UAE entrepreneur Maryam Al Abbar is building an international business career at just 22, with two AI-focused ventures already underway. The young Emirati founder has established a start-up in Silicon Valley and plans to continue expanding her work in artificial intelligence.
Al Abbar leads Carbon2Capital, an AI-driven company focused on calculating carbon footprints. She also runs ReachLLM, an AI platform that helps businesses understand and improve their visibility across large language models.
Her early progress reflects a strong interest in technology, entrepreneurship, and global business. Al Abbar has also credited her background as an Emirati woman as an important part of her journey.
Speaking ahead of Emirati Women’s Day, Al Abbar highlighted the influence of her mother on her approach to entrepreneurship. She said her mother encouraged her to experiment and remain open to taking risks.
That advice helped shape Al Abbar’s approach to building businesses at an early age. Rather than waiting for certainty, she chose to test her ideas and learn from the results.
Her mother also set a clear timeline for her entrepreneurial journey. Al Abbar said she was given two years to determine whether she could develop a viable path before considering traditional employment.
The approach encouraged Al Abbar to treat entrepreneurship as a practical challenge. It also gave her a defined period to explore opportunities and assess whether her ideas could become sustainable businesses.
Her journey into entrepreneurship began before she graduated from Zayed University in Dubai. During this period, she started exploring opportunities beyond the traditional career path.
The experience eventually led her toward Silicon Valley, one of the world’s major technology and start-up ecosystems. Establishing a business there has given her exposure to a highly competitive environment centered on technology and innovation.
Carbon2Capital focuses on the growing need for businesses to understand their environmental impact. Its AI-driven approach aims to help companies calculate their carbon footprint and better understand their emissions.
Meanwhile, ReachLLM operates in another rapidly developing area of artificial intelligence. The platform helps businesses assess how they appear across large language models and identify ways to improve their visibility.
The two ventures reflect the expanding role of AI across different areas of business. Companies are increasingly using AI not only for automation but also for analysis, decision-making, sustainability, and digital visibility.
For Al Abbar, building businesses at an early age has also provided an opportunity to represent a new generation of Emirati entrepreneurs. Her experience combines a UAE education with ambitions in one of the world’s most competitive technology markets.
Her story also highlights the growing participation of Emirati women in entrepreneurship and technology. Government initiatives and national programs have increasingly focused on supporting women’s participation in the economy and business.
As Al Abbar develops Carbon2Capital and ReachLLM, her focus remains on creating technology-driven businesses with international potential. Her early experience in Silicon Valley provides a foundation for further growth.
At 22, she has already moved from exploring business ideas to operating two AI-focused ventures. Her continued development will depend on how effectively the companies respond to growing demand for artificial intelligence and sustainability solutions.
