Collaboration aims to advance new technologies that expand infrastructure choice while preserving mission-critical environments
ARMONK, N.Y., April 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a strategic collaboration with Arm to develop new dual‑architecture hardware that helps enterprises run future AI and data intensive workloads with greater flexibility, reliability, and security.
IBM's leadership in system design, from silicon to software and security, has helped enterprises adopt emerging technologies with the scale and reliability required for mission‑critical workloads. As AI moves deeper into core business operations, IBM continues to invest in hardware platforms such as the Telum II processor and Spyre Accelerator, which are designed to bring AI from experimentation into everyday enterprise use.
Through this collaboration, IBM and Arm aim to extend this track record of innovation by combining IBM's enterprise leadership in systems reliability, security, and scalability with Arm's own leadership in power‑efficient architecture, workload enablement expertise, and broad software ecosystem, to build flexible and scalable computing platforms for the future.
"As enterprises scale AI and modernize their infrastructure, the breadth of the Arm software ecosystem is enabling these workloads to run across a broader range of environments," said Mohamed Awad, Executive Vice President, Cloud AI Business Unit, Arm. "Our collaboration with IBM builds on this progress, extending the Arm ecosystem into mission-critical enterprise environments and giving organizations greater flexibility in how they deploy and scale these workloads."
"This collaboration is a natural extension of IBM's leadership in hardware and systems innovation," said Tina Tarquinio, Chief Product Officer, IBM Z and LinuxONE. "It continues IBM's pattern of anticipating enterprise needs well ahead of market inflection points—developing capabilities early so clients are prepared as new workloads and business models emerge. Our aim is to expand software choice and improve system performance while maintaining the reliability and security our clients expect."
"Enterprise infrastructure is entering a new phase where flexibility, workload portability, and ecosystem reach are becoming just as critical as performance and reliability. As AI and data-intensive applications reshape requirements, organizations are looking for platforms that can evolve without forcing disruptive tradeoffs," said Patrick Moorhead, Founder, CEO, and Chief Analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. "What IBM and Arm are signaling here is a meaningful step toward that future that could broaden how enterprises think about deploying and scaling modern workloads. While the full implications will take time to unfold, it's clear this reflects a deeper level of investment in long-term platform innovation and ecosystem expansion than we typically see at this stage."
A Collaboration Designed for What's Next
The collaboration is focused on three key areas. First, the companies are exploring how to expand virtualization technologies that allow Arm®-based software environments to operate within IBM's enterprise computing platforms. This work is designed to expand software compatibility and further streamline how developers and enterprises bring Arm applications into mission-critical environments.
Secondly, enterprise infrastructure must support high-availability operations, as well as security and local data sovereignty requirements. IBM and Arm are exploring new ways to support the performance and efficiency demands of modern workloads, including AI and data intensive applications. The work includes enabling enterprise systems to recognize and execute Arm applications, with the goal of helping Arm-based environments align with the reliability, security, and operational requirements enterprises need.
Finally, the collaboration is focused on long term ecosystem growth. By creating shared technology layers between platforms, IBM and Arm aim to open the door to broader software ecosystems and greater flexibility in how applications are deployed and managed. This approach could give enterprises more choice, positioning them to adopt new applications and architectures while continuing to leverage their existing investments.
"IBM's defining role in shaping enterprise infrastructure spans decades, showcasing the breadth and commitment required to support our clients' most intensive and sensitive workloads," said Christian Jacobi, Chief Technology Officer and IBM Fellow, IBM Systems Development. "This moment marks the latest step in our innovation journey for future generations of our IBM Z and LinuxONE systems, reinforcing our end-to-end system design as a powerful advantage."
Statements regarding IBM's future direction and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice, and represent goals and objectives only.
About IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of governments and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to effect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.
