HUB71 startups community raises $1b in venture capital

Abu Dhabi / WAM

Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, on Monday announced its startup community has raised $1 billion (AED3.7 billion) in venture capital collectively since its launch in 2019.
The milestone was achieved in a year which has seen Hub71 onboard 53 high growth technology companies each with a proven track record of attracting large-scale investment from leading venture capital firms.
Nine startups onboarded by Hub71 this year have raised more than $10 million (AED36.7 million) in funding each, $156.7 million (AED575 million) collectively. This includes Axiom, a startup that helps companies monitor and analyse data, raised $25 million (AED93.6 million), the highest of any startup onboarded by Hub71 in 2022, and 257 percent more than the highest amount raised by a startup joining Hub71 in 2021. Additionally, Earthshot Prize winner, 44.01, a carbon reduction company eliminating CO2 by transferring it into rock, had already raised $16.2 million (AED59.4 million) upon joining Hub71 within its latest cohort.
This follows 2021, in which the highest amount raised by a startup joining Hub71 was $1.9 million (AED7 million) and the average fundraise of startups joining the community amounted to US$463,000 (AED1.7 million).
Badr Al-Olama, Acting Chief Executive Officer 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 $1 billion 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 partnered with Hub71 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, Hub71’s vibrant community surpassed 200 startups following the onboarding of 21 startups in its third cohort of the year. Applications to join Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem through Hub71’s Incentive Program in 2022 have grown 100 per cent year-on-year, reflecting its growing appeal to gain access to incentives, structured programs, mentorship, talent and corporate and government partners in Abu Dhabi and leading tech markets globally.