Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) has signed individual partnerships with ANSR and Talent500 as part of its Dh2 billion programme to drive innovation in high-growth areas of the economy, it said on Wednesday.
Under the agreement, ADIO will provide the companies financial and non-financial incentives to support their growth in Abu Dhabi.
ANSR and Talent500 will set up regional headquarters and innovation centres in Abu Dhabi, and will help establish engineering and R&D centres for some of the world’s leading businesses and startups.
ANSR is expected to invest more than $100 million over the next five years, creating hundreds of jobs in emerging technologies, including AI/ML, data analytics, product engineering and cloud.
As competition for talent heats up globally and distributed teams become mainstream in a post-pandemic world, leading enterprises are seeking out solutions to build and manage a global workforce, while setting up hubs in talent-rich locations.
Eng. Abdulla Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, Acting Director General of ADIO, said: “ANSR and Talent500 are aligned with Abu Dhabi’s vision of using innovation to address global challenges, and we are excited to support their growth through the Innovation Programme, which will enable us to drive meaningful progress in the global talent market.”
ADIO’s Innovation Programme will support ANSR, whose investors include Evolvence, Accel Partners and Sistema, in setting up its EMEA headquarters while simultaneously establishing “The Global Technology Hub”, a leading destination for leading enterprises to attract top global talent and set up technology teams across AI, mobile, product and design.
Talent500 will set up its regional HQ and Global Product Development and Innovation Centre in Abu Dhabi. It will also expand its talent network to include professionals based in the UAE and around the GCC.
Additionally, ANSR and Talent500 will partner with local academic institutions, such as the Mohammed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, and established international universities to develop training, upskilling and internship programs in AI/ML, data and product engineering.
