Abu Dhabi-based AI Firm Acquires Geospatial Company Bayanat

Group 42, an artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing firm based in Abu Dhabi, UAE, has acquired Bayanat for Mapping and Surveying Services LLC, a provider of customized geospatial data products and services. The purchase will add to Group 42’s existing suite of satellite-based solutions and enable the company to offer disruptive products to clients.

Geodata as food for algorithms

Bayanat provides its clients with topographic, hydrographic and aeronautical products and charts as well as spatial data surveying, analysis, management, modelling, visualization and cartography services. Commenting on the acquisition, Peng Xiao, CEO of Group 42, said: “As we welcome Bayanat into our ecosystem of companies, we believe their expertise in the geospatial domain will significantly contribute toward expanding and improving our product and service offering.”

"The acquisition reflects Group 42’s continuous effort to deliver cutting-edge, AI-enabled solutions to the region, as it gives access to technology, expertise and high-quality geographical data that will be used to nourish our algorithms further,” Peng Xiao continued.

Geospatial forerunners

Mohammed Al Beloushi, chief executive of Abu Dhabi-based Bayanat, stated: “Our vision has been to be the forerunners in our industry not only in the region, but also globally. Group 42 will further bolster our vision… having the region’s most powerful computing capability and their reputation for being thought leaders in AI.” Bayanat was born out of the commercialization of the UAE’s Military Survey Department, a sector of the UAE Armed Forces. It provides national-level mapping and geospatial products and services for both the public and private sectors in the UAE.