Israeli fintech startup BridgeWise, known for its AI-powered investment recommendation chatbot Bridget, is opening a regional headquarters in the Dubai International Financial Centre. The move supports the company’s strategy to scale rapidly in the Gulf, where demand for AI analytics is growing alongside the expansion of international brokers and family offices, Bloomberg has reported.
The emirate’s financial magnet played a key role: last year, EmiratesNBDPJSC — Dubai’s largest bank — participated in BridgeWise’s $21 million fundraising round alongside SwissExchange and BrazilStockExchange. The lender’s capital and local network gave the startup a “fast track” to the region’s leading brokerage platforms and private banks, while the DIFC license opened access to a MENA client base without the need to duplicate regulatory procedures in multiple jurisdictions.
Regulatory Landscape
Despite receiving an operating license from the DIFC, BridgeWise is not yet allowed to issue direct buy or sell recommendations in the UAE. Instead, Bridget assigns a five-star rating to stocks and provides explanatory analytical notes that financial institutions integrate into their own advisory panels. This format meets the requirements of the Dubai Financial Services Authority, which emphasizes preventing “black-box” risks of AI in wealth management.
The experience of Israel helped: in 2023, the startup was the first to receive approval from the Israel Securities Authority to launch an AI chatbot in conjunction with a major bank. Since then, Bridget has been integrated into InteractiveBrokers, eToro, Nasdaq and over 50 institutional partners; the global user base has exceeded 25 million. In the Gulf region, BridgeWise plans to expand — talks about offices in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey are already at an early stage, said GM MENA Ayush Khatri.
AI Finance Ecosystem in the UAE
The UAE is becoming a testing ground for AI solutions in wealth management, from JPMorgan Chase’s internal chatbot for asset management teams to local ADGM initiatives. For Dubai, BridgeWise’s arrival means not only new jobs in data science, but also increased competition in the retail advisory segment, where local robo-advisors Sarwa and StashAway already operate.
The emirate’s stock market is actively digitizing: Dubai Financial Market is launching an API platform for third-party analytical services, and ADX is testing AI models for recognizing trading patterns. In such an ecosystem, BridgeWise’s rating model could become a “must-have” module for brokerage super-apps that GCC banks are massively deploying in response to the boom in retail investors.
According to the startup’s plans, the next step will be to localize the algorithms for Arabic content and expand coverage to sukuk and regional IPOs — segments where institutional analytics are lacking. If BridgeWise proves the effectiveness of the rating system on Emaar or ADNOC Gas shares, the emirate could become a starting point for exporting Gulf fintech to global markets.