American Investment Firm Blackstone Backs UAE-Born Payments And Data Intelligence Platform ADGT With US$250 Million

Blackstone, the American investment firm that's the world’s largest alternative asset manager, has invested US$250 million in ADGT (Advanced Digital Gaming Technology), a UAE-born payments and data intelligence platform headquartered in Abu Dhabi. 

Established through a partnership between Blackstone, the Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Raya Holding, alongside technology provider NRT Technology, and Sightline Payments, a payments technology firm offering digital wallet and cashless solutions, ADGT has been designed to support large-scale national deployments, enable cross-border transactions, and adapt to evolving regulatory environments. ADGT will initially target deployments across the UAE, the wider Middle East, Africa, and select international markets. In the UAE, the company is set to operate within the rapidly evolving commercial gaming sector, offering integrated payments and compliance solutions across both physical venues and digital platforms. 

In a statement, Michael Dominelli, CEO of ADGT, said, “ADGT was created in the UAE from the ground up to serve as a new global standard for financial payments technology. Built upon modern infrastructure, and with a strong institutional and regulatory framework, we have created a platform that is designed, built, governed, and experienced with resilience and scalability in mind. With the backing of Blackstone, Raya Holding and the leading payments technology partnerships, we have the scale, resources and credibility to create a global success story engineered and headquartered in the UAE.” 

Jon Gray, President and Chief Operating Officer at Blackstone, said, “We see significant opportunity to deploy capital at scale in the UAE to build companies that can grow both domestically and internationally, despite near term headwinds. The UAE is a global leader in travel and leisure, with emerging strength in technology, and we are excited to support ADGT to capitalize on these powerful trends.” 

HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, founder of Raya Holding, added, “ADGT reflects the UAE’s long-term vision to lead in the development of next-generation financial technology and regulated digital infrastructure. With a progressive regulatory framework and strong institutional support, the UAE continues to create an environment where global technology platforms can be built and scaled. Through this partnership with Blackstone, and the integration of proven technology capabilities from NRT Technology and Sightline, ADGT is positioned to establish a new benchmark for regulated payments infrastructure. From Abu Dhabi, we are developing a platform designed not only to serve the UAE, but to support the evolution of regulated digital markets globally.” 

At its core, the ADGT platform combines multiple financial and compliance functionalities into a single system, including digital wallets, real-time funding and payouts, identity management, and regulatory monitoring. It is designed to support both in-person transactions and digital engagement within regulated ecosystems. Blackstone's investment in ADGT follows its earlier bets in the UAE, which included GLIDE, a pan-GCC logistics platform, and Property Finder, a leading real estate marketplace in the country.