FAB Strengthens UAE AI Ecosystem Through Second SpeakEasy Enterprise AI Forum

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE’s global bank and one of the world’s largest and safest financial institution, hosted the second edition of SpeakEasy on 23 July at DIFC, Dubai, bringing together more than 70 engineers, coders, data scientists, technology professionals and AI enthusiasts to explore how organisations can move from AI experimentation to enterprise-scale adoption. 

The latest edition centred on the theme From AI hype to enterprise reality, exploring how organisations can build, buy and partner their way towards becoming more agentic enterprises and how organisations can move beyond pilots and experimentation to deploy AI at scale while delivering tangible business outcomes. The discussions also explored the practical foundations required to achieve this, including governance, trust, interoperability, operating models, and human oversight. 

Led by the FAB AI Innovation Hub, SpeakEasy is a community initiative designed to foster an open, informal and practitioner-led environment where AI builders, innovators and technology leaders can exchange ideas, share practical experiences and strengthen collaboration across the UAE’s AI ecosystem. 

The event featured speakers from the FAB AI Innovation Hub, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Presight (a G42 company), who shared perspectives on the opportunities and challenges associated with scaling AI across organisations and integrating intelligent technologies into day-to-day operations.

Launched in February 2026, SpeakEasy forms part of the FAB AI Innovation Hub’s community-building efforts to create a regular forum for conversations around AI, innovation and emerging technologies. Now in its second edition, SpeakEasy reinforces FAB’s role in advancing the regional AI ecosystem and driving the developer’s community in Abu Dhabi.

The AI Innovation Hub was established as part of FAB’s strategic partnership with Microsoft to accelerate AI-led innovation in financial services, with a focus on innovation, sustainability and customer experience. Beyond the SpeakEasy series, the Hub is focused on accelerating enterprise AI adoption, supporting production-grade AI and embedding intelligent automation across business processes to translate emerging technologies into tangible business value.

Through initiatives such as SpeakEasy, and as the UAE’s global bank, FAB remains committed to building the partnerships, platforms and communities that help translate the region’s AI ambition into enterprise-ready impact. The next edition is planned in Abu Dhabi on 10 September, with two further editions to follow by the end of 2026, as the initiative continues to expand opportunities for learning, collaboration and knowledge exchange across the UAE’s AI community.