M&AJul 13, 2026, 20:24 UTC

9Yards X acquires UAE AI startup LabibAI to scale its generative AI platform

What's the deal? 9Yards X, the AI and technology arm of Abu Dhabi's 9Yards Holding, has acquired UAE startup LabibAI. The deal folds LabibAI's talent, intellectual property and technologies into 9Yards X. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Who's involved? Founded in 2022, LabibAI built proprietary technologies across healthcare, smart cities, computer vision, large language models and enterprise automation. 9Yards X runs a platform combining data capabilities, large language models, computer vision and intelligent automation for government and enterprise clients.

What it means: 9Yards X plans to use LabibAI's research and team to expand its generative AI portfolio and speed up deployment across smart cities, government, healthcare, finance, media and communications. Mohammad Yaqub, LabibAI's founder and now co-founder and chief AI officer at 9Yards X, said joining gives the team "the capabilities, resources and commercial capabilities needed to accelerate the deployment of our technologies." Yaqub is also an associate professor of computer vision at the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, underlining the deal's link to UAE research institutions.

Why it matters: Hussam Al Melhem, group chief executive of 9Yards Holding and managing director of 9Yards X, called the acquisition "a strategic investment in the future of technology developed in the UAE." The move reflects a broader push to build homegrown AI capacity in the UAE, with larger players buying research-heavy startups and channelling them into commercial platforms for government and enterprise buyers.