Innovation City, the UAE’s AI‑powered free zone in Ras Al Khaimah, has unveiled the world’s first blockchain‑based digital business identity system, marking a foundational shift in how enterprises are authenticated and recognized in the digital economy.
Every company registered in the free zone will now receive a sovereign, cryptographically verifiable identity built on IOPn’s OPN Chain, transforming the traditional business license from a static document into a dynamic, immutable, soul‑bound digital asset. This new model eliminates dependence on centralized intermediaries, reduces verification delays, and establishes a trusted, machine‑readable identity layer for global interactions.
The launch arrives at a pivotal moment for the UAE, following the government’s directive to transition 50% of federal sectors and services to Agentic AI within two years. For autonomous systems to process licensing, compliance, taxation, and cross‑border workflows at machine speed, they require verifiable digital identities that are secure, interoperable, and instantly accessible. Innovation City has positioned itself as the first jurisdiction to deliver this infrastructure at scale, enabling AI‑driven governance to operate with unprecedented precision and reliability.
“Today we don’t just register companies, we give them a soul on the blockchain,” said Paul Dawalibi, CEO of Innovation City. “For decades business identity has been trapped in paper, PDFs, and fragile databases – slow, opaque, and built for a world that no longer exists. We are ending that era. Every enterprise in Innovation City now carries a living, verifiable digital identity that travels with it across borders, platforms, and straight into the age of intelligent agents. Ras Al Khaimah isn’t following the future. We are writing it. One more thing: the companies that claim their place on this chain today will lead the global economy tomorrow. Everyone else will be explaining why they’re still using yesterday’s tools.”
Mojtaba Asadian, CEO of IOPn, said “IOPn is the sovereign infrastructure layer enabling the UAE’s agentic AI economy, starting with business identity and built to scale across jurisdictions, institutions, and sectors. Cryptographically secure. Evolving. Interoperable. Compliant. When Innovation City chose OPN Chain to power the world’s first on-chain business identities, they didn’t just pick a technology – they chose the infrastructure of digital sovereignty. Together, we are proving that the future of enterprise is not centralized databases or fragmented systems. It is sovereign, verifiable, and alive on-chain.”
With this launch, Innovation City reinforces its position as one of the UAE’s most forward‑looking free zones, moving beyond digital transformation to deliver a new global standard for enterprise identity. In this model, business identity is no longer an administrative formality—it becomes a strategic asset that unlocks trust, automation, and participation in the AI‑driven digital economy.
