The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) has entered into individual partnerships with the companies ANSR and Talent500, as part of its $545 million Innovation Program 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.
ANSR is a market leader in establishing and operating global technology and innovation centers for leading companies. It is expected to invest more than $100 million over the next five years, creating hundreds of jobs in emerging technologies, including AI or ML, data analytics, product engineering, and cloud.
Talent500’s AI-driven technology platform empowers companies to discover, hire, and onboard a global workforce. Its global talent network comprises more that 650,000 curated professionals across more than 50 countries.
ANSR and Talent500 will set up regional headquarters and innovation centers in Abu Dhabi aimed at developing technological solutions to support global workforce transformation.
According to the statement, “They will help establish engineering and R&D centers 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.”
Mr. Abdulla Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, Acting Director-General of ADIO noted that, “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 Program, which will enable us to drive meaningful progress in the global talent market.”
Further, 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 or ML, data, and product engineering.
Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Vikram Ahuja, CEO of Talent500 and Managing Director at ANSR, said that, “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.”
“ANSR is truly honored 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,” stated Mr. Lalit Ahuja, CEO of ANSR.
