• Mubadala, Antler, and Hub71 launch the National Founders Program to turn Abu Dhabi university research into scalable, commercial startups.
• The six-week initiative offers workshops, mentorship, and connections to global networks, fostering founder development and venture validation.
• The program emphasizes corporate collaboration, enabling startups to pilot, co-develop, and access strategic support from established companies.

Mubadala

Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala), in partnership with Antler, and Hub71 announced the launch of the National Founders Program.  This is a six-week venture-building initiative to turn university research into commercially viable startups aligned with industry needs.

Ali AlMheiri, Executive Director, Diversified Assets of Mubadala’s UAE Investments Platform, said: “ Through this program, we are transforming high-potential research into scalable ventures with clear commercial applications. By bringing together universities, venture builders, and industry under one national framework, we are creating a strong engine for economic growth, talent development, and long-term value.”

The program seeks to target high-potential research talent from Abu Dhabi’s universities. The selected participants will gain access to a curated curriculum of workshops, coaching and domain expertise. This is alongside connections to Antler’s and Mubadala’s global networks. 

Additionally, the program will focus on corporate collaboration creating pathways for startups to partner with established companies. This will aid them in piloting, co-development, infrastructure access and strategic support.

The initiative follows Mubadala’s investment in Antler in support of its mission to  advance the UAE’s innovation ecosystem.

Partnership 

This initiative is led by Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala), in partnership with Antler, and Hub71. Mubadala is a sovereign investor that manages a diverse portfolio of assets and investments in the UAE and abroad. Meanwhile, Antler is a global early stage investor. Additionally, Hub71 is an Abu Dhabi based global tech ecosystem of startups, investors, corporate trailblazers and future focused government entities. 

In this partnership, Antler will lead the programs’ early phases focused on ideation, venture validation and founder development. Meanwhile Hub71 will host the program and serve as the scale-up platform connecting academic research with Abu Dhabi’s broader tech and investment ecosystem.

Additionally, participants will benefit from structured access to Hub71’s extensive network of mentors, domain experts and partners. They will also benefit from founder-focused services such as perks, regulatory support and go-to-market pathways designed to accelerate early-stage ventures. Furthermore, Hub71 will provide tailored workshops, soft-landing support and investor connectivity to help embed participants into Abu Dhabi’s innovation landscape. This is through leveraging its experience in running founder-first programs and supporting startups across 24 sectors.

This initiative is important because universities must not only produce research and graduates, they must also produce economic wealth and innovation.