PGIM & ADGM Academy to launch RealAssetX lab
New lab to target tech for real estate, infrastructure and smart cities
#UAE #innovation - Global investment management giant PGIM, the $1.4 trillion asset management business of US financial services company Prudential Financial, has partnered with ADGM Academy to launch RealAssetX Abu Dhabi Innovation Centre, a cutting-edge laboratory advancing sustainable technology, artificial intelligence, and deep tech within the real asset industry. The centre opens in September 2025 at ADGM Academy offices, targeting climate technologies, AI-driven decision-making, and breakthrough applications including blockchain for real estate, following a strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) signed during Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) in December, featuring a potential $250 million investment framework.
SO WHAT? - RealAssetX will be the first dedicated innovation centre in the region combine global investment expertise with regional deep tech capabilities specifically for real assets, addressing the $280 trillion global real estate market's need for digital transformation. The centre could accelerate adoption of AI and sustainable technologies across property, infrastructure, and smart city sectors whilst positioning Abu Dhabi as a regional hub for real estate innovation.
Here are some key points about the RealAssetX announcement:
Prudential Financial’s global asset management business PGIM, will open the RealAssetX Abu Dhabi Innovation Centre in partnership with ADGM Academy in September.
The centre will focus on three key areas: climate technologies for decarbonisation and environmental resilience, AI-driven decision-making for enhanced asset management, and breakthrough applications including blockchain and smart infrastructure systems.
The facility will deliver research programmes, ideation laboratories, hackathons, pitch competitions, and incubator-accelerator programmes in partnership with universities and technology companies to nurture early-stage ventures.
PGIM launched RealAssetX globally in 2023, underpinned by data from PGIM Real Estate and third-party sources, partnering with leading universities and technology companies to develop solutions for real asset owners and operators.
Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and PGIM signed a strategic partnership in December 2024 during Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW), including consideration of a $250 million investment framework for early and later-stage technology companies.
ADGM Academy serves as the knowledge arm of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the emirate's international financial centre, focusing on banking, finance, and public services education with partnerships across top industry experts and academic institutions.
PGIM manages $1.4 trillion in assets globally through 1,450 investment professionals across 41 offices in 19 countries.
PGIM also brings decades of Middle East experience and expertise across private alternatives, public and private fixed income, fundamental equity, multi-asset solutions, and retirement services to the regional innovation ecosystem.
ZOOM OUT - Plans for the new RealAssetX Abu Dhabi Innovation Centre build upon ADGM's established position as a leading innovation hub for fintech and financial services, recognised as a progressive regulator pioneering the fintech agenda. ADGM operates the first regulatory lab in the region providing a RegLab sandbox, the Digital Lab for co-creating solutions, and partners with global tech venture ecosystem Hub71. ADGM also organises the annual Abu Dhabi Finance Week.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]