Adia backs insurtech Sapiens, Positron AI comes to DIFC, DP World invests more in Dominican Republic freezone, Adnoc secures gas supply from Azerbaijan

Adia backs insurtech Sapiens

An Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) subsidiary has taken a significant minority stake in ins. software company Sapiens, according to a press release. Sapiens remains owned by private equity firm Advent, which backed the transaction alongside Adia. The firm, which was founded in Israel and develops computer software for ins. firms, will move its headquarters to central London.

Dubai is pulling in another AI infrastructure player

US-based Positron AI opened its first office outside its home market at the DIFC, according to a press release. The company, which has raised more than USD 300 mn including a USD 230 mn Series B round, builds hardware optimized for AI inference rather than model training. Pitching itself as an alternative to traditional GPU-heavy systems, Positron argues its infrastructure can deliver lower cost per token, with higher memory density and better energy efficiency.

DP World to expand Dominican Republic freezone

DP World puts more weight behind Caucedo: Dubai-based ports operator DP World and the Dominican Republic government will invest an additional USD 100 mn to expand warehousing and logistics infrastructure at the DP World Freetrade zone in Caucedo. The new funding will help tighten the link between port operations, freezone activity, and logistics services at Caucedo, which is in a prime position for companies looking for manufacturing and distribution bases closer to the US while still serving Latin America and the Caribbean.

The base is already there: DP World already committed some USD 760 mn to its Dominican Republic operations, where its capacity stands at 2.5 mn TEUs. The new expansion plan is expected to raise container handling capacity to around 3.1 mn TEUs, attract USD 3.9 bn in FDI, and drive USD 4 bn in manufacturing output.

Our take: The Dominican Republic push fits DP World’s wider move from port operator to integrated trade-platform builder. In Latin America, the group already operates across Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Chile, while its Unifeeder arm has been adding regional feeder coverage across Latin America.

Adnoc secures gas supply from Azerbaijan

Adnoc inked a sales purchase agreement for gas from one of Azerbaijan’s largest gas condensate fields, Reuters reports. The agreement will see the oil and gas giant secure natural gas from the Absheron gas field, which is set to start production in 2029 and work up to over 4 bcm in annual production. Azerbaijan’s state oil firm Socar, TotalEnergies, and Turkey’s state-owned Botas also inked agreements.

ICYMI- Adnoc already holds a 30% stake in Absheron, for which a final investment decision is expected in July. The state-owned energy giant has been expanding its footprint in the region recently, inking an agreement for an equity stake in Azerbaijan’s Southern Gas Corridor, and taking a 38% stake in a Turkmenistan gas block.