New Gov’t Investment Scheme to Promote Emerging Technologies

The Iranian government has introduced a new investment scheme to help startups working on emerging technologies, which will be spearheaded by the Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology.
According to the vice presidential office’s website Isti.ir, the investment scheme will focus on tech teams specializing in artificial intelligence, blockchain, augmented reality, virtual reality, internet of things and smart cities, which are considered the world’s top trending technologies.
Mohammad Mohammadi, an official with the vice presidential office, said the program is to be implemented in five fields, including bootcamps, accelerating and academia-born ideas.
Mohammadi said the office will cover 50% of the costs of bootcamps while the private sector provides the rest.
Academic dissertations on targeted tech fields can apply for grants worth 100-500 million rials ($430-2,170).