MBZUAI and OurCrowd Arabia sign MoU to drive funding for AI startups and research

Agreement to establish an artificial intelligence (AI) investment fund and other joint initiatives to catalyze the growth of Abu Dhabi’s AI technology ecosystem 

Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) and OurCrowd Arabia, the Abu Dhabi based subsidiary of Israel’s OurCrowd, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly create and manage several initiatives aiming to accelerate and catalyze the growth of the AI technology ecosystem on the university’s campus in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. 

The MoU outlines various initiatives including:

• Creating an AI-focused venture capital investment fund with the aim of attracting both local and global AI technology companies to scale up globally from Abu Dhabi.
• Developing a strategic collaboration between MBZUAI and Integrated Data Intelligence (IDI) Limited, OurCrowd’s AI subsidiary in Abu Dhabi, on research projects in applied AI technologies across industries.
• Enhancing Abu Dhabi’s AI innovation ecosystem via strategic partnerships with key government and government-related entities.
• Providing internship and job opportunities to MBZUAI graduates through OurCrowd’s vast global network of portfolio technology startup companies and industry partners.

Sultan Al Hajji, MBZUAI’s Vice President of Public Affairs and Alumni Relations, said, “Part of MBZUAI’s existence is to foster entrepreneurship and this partnership creates a mechanism for incubating startups and creating local opportunities for the university’s pipeline of talent. Through this strategic partnership with OurCrowd Arabia, MBZUAI is forging ahead with its mission to develop a dynamic, vibrant, AI ecosystem that will help to position Abu Dhabi as a global center for AI. Together, we will encourage funding to enable AI start-ups to scale up in the UAE’s capital, help to develop and commercialize AI research, and provide exciting opportunities in the field for young AI talent – including graduates and researchers from MBZUAI. The proposed initiatives are a perfect complement to MBZUAI’s and OurCrowd Arabia’s areas of expertise.”

OurCrowd Arabia Executive Chairman Sabah al-Binali added, “We are honored to have signed this MoU with MBZUAI to jointly grow the AI ecosystem in Abu Dhabi. OurCrowd Arabia continues to build on its strategic relationships having started with our partnership with ADIO under its Innovation Program announced in November 2022. We look forward to continuing to leverage OurCrowd’s global experience and relationships to support the Abu Dhabi and UAE startup ecosystems.”

OurCrowd Arabia, which opened in the UAE capital in 2021, is also establishing a new VC investment center in Abu Dhabi to manage deals for its existing platform and cater to emerging markets.