As governments and enterprises across the GCC accelerate their investments in artificial intelligence, a shortage of senior data and AI specialists is emerging as a key constraint on implementation.
Mahala.ai, a talent solutions company, is seeking to address that gap by providing enterprises, government bodies and semi-government organisations in the UAE and wider GCC with access to senior Data Engineers, Data Scientists, AI/ML and MLOps specialists working remotely.
The company says its model is designed to address one of the region’s central challenges around regulated data: enabling specialists to work on sensitive datasets without requiring that data to leave the country.
Mahala.ai places its specialists within a client’s own sovereign or virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environment, allowing regulated data to remain within the relevant jurisdiction while senior technical talent works remotely.
The company’s approach comes as organisations continue to struggle with the data foundations required to scale AI.
According to research cited by Mahala.ai from Cloudera and Harvard Business Review, only 7% of enterprises said their data was fully prepared for AI, while nearly 80% reported that limited data access was restricting their AI initiatives.
Gartner has also projected that organisations will abandon 60% of AI projects through 2026 because of issues related to AI-ready data. Separately, MIT’s 2025 GenAI Divide study found that 95% of enterprises were seeing no measurable return from generative AI initiatives, with challenges around integration and underlying foundations contributing to the problem.
Against this backdrop, access to experienced data specialists has become increasingly important. However, senior professionals with experience in enterprise data architecture, AI deployment and governance are often reluctant to relocate for short-term or project-based assignments.
“The GCC isn't short on AI ambition, but it is critically short on the people who make AI work; and those people won't relocate,” said Amir Grabic, Co-founder and CEO of Mahala.ai.
“I've run these projects from the client side. They rarely fail on the model but do fail on the data foundation, and on not having senior people who have done it before. We give organisations that seniority remotely, inside their own secure environment so the data stays put, and the project actually ships.”
Mahala.ai says it typically provides a shortlist of two or three senior specialists within 72 hours of receiving a brief. Candidates undergo an internal assessment covering technical expertise, enterprise delivery experience, consulting capability and compliance readiness.
According to the company, candidates must score at least 75 out of 100 to enter its talent network, with approximately one in seven applicants meeting that threshold.
The company has also partnered with DataFlow, a UAE-based primary-source verification specialist, for independent credential authentication and background screening. While Mahala.ai assesses candidates for technical and delivery capability, DataFlow independently verifies their credentials and identity.
“Everyone claims ‘ready from day one’. Very few can stand behind it,” Grabic said. “Ours comes from the vetting behind it: the specialist has already delivered in an environment like the client's, and they are independently verified before they ever start.”
Mahala.ai is targeting organisations across sectors including government, financial services, insurance, energy, transport and logistics. Its commercial model includes a single contract, compliance support and a one-month replacement guarantee.
The company said its founders have backgrounds spanning enterprise technology delivery, digital transformation and regulated industries, including experience working from the client side of large-scale technology projects.
With operations supporting both English- and Arabic-speaking organisations, Mahala.ai is positioning its model around specialised talent matching rather than traditional high-volume recruitment.