The UAE’s New Hub for AI, FinTech, Web3, and Disruptive Ventures: Everything You Need to Know About CBIx

Commercial Bank International (CBI), a UAE-based financial institution, has officially launched CBIx, a wholly owned subsidiary dedicated to innovation and ventures.

Designed as a bold and independent platform, CBIx explores, enables, and accelerates disruptive ideas across banking, bonding emerging technologies and real-world applications.

The launch of CBIx marks a fresh chapter in CBI’s evolution: rooted in finance and built for the next wave of digital transformation. As a fully independent venture, CBIx provides the bank with the ability to pilot new financial models and expand faster across areas such as AI, tokenized assets, Web3, gaming, and the wider fintech ecosystem.

“The UAE has long been a hub of innovation, and with CBIx, we are building on that spirit to lead the next stage of financial and technological transformation. Our vision is clear: to create meaningful connections between traditional finance and emerging technologies, and to turn ambitious ideas into practical solutions. CBIx will not follow global trends, it will set them, both in the region and internationally,” says Ala Aljayyusi, Managing Director of CBIx.

Initial initiatives include facilitating the establishment of a Money Market Fund in partnership with QNB and collaboration with the Al Farabi Innovation Hub to translate academic research into practical banking solutions. CBIx is also establishing a corporate venture capital arm to invest in high-potential startups and is advancing tokenization projects in partnership with the Ascend RWA Accelerator.

“CBIx is about turning vision into execution. It is where new ideas are tested and scaled into solutions that serve real needs: tokenized assets and AI-driven finance or tailored products for new communities like gaming. We are building something that is global in its outlook but firmly rooted in the UAE’s innovation ecosystem,” says Giovanni Everduin, Co-founder of CBIx.

CBIx is experimenting with next-gen banking models built for the world’s fastest-growing sectors, starting with custom financial products for the gaming community, created together with the DIFC’s gaming hub. It’s a glimpse into how CBIx plans to reinvent financial services and push the UAE further into the spotlight as a global digital powerhouse.

The CBIx team matches startup energy with deep industry know-how and a future-facing mindset. They’re building ventures that bridge local breakthroughs with global demand and have a real impact on customers, partners, and communities.

CBIx is headquartered in Dubai and operates independently while benefiting from the heritage and support of CBI. Through regional and global alliances, it’s helping set the pace for financial progress across the Middle East.