Abu Dhabi offers strategic launchpad for global businesses
10 June 2025 00:30
MAYS IBRAHIM (ABU DHABI)Abu Dhabi is an ideal base for startups with global ambitions, as seen in companies like Atiom - a gamified training platform that has evolved from navigating uncertainty to securing deals across the Middle East and beyond.Through Hub71, Abu Dhabi's flagship tech ecosystem, Atiom's co-founder and CEO Matt Spriegel tapped into a powerful investor network, joined a vibrant entrepreneurial community, and leveraged the emirate's strategic location to bridge Asia, Europe, and Africa."The support we received - from mentorship to market access - was unlike anything we'd experienced," said Spriegel. "Abu Dhabi took us from wandering in the dark to landing major clients and investors across the region."Since joining Hub71, Atiom has rapidly scaled across the GCC and now operates in 70 countries globally.Abu Dhabi offers a strategic and highly efficient base for running a global business, according to Spriegel."What stands out to me is how well-connected the UAE is," he said. "We have clients in Paris and London, and I can be there in six to eight hours. The same goes for key markets in Asia like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bangkok."The favourable time zone, he noted, also reduces the need for late-night or early-morning calls."It's a practical advantage that really adds up." Beyond the logistics, the startup co-founder described Abu Dhabi as safe, welcoming, and reminiscent of Asia in its cultural warmth. "There's a real sense of openness and helpfulness here; it's a very supportive environment for entrepreneurs."
Gamification SuccessAtiom, which Spriegel co-founded with Ali Nosrati in Shanghai, was born out of a personal pain point: trying to absorb complex, technical training content in Mandarin. Drawing on the way he taught himself Chinese through consistent daily 10-minute sessions, Spriegel began working on a new kind of corporate learning built on habit formation.That experience became the basis for Atiom, a platform that turns long, stagnant training material into bite-sized, gamified learning experiences designed for frontline staff, especially in hospitality.Core to Atiom's success is its use of gamification. Staff are encouraged to engage with short Q-and-A-based lessons, earning points, badges, and recognition from peers through a live leaderboard."The content itself, like health and safety procedures or SOPs, is not naturally engaging," Spriegel explained. "But with game mechanics, it becomes something they come back to every day."He noted that the habit-building structure mirrors what makes language learning platforms sticky, and it's especially effective for non-desk workers like housekeepers, maintenance staff, and front desk employees.Artificial intelligence is now playing a major role in Atiom's continued evolution, according to Spriegel. The platform's backend tools allow clients to upload vast sets of training content in PowerPoints, Excel files and automatically transform them into multilingual, interactive learning modules."We're using AI to build entire training playbooks, support peer-to-peer recognition, and even create content for mystery shopping and internal audits," said Spriegel.These tools not only streamline knowledge transfer but also help companies mobilise internal knowledge that might otherwise sit idle in shared drives, he explained.
Looking ahead, Atiom is set to go deeper in the Middle East and Europe while expanding into adjacent sectors such as airlines and high-end healthcare.
Source: Aletihad - Abu Dhabi
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