UAE-Based Skipr Pockets US$2 Million To Grow Its Sovereign AI Infrastructure Offering

UAE-based artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure startup Skipr has secured US$2 million in seed funding at a $10 million valuation to support the expansion of its sovereign AI infrastructure and its planned national and enterprise deployments. 

The company is thus set to scale its operations from Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global technology ecosystem, where it operates within the Hub71+ Digital Assets specialist ecosystem alongside technology startups, regulators, and strategic partners working on digital infrastructure. 

Founded by Adnan Fatayerji, Andreas Hartl, and Weynand Kuijpers in the UAE in 2023, Skipr develops infrastructure designed to enable autonomous systems to communicate and exchange value across organizations, cloud environments, and borders. The platform is built to preserve sovereign control over data and decision-making through cryptographic identity, policy-based routing, and auditable governance frameworks. 

Speaking to Inc. Arabia about the company’s origins, Fatayerji shared that he and his co-founders launched Skipr after more than a decade of working together on autonomous cloud and distributed infrastructure systems, with them then choosing to formally establish the company in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) in the UAE, a jurisdiction he described as having a strategic understanding of digital sovereignty and critical infrastructure. 

“Our mission is to build the sovereign, autonomous governance layer that underpins the control plane of intelligent systems, enabling AI to operate and coordinate at scale without compromising control," Fatayerji explained. "As AI systems move from tools to autonomous actors, organizations require governance that operates at machine speed. Skipr provides programmable, sovereign control-plane infrastructure that enables governments and enterprises to deploy AI safely, confidently, and at scale under their own authority. In short, we are building the governance and coordination layer required for autonomous systems to operate without compromising control.” 

Fatayerji pointed out that as intelligent software begins performing tasks independently across digital environments, new structural questions are emerging around oversight and accountability. “AI is no longer just assisting humans—it is beginning to act independently," he pointed out. "Autonomous systems make decisions, move data, execute transactions, and coordinate across organizations and jurisdictions. When that happens, trust can no longer rely on manual oversight or external intermediaries. Governance becomes structural. Governments and enterprises must clearly define who controls AI systems, how actions are authenticated, how policies are enforced, and how activity is audited—all under their own authority. Without sovereign control-plane infrastructure, scaling AI introduces systemic risk." 

It is against this backdrop that Skipr is translating its infrastructure architecture into real-world implementations with institutional partners across several sectors. “In the short term, our focus is deployment and execution," Fatayerji said. "We are working with telecom operators, enterprises, and sovereign AI initiatives to implement programmable governance within their environments. We enable partners to establish and operate their own sovereign control planes—we do not run a centralized service.Mid-term, our objective is to become the foundational infrastructure layer powering sovereign AI control planes across telecom, cloud, and enterprise ecosystems. Long term, we are building what we believe will become essential infrastructure for the autonomous AI era: a sovereign programmable governance layer that allows intelligent systems to coordinate securely without compromising national or enterprise authority. Every computing era has required a coordination layer. We are building that layer for autonomous AI.” 

Such a trajectory has shaped how investors assessed Skipr’s opportunity and long-term relevance within emerging digital infrastructure markets. “Our investors understand telecom, infrastructure, enterprise systems, and digital sovereignty—the environments we are building for," Fatayerji noted. "They backed us because they recognize the structural shift underway. As AI systems become autonomous, governance and coordination become the crucial factors. They also saw that our evolution was architectural and consistent. We began with sovereign networking, expanded into federated governance, and progressed into programmable coordination for autonomous systems. Our differentiation is clear: we are defining sovereign control-plane infrastructure for the autonomous AI era-enabling secure AI-to-AI interoperability without compromising enterprise or national authority. Investors believe this layer is inevitable. And they believe we are positioned to build it.”  

Given the success he has seen fundraising in the MENA, Fatayerji also shared advice for his fellow entrepreneurs navigating the region’s investment landscape. “Focus on execution and traction," he said. "Capital follows proof. Align with investors and advisors who understand your sector and genuinely believe in the problem you are solving. Industry credibility accelerates access. Engage ecosystem platforms aligned with national digital and economic priorities. Strategic alignment matters in this region. Investor interest in MENA is becoming more disciplined and increasingly focused on infrastructure, defensibility, and long-term value creation. The region is maturing. Serious capital is looking for serious builders."

Pictured in the lead image is Skipr co-founder Adnan Fatayerji .Image courtesy Skipr.