UAE Strengthens Position as Global AI Hub with Major Financial Sector Investment
The UAE Ministry of Investment is scaling artificial intelligence capabilities across key sectors, with finance emerging as a transformative opportunity, as Abu Dhabi hosts the world's largest AI-first expo.
The United Arab Emirates is advancing its ambitions to build and scale artificial intelligence companies across strategic sectors, with financial services representing a particularly significant area of opportunity. As the technology continues to reshape capital deployment, investment decision-making and banking operations, Abu Dhabi is positioning itself at the forefront of this global transformation.
At Ai Everything Abu Dhabi 2026, the world’s largest AI-first Expo and Summit, running from 6–7 October at ADNEC Centre, the UAE Ministry of Investment will convene global investors, financial institutions and fintech companies to explore the emerging landscape of AI-driven finance.
The scale of opportunity within Abu Dhabi’s financial ecosystem is already evident. Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) is investing more than AED400 million through 2029 to expand its AI capabilities, enhance digital infrastructure and modernise regulatory and operational systems. The emirate’s asset management ecosystem has grown to encompass 190 fund and asset managers overseeing 276 funds.
Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Minister of the UAE Ministry of Investment, outlined the nation’s strategic approach: “The ambition is not simply to attract investment, but to build and scale more AI companies in the UAE, scale AI applications across sectors, deepen local capabilities, create high-value jobs and strengthen the country’s position as a global centre for AI.”
Central to this strategy is the integration of Domestic Direct Investment (DDI) alongside Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The UAE’s DDI is estimated at between US$100 billion and US$119 billion—approximately 2 to 2.5 times annual FDI inflows—with sovereign funds, family offices and private enterprises investing alongside international capital.
The Minister emphasised the distinctive advantages underpinning the UAE’s appeal: “What sets the UAE apart is not any one incentive, but the way its advantages come together. These include long-term government ambition, access to decision-makers, a forward-looking regulatory environment, world-class infrastructure and the ability to attract and retain the right talent.”
The Ai Everything Abu Dhabi event will showcase innovation across the financial technology landscape. Genesis AI, an AI-powered investment advisory company, will unveil its Financial ID platform, which coordinates more than 15 specialised AI agents across valuation, portfolio risk, market sentiment, trading signals and Shariah compliance. FairValuation.com will demonstrate how financial data transforms into board-ready decisions within minutes, whilst FedTuna, a federated-learning platform, enables financial institutions to train shared machine-learning models whilst maintaining data security.
The two-day summit will convene over 400 AI technology companies and start-ups, more than 50 government entities, 20-plus unicorns, 200-plus investors managing US$100 billion in assets under management, and 180-plus international speakers, articulating what organisers describe as ‘The New Intelligence Order from Abu Dhabi, the AI Capital of the World.’
Source: WAM