Abu Dhabi AI firm AppliedAI secures Mubadala backing to scale Opus platform

Abu Dhabi: AppliedAI, the Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence startup focused on regulated industries, has secured new investment from Mubadala Investment Company and Arbor Ventures to accelerate global expansion of its enterprise platform, Opus.

The Pre-Series B round was led by Mubadala’s MENA Venture Capital Fund alongside Arbor Ventures, positioning AppliedAI to scale deployments of Opus across healthcare, insurance, banking, energy and government operations worldwide. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The funding marks a step-change for AppliedAI, which has moved beyond pilot-stage experimentation to full production deployments in markets including the US, Europe and the Middle East. The company is betting that the next phase of AI adoption will be driven by operational reliability rather than model novelty.

AppliedAI launched Opus in 2025 to address a gap many large organisations face when applying AI to mission-critical workflows. Regulated sectors require auditability, governance and human oversight alongside automation, features often missing from early AI tools.

Purpose-built for these environments, Opus combines agentic AI with security controls and supervisory layers, allowing enterprises to automate complex, document-heavy processes without compromising compliance. Most Opus pilots have already transitioned into live production settings, where accuracy and resilience are essential.

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, AppliedAI employs more than 350 people and has emerged as one of the UAE’s more established exporters of enterprise AI technology.

Backing from Mubadala

The investment reflects a broader push by Abu Dhabi to support private-sector technology platforms that can scale internationally while complementing national AI initiatives.

“This partnership reflects a shared belief that the future of enterprise AI will be defined by trust, scale, and operational substance,” said Arya Bolurfrushan, founder and chief executive of AppliedAI. “With the support of Mubadala and Arbor Ventures, we will accelerate the global expansion of Opus while continuing to build an enduring global AI company from Abu Dhabi.”

Mubadala said AppliedAI aligns with its strategy of backing regional companies with global ambitions, particularly in sectors where responsible AI deployment is critical.

“At Mubadala, we are committed to empowering local champions with the ambition and capability to lead on the international stage,” said Ali Eid AlMheiri, executive director for diversified assets at Mubadala’s UAE Investments Platform. He said AppliedAI’s platform demonstrates how secure and industry-focused AI can unlock value across regulated sectors.

Scaling across regulated industries

Investor interest has followed a shift in enterprise demand. Many organisations now face institutional barriers to AI adoption rather than technical ones, including regulatory scrutiny, data security requirements and the need for clear accountability.

AppliedAI has positioned Opus to operate within these constraints, focusing on workflows where governance and productivity gains must coexist. The company says this approach has helped win traction with large enterprises and government-linked entities.

“AppliedAI represents the convergence of enterprise AI adoption, regulatory complexity, and the need for operational transformation,” said Khaled Lababidi, partner at Arbor Ventures. He pointed to the company’s ability to deploy at scale with large global clients as evidence of commercial maturity.