UK sends military chief to China for first visit in 10 years    General strike hits transport in Argentina    Israel releases Palestinian prisoner controversially arrested aged 13    At least 221 dead after Dominican Republic nightclub disaster, as search for survivors ends    Scarlett Johansson hitting Cannes both on-screen and behind the camera    Saudi Organ Center saves 8 lives through coordinated donor recoveries in 12 hours    AlUla joins IMD World Smart Cities Index 2025    Riyadh's Malham Airport designated for general aviation operations    Crown Prince receives calls from British PM and French President    Saudi, U.S. foreign ministers discuss strategic ties and regional developments in Washington    Al-Jadaan: Arab countries must measure the impact of increasing financial pressures    Saudi Arabia to resume direct flights to Syria soon    Flights and ferries suspended across Greece as unions call 24-hour general strike    Saudi Arabia's Industrial Production Index down 0.2% in February    Sabiri strike gives Al Taawoun narrow first-leg win over Sharjah in ACL Two semi-final    Douglas Gauthier appointed CEO of the Royal Arts Complex in Riyadh's King Salman Park    Nightclub collapse kills 79 in Dominican Republic's capital    Women make up 20% of e-sports players in Saudi Arabia    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Saudi U-17s qualify for 2025 FIFA World Cup after win over Thailand    Benzema rescues Al Ittihad with stoppage-time equalizer in thrilling Jeddah Derby    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Taking on Google in Egypt
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 17 - 05 - 2011

‘Technology is in my DNA, Code Optimizer is my name, research and innovation is my work.” That's how Haytham ElFadeel introduces himself on Facebook. And you can believe him. Before the future Egyptian entrepreneur was 10 years old, he had devoured stacks of computer magazines and had taught himself computer programming.
“I simply fell in love with these machines,” he said.
While studying economics at the Higher Institute of Management and Commerce in Damietta, he taught himself computer science at home. When he graduated, he got a job as a software engineer at a large Egyptian company and later at large multinational firm.
ElFadeel was so fast at finishing his work at the first company that he had plenty of time left to work on what he was really interested in — the Semantic Web, a “web of data” that describes things and relationships among them on the World Wide Web in a way that computers can understand and that enables getting more meaningful and accurate search results.
“I would borrow equipment from my office and work more on semantic searches at home,” ElFadeel said. “This was so far from what the company was doing that nobody minded.”
In 2008, he started working on a semantic search engine that collects data from different sources and gives answers to direct questions and queries. For example, such an engine can tie together different types of information — blogs, photos, audio interviews — from different sources on a movie star or historic event and present it in a user-friendly way.
Two years ago, when the work started bringing results, ElFadeel invited his brother Ashraf to join him. Ashraf has a background in software development and network infrastructure. They named their venture Kngine, meaning “knowledge engine,” and headquartered it in Giza, the home of the pyramids.
A popular US technology blog, TechCrunch, views Kngine as “a direct assault on Google.” But the ElFadeel brothers — while not shy about their ambitions — see themselves more in the context of Egypt and its history. Kngine is “a new Library of Alexandria,” they declared on the company's website. The Library of Alexandria was a vast collection considered by historians the largest and most significant library of the ancient world.
“If we succeed, our engine will be actually better and more useful than the Library of Alexandria because Kngine's users will get answers quickly and won't need to peek into many volumes or pore through numerous pages,” Haytham said.
Haytham said he and Ashraf like working on something that matters to them personally and to the future of humanity.
“We feel that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, we are willing to try as hard as we can, and nothing can stand in our way,” they write in their blog.
And try hard they did, working 12 hours a day with meager funding. The Nile valley is not Silicon Valley, at least not yet, and venture capital is scarce. It took them a year to secure adequate capital from a private investor. Recently, they won a cash prize in a business plan competition sponsored by the US State Department.
Haytham said he and Ashraf are part of a new generation of technology entrepreneurs that has emerged in Egypt in the past few years. They would like Kngine to become “a platform for innovation because it would inspire more people.” But whether it actually becomes one or not, “I would still love these machines,” Haytham said.
This article has been contributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, US Department of State


Clic here to read the story from its source.