Abu Dhabi - Sharikat Mubasher: The UAE’s capital secured third place among MENA’s startup ecosystems in performance, following Riyadh and Dubai, according to a recent report by the Startup Genome.
The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2025 (GSER 2025) revealed that Abu Dhabi ranked in the 51-60 range globally among emerging ecosystems in 2025.
The report highlighted that Abu Dhabi’s startup ecosystem secured investments worth $4.4 billion from the second half (H2) of 2022 through 2024. Total early-stage funding reached $452 million during the same period, showing a 6% growth.
Startups within Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, raised a record $2.17 billion in funding as of 2024, reflecting significant capital inflow that fuels innovation and growth in the city’s startup scene.
During Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2024, Hub 71 launched Hub71+ AI to support AI-driven startups and advance AI across key sectors. The initiative is backed by partners including AWS, Google for Startups, AI71, Core42, Nvidia, HPE, MBZUAI, and 42 Abu Dhabi to foster a specialized ecosystem and drive economic transformation.
Ahmad Ali Alwan, CEO of Hub71, said: Abu Dhabi is distinguishing itself through a deliberate approach that brings together infrastructure, capital, regulation, and talent to support founders from day one. As emerging technologies reshape industries, from AI and Climatetech to Digital Assets and beyond, startups in the UAE are scaling with speed and purpose.”
For her part, Samantha Evans, Managing Director, for MENA at Startup Genome, commented: “The UAE, through vehicles like Hub71, DIFC Innovation Hub, and its national sandbox frameworks, continues to attract a disproportionate share of top-tier founders, Series A companies, and emerging technologies from across Asia, Africa, and Europe.”
“Abu Dhabi’s $100 billion commitment to AI, combined with Saudi Arabia’s $40 billion technology fund ambitions and the rise of sovereign-supported accelerators, show that this is not opportunistic investment - it is national strategy,” Evans added.
The GSER leverages the largest quality-controlled dataset in the industry, analyzing data from over 5 million companies across 350+ entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems. It provides insights on key trends, investment flows, and policy strategies driving entrepreneurial success.
The 2025 edition provides actionable guidance for policymakers, ecosystem leaders, and founders to develop evidence-based strategies that strengthen startup communities - the world’s most powerful engine of job creation and economic growth.