Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, Hub71 has announced the addition of a new cohort of startups to its community.
Hub71 is expanding market access for global founders to join and work with Abu Dhabi’s fast-growing tech ecosystem, which is now ranked in the top 10 startup ecosystems worldwide, according to Startup Genome.
The cohort gathers startups at various stages of growth that have collectively raised $34 million in funding and have committed to relocating 82 entrepreneurs to Abu Dhabi. A total of 14 new startups will join Hub71’s Incentive Program that provides more choice and flexibility for founders to benefit from dedicated resources to support the growth of their ventures.
Hub71’s signed with the first unicorn to join its growing community in the second quarter of 2021. CARS24, India’s biggest online retailer for used cars and the UAE’s largest used car retailer is valued at $1.84 billion and part of Hub71’s Value Creation Program, targeted at later-stage startups. Healthcare X.0, Hub71’s first startup from Germany and digital oncology specialist is also part of the program.
The Q2 cohort has raised $34 million in total from Venture Capital funds, angel investors, subsidies and grants. A total of 14 startups were selected from 108 applications. Most of the successful startups specialize in HealthTech, Artificial Intelligence and Software, from countries including Israel, Canada, USA, Bahrain, Japan, UK, Turkey, Mauritius, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia.
Jida Itani COO – Hub71
“With a 16 percent success rate, this cohort has demonstrated its exceptionalism to join Hub71 and take their businesses forward in the stable economic environment Abu Dhabi provides. Hub71 startups have raised an additional $263 million when joining our community, demonstrating the unique potential to raise funds at any stage being part of our tech ecosystem. We encourage our new cohort to pursue investment and benefit from our funding proposition within our fast-growing capital community.”
The majority of the applications were from the UAE, followed by the US and the UK. The global IT ecosystem has received its first applications from Latvia, Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Portugal, and Romania as Hub71’s profile expands globally.
Hub71’s new broader range of incentives, which give extensive support packages to help startups succeed, will be available to the second cohort of 2021. The equity-free incentives go beyond subsidized housing, health insurance and office space and now include workforce support, license and visa support, upskilling, growth marketing and discounted perks to ease the process of growing a startup in Abu Dhabi.
