The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) has partnered with ANSR and Talent500 as part of its AED2billion ($545m) Innovation Programme to drive innovation in high-growth areas of the economy.
Under the agreement, ADIO will provide the companies with financial and non-financial incentives to support their growth in Abu Dhabi.
“The two will help establish engineering and research and development (R&D) centres for some of the world’s leading businesses and startups, a move that will attract global talent and establish Abu Dhabi as a regional powerhouse for innovation,” ADIO said in a statement.
ANSR is expected to invest more than $100m over the next five years, creating hundreds of jobs in emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), data analytics, product engineering and cloud.
ADIO’s Innovation Programme will support ANSR in setting up its EMEA headquarters, while simultaneously establishing The Global Technology Hub, a destination for enterprises to attract global workforce and set up technology teams across AI, mobile, product and design.
“Being home to 200 nationalities and a dynamic innovation ecosystem, Abu Dhabi understands that the future of work is being rapidly reshaped and is equipped to enable workforce transformation,” said Abdulla Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, acting director general of ADIO.
With talent and teams increasingly mobile and global, organisations need new technologies and solutions to maintain a successful workforce, explained Al Shamsi.
“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,” he added.
ADIO would also support Talent500 to set up its regional headquarter global product development and innovation centre in Abu Dhabi with a R&D and technology team to continue its development of AI-enabled global sourcing solution.
Talent500, which operates an AI-driven technology platform which allows companies to hire and on-board a global workforce, will also expand its talent network to include professionals based in the UAE and around the GCC.
ANSR and Talent500 will also 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.
“Abu Dhabi’s supportive regulations and growing ecosystem make it an ideal destination to attract top professionals and businesses alike,” ADIO’s statement read said.
Commenting on the partnership, Vikram Ahuja, chief executive officer of Talent500 and managing director at ANSR said: “We believe that this one-of-a-kind partnership between ADIO and ANSR-Talent500, will result in giant strides for attracting top global talent, upskilling local workforce and creating a vibrant deep tech ecosystem in Abu Dhabi.”
Added Lalit Ahuja, CEO, ANSR, “We look forward to working closely with our portfolio of leading global businesses to set up their regional technology headquarters in Abu Dhabi in support of the emirate’s vision of becoming a leading global technology hub.”
ANSR, operating global technology and innovation centres for leading companies, is involved in helping businesses build transformational and strategic capabilities such as AI, analytics, cloud, mobile and product engineering.
ANSR’s investors include Evolvence, Accel Partners and Sistema.
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.
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