"We Invest Early, Build Local Capability, And Make Decisions Before The Market Has Fully Priced The Opportunity." Mubadala CEO Shares The Investment Lessons Behind Abu Dhabi's Transformation

Dr. Bakheet Al Katheeri, CEO of the UAE Investments Platform at Mubadala, used the opening day of Hub71’s Impact Event 2026 to set out the investment playbook that has underpinned Abu Dhabi’s economic transformation. Speaking at Manarat Al Saadiyat on June 9, Dr. Al Katheeri tied Mubadala’s long-term mandate — set when the firm was founded in 2002 — to the rapid growth of the Abu Dhabi startup ecosystem, highlighting that Hub71 today hosts nearly 400 startups from more than 70 countries, which together have raised around US$2.7 billion and generated roughly US$1.5 billion in revenue.

Direct quote

"We invest early, we build local capability, and we make decisions before the market has fully priced the opportunity," Dr. Al Katheeri said, framing Mubadala’s strategy as one of conviction and forward-looking capital deployment. He added: "Mubadala was founded in 2002 with a clear mandate: to diversify our economy, to build national capabilities, and to invest with conviction across generations."

Context and details

Dr. Al Katheeri drew an explicit parallel between Mubadala’s multi-decade strategy and Hub71’s development as an accelerator and cluster for technology companies. He described Hub71 as "in many ways that of Mubadala itself," noting recent momentum: in 2025 the platform attracted 5,000 startup applications — a 62% year-on-year increase — and welcomed 52 new startups into its community.

• Mubadala’s reported assets under management reached AED1.4 trillion in 2025.
• The UAE Investments Platform is valued at AED280 billion across more than 100 companies.
• In the prior year the platform contributed AED45 billion to Abu Dhabi’s GDP and supported around 98,000 jobs.

Responding to early scepticism about deploying sovereign capital into early-stage ventures, Dr. Al Katheeri stressed the institution’s people-focused approach and the importance of conviction. "The team is what carried the institution when the plan had to change," he said. "Second, conviction matters more than consensus. Ideas do not always begin with agreement; they begin with conviction. That is usually where institutions are built." He concluded that Abu Dhabi's experience demonstrates how "character, conviction, and belief can turn a questioned idea into something the world comes to admire."

Outlook

The remarks at Hub71’s two-day Impact Event, running June 9–10 at Manarat Al Saadiyat, underscore Mubadala’s continued appetite for early-stage exposure and ecosystem development as levers for economic diversification. With Hub71 now a community of nearly 400 startups and Mubadala’s UAE Investments Platform holding stakes in over 100 companies, the city’s strategy appears to be doubling down on building local capability and enabling founders to "start, grow, and thrive," in Dr. Al Katheeri’s words — a roadmap that will be tested as the region seeks further scale and exits while sustaining the jobs and GDP contributions already reported.