Emirati founder Maryam Al Abbar builds two technology ventures by age 22

Maryam Al Abbar has helped launch two technology companies by the age of 22, taking an entrepreneurial journey that began at university in Dubai to Silicon Valley.

The Emirati founder and her co-founders have worked on tools for measuring carbon footprints and helping businesses understand their visibility in AI search.

Her first venture, Carbon2Capital, uses artificial intelligence to calculate carbon footprints. The idea grew from a team formed while Al Abbar was studying at Zayed University, where she met her future co-founders through an investment challenge, according to an interview with The National published on 24 September.

The team then developed ReachLLM, a platform designed to help companies assess and improve how they appear in responses from large language models. After taking part in startup programmes in Dubai and the UK, the founders were accepted into Founders Inc. in Silicon Valley.

Al Abbar has described the challenge of entering meetings with experienced investors and executives at a young age. She has also spoken about being underestimated as a woman founder. Those encounters have strengthened her determination to build a business that can compete internationally.

Her story reflects the growing ambitions of young Emirati entrepreneurs working across global technology markets. For Al Abbar, the immediate focus is on building her ventures with her team; her broader hope is to see an Emirati founder, particularly a woman, create a technology company with worldwide reach.