Perk, formerly known as TravelPerk, has opened its Middle East office in Abu Dhabi Global Market, marking a formal expansion into the Gulf region as corporate travel and spend management demand grows across the UAE.
The new office places Perk inside ADGM, Abu Dhabi’s international financial center, as the company looks to deepen its presence among UAE-headquartered businesses and wider GCC customers. Perk said it has served customers in the UAE since 2021, with the country now ranking as its ninth-largest market globally by travel spend.
Perk is targeting a tripling of business travel spend from UAE customers by 2028. The company also cited projections that the UAE business travel market could reach $94 billion by 2030, while noting that small and mid-market companies remain a key customer segment for modern travel and expense platforms.
Perk Moves Closer to Gulf Customers
Perk describes itself as an AI-native platform for travel and spend management, combining business travel booking, expense workflows, invoice processing and events into one product suite. The Abu Dhabi office gives the company a local base in a market where travel, finance and technology services are increasingly overlapping.
Chief Executive and Co-Founder Avi Meir said: "The UAE has made AI central to its national strategy, and that ambition mirrors exactly what Perk is built for. We are an AI-native platform, and Abu Dhabi is clearly seeking to become an AI-native market. We have believed in this region since we first saw customers here in 2021, and we want to be part of its future. Opening in Abu Dhabi is not just a commercial step. It is us saying clearly that we are here for the long term."
The ADGM opening gives Perk a physical base in a market it describes as one of its fastest-growing international corridors, while placing the company closer to UAE-based clients and wider Gulf customers.
ADGM Draws Another Tech-Driven Company
ADGM has become a major base for international financial, investment and technology-linked firms entering Abu Dhabi. The financial center operates across Al Maryah Island and Al Reem Island and says its jurisdiction covers 14.38 million square meters, making it one of the world’s largest financial districts.
The jurisdiction also directly applies English common law, a feature often cited by international companies seeking familiar legal structures in the region. ADGM has continued to expand its business base, with active licenses reaching 13,353 by the end of the first quarter of 2026. The number of people working within the financial center also rose to 34,064, underscoring its growing role as a hub for financial, technology and professional services firms.
Alessandro Borgogna, Chief Cluster Planning and Development Officer at ADIO, said: “Perk's decision to build its regional presence in Abu Dhabi speaks to where the corporate travel market is heading. Companies want better control over travel, expenses and mobility across multiple markets. That creates significant opportunities for travel and spend management and technology platforms that can serve international businesses at scale. Abu Dhabi offers a business-friendly environment for companies with global ambitions as travel technology increasingly becomes an important part of the emirate’s broader mobility and business services ecosystem.”
AI Ambitions Add Weight to the Expansion
The UAE has made artificial intelligence a central pillar of its economic diversification strategy, and Perk’s announcement connects the new office to that broader direction. The UAE is targeting AI to contribute 20% of non-oil GDP by 2031.
ADIO’s role in the announcement also points to Abu Dhabi’s strategy of attracting companies working in future-facing sectors. The investment office describes itself as the government vehicle responsible for accelerating Abu Dhabi’s growth and supporting investors in areas including technology, resources and value-added services.
Perk’s arrival in ADGM gives the company a closer foothold in the Gulf as regional businesses modernize how they manage travel, spending and cross-border operations. With a local presence in Abu Dhabi, the company is positioning itself closer to UAE-based clients while using the emirate as a platform for wider Middle East growth.
