The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) announced today individual partnerships with ANSR and Talent500 as part of its AED 2 billion (USD 545 million) Innovation Programme to drive innovation in high-growth areas of the economy. 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 aimed at developing technological solutions to support global workforce transformation. They will help establish engineering and 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. ANSR is expected to invest more than USD 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. Abu Dhabi’s supportive regulations and growing ecosystem make it an ideal destination to attract top professionals and businesses alike.
Eng. Abdulla Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, Acting Director General of ADIO, said: “With talent and teams increasingly mobile and global, organisations need new technologies and solutions to maintain a successful workforce. 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. 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.”
ANSR is a market leader in establishing and operating global technology and innovation centres for leading companies. The company has helped businesses build transformational and strategic capabilities such as AI, analytics, cloud, mobile and product engineering, having hired 85,000+ professionals and overseen more than USD 1.5 billion of investment into scaling these technology centres. ANSR's investors include Evolvence, Accel Partners and Sistema.
ADIO’s Innovation Programme will support ANSR 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’s AI-driven technology platform empowers companies to discover, hire and onboard a global workforce. Its global talent network comprises 650,000+ curated professionals across more than 50 countries and across product, engineering and design skills.
As part of the Innovation Programme partnership, Talent500 will set up its Regional HQ and Global Product Development and Innovation Centre in Abu Dhabi with a leading R&D and technology team to continue its development of a world-class AI-enabled global sourcing solution. In addition, Talent500 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.
Commenting on the partnership, Vikram Ahuja, CEO of Talent500 and Managing Director at ANSR said: “In a rapidly changing post-pandemic world, access to global talent will be a key differentiator for businesses. Abu Dhabi's attractiveness as a safe and stable location ranked high for ease of doing business, makes it an ideal global technology hub. 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 talent and creating a vibrant deep tech ecosystem in Abu Dhabi."
Lalit Ahuja, CEO, ANSR added: “ANSR is truly honoured and excited to partner with ADIO to transform the tech ecosystem in the region. With the rapidly changing global ecosystem, we’re committed to contributing to the transformation of Abu Dhabi as a progressive and technology-led global technology location. 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.”
In addition to supporting the development of global teams, Abu Dhabi welcomes talent from around the world to enjoy the stability, high quality of life and growth opportunities it offers. Leading the emirate’s efforts to attract talent and integrate the international and local communities is the Abu Dhabi Residents Office, which advocates for international residents and helps them settle into Abu Dhabi.