pretty straightforward: users enter a text-based prompt, and Veo 2 returns a video in 16:9 landscape format, delivered as an MP4 file. These aren’t just generic clips — they can reflect creative, abstract, or highly specific scenarios, making the tool especially useful for content creators, marketers, or anyone experimenting with visual storytelling.
Also Read: Getting Started With Google Gemini: A Beginner’s Guide
To ensure transparency, each video is embedded with SynthID — a digital watermark developed by Google’s DeepMind. The watermark is invisible to the human eye but persists across editing, compression, and sharing. It identifies the video as AI-generated, addressing concerns around misinformation and media authenticity.
While Veo 2 is still in its early phases of public rollout, the technology is part of a broader push by Google to democratize advanced AI tools. With text-to-image, code generation, and now video creation integrated into Gemini, Google is positioning the platform as a full-spectrum creative assistant.
Access to Veo 2 starts today and will continue expanding in the coming weeks. Interested users can try it out at gemini.google.com or through the Gemini app on Android and iOS.
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