MUMBAI: HT Labs, the innovation and product arm of HT Media, is going global. In a high-powered move blending startups, strategy, and smart cities, the company has signed a strategic MoU with The Doers Company, Europe’s leading innovation platform behind flagship events like Reflect Festival and the upcoming Doers Summit.

The deal, signed at Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) under the patronage of the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ), sets the stage for a three-nation innovation corridor spanning India, Cyprus, and the UAE—with OTTplay, India’s first AI-powered OTT aggregator, at its core.

What’s on the menu? Access to European innovation networks, cross-border pilots, founder-investor matchmaking, and a high-impact launchpad via Cyprus into Europe and Dubai for media-tech experiments in smart city infrastructure.

The timing is razor-sharp. It follows a wave of diplomatic activity, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Cyprus and a tech-heavy Cypriot delegation’s Dubai mission—featuring chief scientist of Cyprus, Demetris Skourides, who has become a key catalyst in this three-way partnership.

Commenting on the partnership, Skourides remarked,

“I would like to thank Mr. 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.”

Dubai Silicon Oasis deputy director general Badr Buhannad 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.”

HT Labs co-founder & CEO Avinash Mudaliar added, “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.

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.”

Also speaking on the occasion, The Doers Company & managing partner, zero one hundred, Dusan Duffek 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”.

The Doers Company co-founder & CEO Stylianos Lambrou added, “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.”

With Cyprus positioning itself as a European gateway for Indian tech and Dubai doubling down on its digital infrastructure bets, the deal is more than just a handshake—it’s a multi-regional runway for talent, capital, and innovation to flow freely.

Call it a soft-power play or a smart power shift—either way, HT Labs is now officially in the global game.

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