The event has brought together around 200 founders, investors, sovereign wealth representatives and government leaders to discuss developments across AI, robotics and space. Representatives from Mubadala, Space42, Majid Al Futtaim Group, ADNOC Group, Databricks, and Snowflake were all present, among many other global heavyweights.

Given the region’s geopolitical backdrop today, it was both reassuring and refreshing to hear from a range of attendees that I spoke to that their appetite for doing business, both in and with Abu Dhabi, remains strong.  

For its part, Goanna Capital took the opportunity to announce that it has opened its first international office in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) as it looks to connect regional investors with some of the world’s leading private technology firms. 

Databricks followed hot on its heels as per this week’s big story below. 

Melissa Hancock

And as ever, thanks for reading, and do keep in touch with your thoughts and ideas.
[email protected] 

The Big Story

Databricks bets on the region’s growth

The U.S. cloud computing and data company, Databricks, has revealed that it will open an office in Abu Dhabi in February next year to tap into future growth in the region.  

“We’re very excited to be opening an office here in Abu Dhabi,” Richard Wylie, its regional vice president for the Middle East and Africa (MEA), told me on the sidelines of the Frontier Summit held in Abu Dhabi this week.  

“We view it as a strategic center to serve our UAE business and a key global market. We are investing heavily in the Middle East and hiring many people here next year to support our rapidly growing business across the region. Being close to our customers is also a key priority.”  

The planned Abu Dhabi office will be formally announced in December, according to Wylie.   

Databricks currently has a team of over 60 people covering the MEA region from across Europe who will relocate to Abu Dhabi, with Wylie saying it plans to more than double that headcount over the next 12 months in order to “tap into the strong talent pool here.”  

Wylie wouldn’t disclose Databricks’ exact number of customers across the region but referred to “hundreds”, noting that, in addition to its strong presence in the UAE, the firm is also growing rapidly in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. 

“We’re currently supporting regional customers across a wide range of industries, whether it's retail, financial services, telecoms and media, energy, aviation, automotive, as well as the government and public sectors, which are an important growth area for us.”  

Databricks helps organizations collect, process, and analyze large amounts of data and has been used by companies, such as Al-Futtaim Group, to help optimize its supply chain and develop a customer loyalty program. 

Other Databricks customers include Abu Dhabi’s national carrier, Etihad Airways, and MBC Shahid, the world’s leading Arabic streaming platform 

In August, UAE-based technology investor MGX jointly led a $5 billion funding round for Databricks. Coatue, Blackstone, T Rowe Price, and new investor Sixth Street Growth co-led the round, which closed with a valuation of $190 billion.  

Today, 70% of Databricks’ clients are Fortune 500 companies. It currently has offices in 19 countries, spanning five continents.  

The sky’s the limit

Space42 partners with Viasat to broaden its commercial reach 

UAE-based space tech company, Space42, made headlines last month when it announced a partnership with U.S. communications company Viasat to establish Equatys. 

The partnership aims to provide global satellite-to-device connectivity, enabling standard smartphones and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices to access services in areas where terrestrial mobile networks are unavailable or have limited coverage. 

In contrast to SpaceX's satellite internet service Starlink, Equatys plans to operate shared infrastructure so it can provide services at a similar cost to terrestrial phone providers.  

Viasat and Space42 announced they would commit $1 billion to Equatys, which is scheduled to start operations in 2029.  

Speaking on a panel on the first day of the Frontier Summit, Space42 Managing Director Karim Sabbagh highlighted the company’s growing focus on expanding partnerships and collaborating with the private sector.  

He pointed to Equatys as an example of how such partnerships can help develop large-scale infrastructure platforms and help it diversify its revenue base. Government clients currently account for approximately 80% of Space42’s revenue, with commercial customers contributing the remaining 20%.  

While the company is a private-sector operator, it is backed by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and International Holding Company, which is affiliated with state capital.  

“The role of sovereign funding in our business will continue to be essential, but not exclusive,” Sabbagh said. “Private capital can also help contribute to these massive projects, while also giving investors assurances about the returns.”  

I caught up with Sabbagh after his panel, during which he expanded on the partnership with Viasat and told me that Space42 is open to future acquisitions, particularly in areas with complementary capabilities, such as geospatial intelligence.  

You can read my interview with Sabbagh here.

Powering progress

AI advances put Abu Dhabi's energy and water resilience in the spotlight 

The challenge facing energy producers today is no longer simply expanding generation capacity, but coordinating power, water, grids, and investment to deliver reliable, affordable, and lower-carbon supplies. 

