Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 startup community raises $1bn in venture capital

Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s tech ecosystem, has onboarded startups to its community that have raised $1bn (Dhs3.7bn) in venture capital collectively since its launch in 2019.

The accomplishment was made in a year in which the ecosystem onboarded 53 high-growth technology businesses, each of which had demonstrated history of attracting large-scale investments from venture capital firms.

This year, it onboarded nine firms, and they jointly raised more than $10m (Dhs36.7m) in funding each, $156.7m (Dhs575m) collectively. This includes Axiom, a startup that helps companies monitor and analyse data. It raised $25m (Dhs93.6m), the highest of any startup onboarded by Hub71 in 2022.

Additionally, 44.01, a carbon reduction company eliminating CO2 by transferring it into rock, had already raised $16.2m (Dhs59.4m) upon joining Hub71 within its latest cohort.

This follows 2021, in which the highest amount raised by a startup was $1.9m (Dhs7m) and the average fundraise of startups joining the community amounted to $463,000 (Dhs1.7m).

Badr Al-Olama, acting CEO of Hub71, said: “A true sign of a quality startup is a founder’s proven ability to raise capital from high profile investors. As the startups we’ve onboarded at Hub71 have raised $1bn collectively, our community is increasingly accelerating deal flow and reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s stature as a top investment destination for startups at all stages. We are setting the tone for 2023 and remain committed to helping our founders create global impact from our ecosystem.”

Hub71 has built a diverse capital ecosystem of active investment partners ranging from Mubadala Investment Company to over 30 VC firms to family offices, giving startup founders various ways to access funding and investors the opportunity to increase deal flow.

The benefits for investors include the ability to refer portfolio companies with high potential to Abu Dhabi’s growing startup community.

In the latest cohort, 200 applicants (28.8 per cent) were referrals from VC firms, reinforcing the trust placed by general partners in Hub71 and its ability to accelerate the growth of startups and technology companies.

In 2022, the community surpassed 200 startups following the onboarding of 21 startups in its third cohort of the year.

Read: Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 appoints new deputy CEO