Fikra Ventures Partners with Hub71 to Build AI Startups in Abu Dhabi

Fikra Ventures joins Hub71 as a venture studio, creating AI-native startups in-house and forming joint ventures with global AI companies, accelerating commercialisation and scaling from Abu Dhabi to global markets.

As AI adoption accelerates globally, long-term success is increasingly shaped by factors beyond model performance. Distribution, access to regulated markets, and speed to commercialisation are also becoming decisive advantages. This partnership brings together Hub71’s founder-focused ecosystem with Fikra Ventures’ venture studio platform to support the creation and scaling of AI companies designed to succeed in real markets, starting in Abu Dhabi and expanding globally.

As a founding member of the Initiate Programme, Fikra Ventures will support the development of an AI startup cluster through two clearly defined pathways:

·        Venture Creation: Build AI-native companies in-house and in partnership with founders around validated market demand, with enterprise-ready products and commercialisation embedded from day one.

·        Global Scale-in: Support selected global AI companies entering the region by forming joint ventures to pursue the regional market. Fikra builds the joint-venture operating platform and execution required to accelerate customer acquisition and scale.

“We firmly believe in Abu Dhabi’s vision to be not only the capital of capital, but the capital of AI. We want to do our part to make that vision a reality. We will complement the significant investments Abu Dhabi is making in AI infrastructure by rapidly enabling world-class AI companies to become leaders in Abu Dhabi’s tech ecosystem and scale globally from here,” said Wael Aburida, CEO & Managing Partner of Fikra Ventures. “Fikra’s ambition is to build the world’s leading AI-native venture studio, aligned with Abu Dhabi’s innovation leadership and powered by Hub71 within ADGM.”

“Hub71 is focused on helping high-potential technology companies scale globally from Abu Dhabi by strengthening the commercial pathways that turn innovation into durable businesses,” said Divya Nair, Startup Journey Lead, Hub71. “This partnership with Fikra  Ventures strengthens the ecosystem’s venture-building and market-entry capabilities, supporting new venture creation and enabling global companies to expand into the region through Abu Dhabi with targeted go-to-market support.”

Launched in 2025, Hub71’s Initiate Programme is designed to support founders at the ideation and pre-seed stage by helping them transform ideas into minimum viable products and establish product-market fit. Through this partnership, Fikra Ventures enhances the programme with hands-on venture-building expertise, supporting the development of AI-native companies designed to scale globally from Abu Dhabi.