UAE accelerates AI investment as technology reshapes global finance

UAE accelerates AI investment as technology reshapes global finance

ABU DHABI, 4th October, 2026 (WAM) -- The UAE is looking to build and scale AI companies across key sectors, with finance emerging as a major area of opportunity as the technology reshapes how capital is deployed, investment decisions are made and banks operate.

At Ai Everything Abu Dhabi 2026, the world’s largest AI-first Expo and Summit, taking place from 6–7 October at ADNEC Centre, the UAE Ministry of Investment will join global investors, financial institutions and fintech companies exploring the next phase of AI-driven finance.

The scale of this opportunity is already visible in Abu Dhabi’s financial ecosystem. Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) is investing more than AED400 million through 2029 to expand its AI capabilities, strengthen digital infrastructure and modernise regulatory and operational systems, while its asset management ecosystem has grown to 190 fund and asset managers overseeing 276 funds.

Participating at Ai Everything Abu Dhabi, the UAE Ministry of Investment will highlight how it is working towards translating the country’s AI investment momentum into companies, capabilities, high-value jobs and long-term economic growth.

“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,” said Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Minister, UAE Ministry of Investment.

Central to that strategy is Domestic Direct Investment (DDI) alongside FDI. The Minister highlighted that the UAE’s DDI is estimated at US$100 billion to US$119 billion – approximately 2 to 2.5 times annual FDI inflows – with sovereign funds, family offices and private enterprises investing alongside international capital.

“What sets the UAE apart is not any one incentive, but the way its advantages come together,” Alsuwaidi added. “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.”

Genesis AI, an AI-powered investment advisory company based in Cairo and Dubai, will officially unveil the ‘Financial ID’ at the show. The platform coordinates more than 15 specialised AI agents across valuation, portfolio risk, market sentiment, trading signals, fundamental and technical analysis, and Shariah compliance.

Meanwhile, exhibitor FairValuation.com is showcasing how it turns financial data into board-ready decisions in minutes. From entity and Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) valuations to listed-company analysis, AI-built financial models and professional presentations, every output is designed to be credible, traceable, auditable and ready for scrutiny.

For financial institutions, scaling AI requires infrastructure that can run it securely alongside critical banking systems. Red Hat, the world's leading provider of enterprise open source solutions, will showcase Red Hat AI on an open hybrid cloud with sovereign AI capabilities.

UAE-based exhibitor FedTuna, a federated-learning platform, enables financial institutions to train shared machine-learning models while keeping sensitive records within each organisation.

Abu Dhabi-headquartered SouqView, an AI-powered, gamified investing app, will preview SouqView V2 at the show, demonstrating how AI can help first-time investors build financial knowledge before putting their own capital at risk.

Organised by inD, with the Department of Government Enablement as Host Partner and Solutions+, a Mubadala company, as Global Partner, Ai Everything Abu Dhabi brings together institutions and technology leaders shaping the next era of AI, including Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), G42, AWS, Alibaba Cloud, Mistral AI and Dell Technologies, among others.

The two-day event will articulate ‘The New Intelligence Order from Abu Dhabi, the AI Capital of the World’, convening 400-plus AI big tech companies and start-ups, 50-plus government entities, 20-plus unicorns (the year's largest gathering of AI unicorns), 200-plus investors managing US$100 billion in AUM and 180-plus international speakers.