ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
Northslope, an applied artificial intelligence company founded by Palantir alumni, has opened an office in Abu Dhabi, its first in the region, and appointed Harvey Young as Managing Partner, UAE.
The company said the office opening brings its Forward Deployed Engineer model to one of the world’s fastest-moving AI ecosystems, helping organisations turn ambition and investment into measurable outcomes.
Northslope builds mission-specific software and said its Forward Deployed Engineers embed inside customer organisations to build software designed for their workflows, missions and people.
The company said it established a founding team of six Forward Deployed Engineers in Abu Dhabi beginning in March 2026 and is growing the team in response to strong early demand from organisations across the region.
“Most AI firms are focused on pilots and POCs. We operate entirely differently, leading with production-grade workflows that are measurable in days or weeks, not months or years,” said Young.
“The UAE has proved an excellent partner, demonstrably serious about AI, and we're seeing that in the incredible demand and strong alignment with our customers,” he said.
Based full-time in Abu Dhabi, Young will lead Northslope’s regional customer engagements, partnerships and business development across the Gulf.
Northslope said Abu Dhabi is moving rapidly to put artificial intelligence to work, supported by investments in compute, research and talent. As the region moves from investment to implementation, the company said its Forward Deployed Engineer model is designed to close the gap by building mission-specific software for operational use.
“The UAE is building at breakneck speed. The gap that remains is at the application layer: turning that foundational investment into software that makes a real operational difference for the organisations doing the most important work,” said Bill Ward, Founder and CEO of Northslope.
“Rather than chatbots, Northslope FDEs build AI applications that power critical daily operations and decisions in environments where the stakes are high. Harvey and our entire Abu Dhabi team combine the very best of customer-aligned forward deployed engineering with deep experience delivering production-grade solutions in the exceptional innovation environment of the UAE,” Ward said.
Northslope said its model pairs the precision of custom software with the speed and economics of enterprise software-as-a-service. Contracts are structured around delivering a tangible, usable product and value-based outcomes, rather than hours, headcount or process, the company said.
According to the company’s self-description, Northslope builds AI software on the Palantir operating system, including mission-specific AI applications.
Northslope said it is an AI-native technology company that builds mission-specific software for enterprises and government organisations.
Working through the Forward Deployed Engineer model it helped define beyond Palantir, the company said it designs, deploys and evolves unique codebases around what makes each organisation different, supported by AI agents and engineers accountable to outcomes.
The company said it serves global customers across industries where differentiated operations are a strategic necessity. According to its self-description, Northslope is founded and led by Palantir alumni, forward deploys with customers around the world and has hub offices across the world including the latest one in Abu Dhabi.
Northslope has listed Al Sarab Tower in ADGM as the location of its Abu Dhabi office.