G42 and Publicis Sapient to launch AI services joint venture in Middle East
UAE-based technology group G42 has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Publicis Sapient, a global digital transformation company, to explore the creation of a joint venture.
The proposed venture would form an AI services powerhouse in the region, bringing together G42’s sovereign AI and cloud infrastructure with Publicis Sapient’s digital transformation capabilities and AI platforms.
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Abu Dhabi, G42 is a technology and AI services and solutions company. The group employs around 25,000 people.
US-headquartered Publicis Sapient, meanwhile, is a business consulting and IT transformation company with more than 20,000 employees across 50+ offices worldwide. Its Middle East team operates with hubs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi (UAE), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), and Muscat (Oman).
In a statement, the two companies said the planned joint venture would focus on “translating AI capability into measurable business outcomes” through a joint offering that “enables data-driven operations” and facilitates the “deployment of AI agents at scale”.
Together, G42 and Publicis Sapient will offer an end-to-end service for AI transformation, spanning AI use case development, intelligent agent creation, enterprise software engineering, cloud modernisation for AI, as well as AI deployment and ongoing optimisation.
The joint venture will also gain access to Publicis Sapient’s portfolio of AI solutions, including Sapient Slingshot (which accelerates the end-to-end software development lifecycle and modernisation) and Sapient Bodhi (a platform for industry-specific and function-specific AI agents).
Comments from leadership
“By combining our sovereign infrastructure and models with Publicis Sapient’s global transformation capabilities, we’re creating an organization purpose-built to deploy agents at scale and deliver measurable outcomes for clients across the UAE and Global South,” said Mansoor Al Mansoori, CEO of G42 International.
Nigel Vaz, CEO of Publicis Sapient, added: “This partnership unites G42’s AI infrastructure with our proven platforms and industry expertise and, through Sapient Slingshot and Sapient Bodhi, we will help organizations turn ambition into operational reality. This is about solving real business problems and embedding AI into the fabric of day-to-day decision-making.”
In the coming months, G42 and Publicis Sapient aim to formalise the blueprint and commercial framework of their joint venture, with the new entity planned to open its doors by mid-year.