That is the overarching message conveyed by H.E. Dr Abdulla Saif Al Jarwan, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, in an op-ed he has authored for Fortune on the value and increasing importance of operating an integrated energy system. 

“A data center needs electricity, but it also needs water for cooling. A desalination plant provides water while also creating energy demand. Treating these as separate challenges increases cost and complexity over time. Treating them as one system creates resilience and efficiency,” notes Al Jarwan.  

In Abu Dhabi, water security has been designed as part of the same system as energy security. In doing so, the emirate has built resilience through diversified desalination, energy demand management, and long-term infrastructure planning.  

This is becoming increasingly critical as water scarcity puts growing pressure on communities and infrastructure, including in traditionally water-secure regions. The resulting restrictions can, in turn, constrain power generation and hamper economic growth. 

With the UAE and Senegal set to co-host the United Nations Water Conference in Abu Dhabi this December, the gathering presents a timely opportunity to highlight the increasingly intertwined challenges of water and energy security. 

The exponential growth of the global AI industry is adding fresh urgency to such challenges. The IEA estimates that data center electricity demand rose 17% in 2025, with AI-focused facilities seeing demand increase by around 50%.  

“AI may be digital in use, but it is deeply physical in its requirements. It needs land, energy grids, clean power, water, cooling, and flexible supply,” Al Jarwan says.  

“Energy, water, and digital infrastructure are becoming part of the same competitiveness equation. AI infrastructure will compete on the speed and reliability of the power and water systems behind it.”  

You can read H.E. Al Jarwan’s full op-ed here.

Saudi setback

'Davos in the desert’ canceled following Houthi attacks 

The economic fallout from Saudi Arabia’s escalating war with the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen has accelerated over the past week.

Undoubtedly, the biggest blow was the announcement that the kingdom is postponing its flagship investment conference, the Future Investment Initiative, until next year, although no exact date has been set.  

According to reporting by Semafor on Monday, the decision came after Wall Street executives privately raised safety concerns about attending the event with the event’s organizers, including Saudi sovereign fund PIF’s governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan. 

The news was the latest in a raft of canceled events. Last Thursday, the European Union and Gulf states postponed ​a joint summit due to be held in the kingdom this week. 

The summit was intended partly to demonstrate European solidarity with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states amid the war, making its postponement a clear reflection of the deteriorating security situation. 

The Six Kings Slam tennis tournament—which was set to feature Grand Slam champions Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Alexander Zverev—has also been postponed.  

Meanwhile, in golf, the Asian Tour said it was “closely monitoring the situation in Saudi Arabia” ahead of the season-ending PIF Saudi International, scheduled to take place at Riyadh Golf Club from Nov. 18-21.

The Big Number

$1.4 billion  

Dubai is investing $1.4 billion in a new financial district to strengthen its status as a global financial hub. Construction has already begun on the new district, named the Water Gardens, which will include two hotels and residential and office towers, and is set for completion before the end of 2028. 

The 3 things we enjoyed reading this week

• The private jet industry is doing its best not to let a good crisis go to waste. The FT reports that the cost of chartering private jets out of Saudi Arabia has surged by more than 50% as wealthy travelers or executives seek an escape route from the kingdom amid escalating Houthi attacks. The surge in demand comes after the strikes closed Riyadh’s main airport and led to the cancellation of an estimated 5,500 departing flights across all airports. One flight last week leaving from al-Qassim airport north of Riyadh to Geneva, sold for €94,000 ($105,000), compared with a price of about €60,000 ($67,000) before the closure of the main airport in Riyadh.   
• A Reuters investigation has found that Iran and its allied militias carried out at least 135 missile and drone attacks on 84 infrastructure sites across seven Gulf countries, deliberately striking critical equipment at oil terminals, refineries, gas plants, airports, data centers, and water facilities. Drawing on satellite imagery and dozens of interviews, it reports that Iran may have received intelligence from Russia and China and that it relies upon networks of informants with access to sensitive sites, citing unnamed sources. The investigation also found that Gulf governments frequently downplayed the damage or attributed it to debris from intercepted missiles.

• Louvre Abu Dhabi’s new exhibition, Spices and Wonders: Sailing the Indian Ocean, explores 1,000 years of maritime history, showcasing around 240 artworks and historical objects from 24 lenders. The exhibition highlights how trade routes connected the Arabian Gulf, East Africa, India, China, and Southeast Asia through the exchange of spices, pearls, textiles, jewelry, and religious beliefs. Ship models, ancient navigation instruments, maps, and shipwreck artifacts illustrate the skills and dangers involved in these journeys. Running until Feb. 14, 2027, the exhibition places the Gulf at the center of a multicultural history that predates European dominance of Indian Ocean trade.