WISeKey initiative could be catalyst for regional cross-border tech hub

A collaborative initiative to create a technological knowledge centre straddling both sides of the border could act as a catalyst to establish this region as a hub for what the World Economic Forum has termed the 4th Industrial Revolution.

The initiative, launched last week, seeks to bring together companies working in different areas of cutting-edge technology ranging from artificial intelligence to quantum computing, Internet of Things and cybersecurity to grow and develop faster by pooling knowledge and resources.

To the layman, the concept is hard to fathom and littered with complex jargon and buzzwords.

But to Carlos Moreira, the Geneva-based chief executive of WISeKey, the attraction of creating a 4th Industrial Revolution Centre of Excellence – as the initiative is somewhat cumbersomely described – with one foot in La Linea and another in Gibraltar, is clear and straightforward.

WISeKey’s idea is to bring together companies operating in different areas of the 4th Industrial Revolution and the technology that goes with it, to share their knowledge and resources with other members of the centre.

"Think of it as an aircraft carrier where people land, refuel their planes, and fly again," he said.

"Every company doesn't have to build a huge infrastructure in order to accelerate their research."

"In the same way you plug into the grid for electricity, you plug into the Centre of Excellence and you get everything you need.”

The nature and speed of the changes unfolding in the technological world mean that even competitors will be able to work together as "friendly enemies".

"Everybody needs to cooperate these days," Mr Moreira said.

"Nobody can do it alone anymore. This is very complex.”

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

The choice of location is no accident.

For one, Mr Moreira was born in La Linea – his father used to work at the Rock Hotel in Gibraltar – and knows the area well.

But there are other reasons too.

"It's unique in the world," he told the Chronicle.

"You have Gibraltar with [its expertise in] blockchain, artificial intelligence, e-gaming. There's a huge intellectual capital in Gibraltar that could be easily converge into this 4th Industrial Revolution hub."

"And then you have La Linea in Spain, which has availability space which could be used to integrate this kind of dual centre."

"The idea is to start virtually, but as soon as you are start building processes and developing technologies, you will start to have multinationals who would like to join."

Mr Moreira said this was a private sector initiative led by WISeKey, which has signed two MoUs, one with Gibraltar, the other with La Linea.

This is not a “bricks and mortar”, at least in its early stages, but rather a knowledge-based enterprise that taps into new ways of working in the cloud. In time though, the initiative and its pooled resources will act as a magnet for companies operating in these sectors.

Neither is it a new concept. Similar 4th Industrial Revolution Centres of Excellence already exist in many other places including Switzerland, Silicon Valley, India and Singapore, some of them with WISeKey’s involvement.

In setting the centre up in this region, WiseKey will draw on its Swiss experience, which shares many similar aspects to what is envisaged here.

"There's a lot of learning from the Swiss model and how we manage to create synergies with Europe that can be used now in Gibraltar," Mr Moreira said.

"We are basically a Swiss company initiating a collaborative joint centre which Gibraltar companies may wish, or not, to be part of."

Ironically perhaps, the centre will benefit from having one foot on either side of the border, both inside and outside the EU.

"The idea of mixing both creates a unique offering...and will blend the best capabilities in Gibraltar [which is a pioneer in sectors such as gaming, blockchain and non-fungible tokens] with the best capabilities in Europe, because La Linea is the plug toward European innovation," he said.

"That will create an offering that is unique in the world."

The development of the Centre of Excellence is not contingent on the successful outcome of talks for a UK/EU treaty, and Mr Moreira stressed it was a “depoliticised” initiative.

But with the governments of the UK, Spain and Gibraltar all publicly committed to agreeing a framework that will create what they describe as “an area of shared prosperity”, the opportunities that may open up through technological collaboration that transcends borders will be lost on no one.

“Combining a distressed area like La Linea with an economic powerhouse like Gibraltar that needs expansion and needs interactions with Europe is obviously a very powerful model that will fly, especially now with the 4th Industrial Revolution requirements where you can do a lot of things with less space than before,” he said.

Mr Moreira’s enthusiasm for the project and its possibilities is contagious.

And he makes no effort to hide that his background means he brings a different type of engagement too.

"When I come into Madrid and I talk to authorities, I say 'shame on you to have a part of Spain in that situation, you should have solved the problem already'," he said, reflecting on how La Linea has been largely ignored by successive Spanish governments.

"You cannot punish La Linea because of geopolitical issues, that doesn't make any sense."

"You have to protect 70,000 people who have a 40% unemployment rate and are being portrayed by Netflix like the Cali of Europe [a reference to a Netflix documentary about drug smuggling in La Linea]."

"That's pretty sad and it's bad for everybody and it's bad for Spain, because its reputation is engaged with this."

"Our approach is pragmatic. Let's give an opportunity to these people."

4th INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The 4th Industrial Revolution is a concept launched in launched in 2016 in Davos by the World Economic Forum, of which WiseKey is a member.

Mr Moreira founded Geneva-based WISeKey in 1999 after working for the United Nations as a cybersecurity and technology expert for many years.

The company is listed on the Swiss stock exchange and on the NASDAQ tech exchange in New York.

WISeKey has for years been investing in companies active in the 4th Industrial Revolution, in areas such as microchips, artificial intelligence, blockchain and quantum computing.

It is about the development of disruptive technology that impacts all areas of modern life and is transforming the way we live.

It underpins too the "metaverse", a new tech buzzword that denotes a communal cyberspace where virtual and augmented reality are applied to the physical space in order to interconnect people, objects ranging from speakers to cars and satellites, and services of all types.

"We are moving away from 'bricks and mortar' types of projects...to develop technologies that are creating a huge amount of new value, but on the metaverse, virtually," Mr Moreira said.

"The intersection of this knowledge, once you combine them, they create more value."

"When you combine blockchain, data and artificial intelligence, for instance, you create digital disruption, you create automation."

"And this is the new generation of companies."

Now, the object is to promote such collaboration in the geographically strategic Strait of Gibraltar region, specifically in La Linea and Gibraltar.

In the 4th Industrial Revolution, "...you are basically disrupting the model by bringing technologies that have the disruptive capability power," he said.

"The first was the industrial revolution, moving from the agricultural to engines, then into machinery, then to the internet and now the conversions of technology are creating an amazing parallax shift."

"WISeKey is one of the companies that encapsulates this 4th Industrial Revolution."

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"From the satellite, you send an encrypted key and you create a non-fungible token to something very big that will be announced by the end of the year."