R/GA Establishes Abu Dhabi Presence as MENA AI Infrastructure Investment Accelerates
R/GA has formally established its business in Abu Dhabi, marking the global creative innovation company’s official expansion into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. While the dedicated presence is new, R/GA said the move builds on more than a decade of work with organisations across the region. The company plans to expand its Abu Dhabi-based team and further grow its regional operations from 2027 onwards.
The MENA operation will be led by Bertrand Morin, Executive Director, MENA, and will serve clients across the wider region. The establishment of the UAE business follows growing demand from R/GA’s regional client base and is intended to strengthen its ability to deliver technology-led brand and customer experiences locally. R/GA’s capabilities in the region include developing custom AI models for brands, adaptive commerce experiences and personalised generative interfaces.
The company has already worked with organisations including G42, Wio Bank, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF), Emirates NBD and Bank Al Etihad. Its regional projects have included developing brand systems, launching digital products and redesigning customer experiences for markets increasingly shaped by mobile technologies and artificial intelligence.
R/GA said its regional business continues to expand through additional programmes with existing clients as well as new engagements in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
From regional innovation to global applications
The company has also sought to develop technology and brand experiences in MENA that can have applications beyond the region. Earlier this year, R/GA worked with G42 on Alpha.G42.ai, which the company describes as a world-first generative interface. The project explores how interfaces could become more adaptive and responsive in an environment increasingly shaped by AI agents.
“We’re thrilled to formally establish our presence in the MENA market, following over ten years of servicing clients and building intelligent brand systems that deliver differentiation, customer value and growth. We’re excited to welcome an expanded team on the ground, and turn our award-winning work into a permanent commitment. We’re the region’s ‘newest oldest’ player, with the trust and the track record to prove it. This region always moves forward, it adapts fast, has huge resilience, and bets on innovation, and that’s exactly how we work too,” said Bertrand Morin, Executive Director, MENA at R/GA.
Robin Forbes, Global CEO of R/GA, said the company’s decision to establish a presence in Abu Dhabi was influenced by the UAE’s investment in AI infrastructure and its broader technology ambitions. “Independence has been transformative for R/GA and it has given us the freedom to invest in new talent, build new capabilities, develop our own AI tools and products, and chart our own course,” said Forbes. “And we chose to invest in setting up in Abu Dhabi because of the sovereign ambition and the AI infrastructure being built here. It’s an exciting market to be in and we’re looking forward to harnessing the potential of key technologies to help the region’s leading brands deepen their relationships with customers, and give them a reason to be loyal. We’ve always been driven by the mission ‘to design the future, not the familiar’, and that’s exactly what we hope to achieve in this market.”
Abu Dhabi as an AI innovation hub
For G42, the establishment of R/GA’s Abu Dhabi operation reflects the growing role of the UAE as a location for developing and deploying new AI-led products and experiences.
“At G42, we value partners willing to question the familiar, not simply improve it. With Alpha.G42.ai, R/GA helped us explore a more fundamental idea: in an agentic world, the interface between an organisation and its audiences no longer needs to be fixed; it can be generated, intelligent and responsive to intent. That thinking came out of Abu Dhabi and travelled globally. R/GA choosing to put down roots here is another signal of something important: the UAE is increasingly becoming a place where the next generation of ideas is not simply adopted, but imagined and built,” said Faheem Ahamed, Group Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, G42.
R/GA’s expansion follows its return to private independence in partnership with Truelink Capital, alongside a $50 million Innovation Fund supporting its growth strategy. The company has also strengthened its technical capabilities through the acquisition of Addition, an AI system design and development studio.
R/GA said its Abu Dhabi presence will bring these AI and creative technology capabilities closer to clients in one of the region’s expanding technology and innovation markets. Globally, the company works across government and sovereign investment, financial services, AI and technology, health, and sport and entertainment.
The MENA operation is already active, with R/GA planning to move into a dedicated formal office later this year. The company is also making senior leadership appointments across creative and delivery as it expands its regional team.