Media contact:
Bethany McCarthy
IBM
bethany@ibm.com
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IBM Announces Strategic Collaboration with Arm to Shape the Future of Enterprise Computing
SINGAPORE, April 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Alpha Ladder Group ("Alpha Ladder"), a Singapore-headquartered Digital Green Group driving sustainable financial and technology innovation through subsidiaries including MetaComp and Alpha Ladder Finance, and Maqam International Holding, an Abu Dhabi-based company, today announced the establishment of a joint venture focused on real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation and digital payments across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The announcement follows MetaComp's close of its Pre-A funding round at USD 35 million in total raised, backed by Alibaba, another internet conglomerate, Eastern Bell, Noah, Sky9, and a fund affiliated with Asia's largest logistics infrastructure company. Having achieved profitability in 2025 and with USD 100 million in instantaneous liquidity on its platform, MetaComp enters this partnership as an operationally proven Web2.5 Pay + Wealth business model, institutionally backed payment infrastructure provider — capitalised and ready to deploy across priority corridors, including MENA.
Maqam International Holding is built on a multi-decade legacy as an operator and developer of landmark real assets, such as Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi, across the Middle East. Running a portfolio of this scale and institutional complexity means the cross-border payment and settlement gap this joint venture addresses is not a strategic theme they are exploring — it is a constraint they already manage. Alpha Ladder delivers the full-stack technology, compliance infrastructure, and operational capability to resolve it.
The joint venture will be domiciled within the ADGM, the UAE's premier international financial center.
MENA Digital Finance: The Opportunity
The MENA digital payments market was valued at USD 248 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 420 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual rate of approximately 11% [1]. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) RWA tokenisation represents a nearly USD 500 billion opportunity by 2030 [2], as global on-chain real-world assets surpassed USD 24 billion by mid-2025 [3].
The convergence of premium real assets, regulatory maturity, and institutional demand in the Gulf creates the conditions for a class of tokenised assets built on quality collateral and operational rigour.
Chairman of Maqam International Holding:
"Our partnership with Alpha Ladder Group reflects a shared conviction that the UAE's position as a global financial hub is strengthened by the quality of the infrastructure built within it. We bring our assets, our relationships, and our deep roots in Abu Dhabi's institutional ecosystem. Alpha Ladder brings the technology, the compliance framework, and the operational capability to make this platform world-class. Together, we are building something that meets the highest global standards from day one. Furthermore, this joint venture highlights Abu Dhabi as the premier global destination for investments in Fintech"
Maqam International Holding's Proven Investment Pedigree
Maqam International Holding has a legacy of decades building and operating landmark Abu Dhabi assets — including Etihad Towers — alongside global institutional partners across real estate, hospitality, and infrastructure. That operating history is achieved from sovereign relationships, family office networks, and regulatory access it has accumulated across the Middle East over the same period. Few institutions in the region combine proven hard-asset operational depth with direct proximity to the capital allocators and regulatory channels that determine how capital moves in this market.
Dr Bo Bai, Group Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, Alpha Ladder Group:
"Alpha Ladder was built on the conviction that the future of financial infrastructure is hybrid — and the UAE is where that convergence is happening at the highest institutional level. We are building an institution whose experience of the problem is as deep as our ability to solve it. Together, we are deploying compliant infrastructure that connects Abu Dhabi's real asset base to global capital markets — at the standard both parties have built their reputations on. Our commitment to the UAE is firm and while the region faces real pressures, we are deepening our presence here because we believe in the UAE's institutional resilience and in the strength of what we are building together."
Core Focus Areas
The joint venture targets three pillars of digital financial infrastructure — an integrated stack that, taken together, represents one of the most comprehensive regulated fintech deployments connecting MENA and Asia to date.
- Cross-border payments: Cross-border payments between MENA and Asia remain slow, costly, and fragmented. MetaComp's StableX Network addresses this directly, routing payments across its partner network of traditional bank rails and stablecoin rails simultaneously. The StableX Engine handles real-time settlement at a fraction of conventional cost, while the VisionX Engine screens every transaction for compliance as it moves — across both fiat and on-chain activity — ensuring regulatory integrity without sacrificing speed.
- RWA tokenisation: Real-world assets — from real estate to infrastructure — have historically been illiquid, difficult to divide, and accessible only to large institutional players. Alpha Ladder Finance's patented Non-Fungible Digital Twin (NFDT) technology changes this by creating a live, blockchain-anchored digital record of each asset, reflecting its actual condition, performance, and ownership in real time. The result is a more transparent and auditable framework for asset fractionalisation and participation designed to support compliant structures.
- Capital markets: Connecting MENA-based companies and funds to global liquidity pools through regulated digital channels.
Strengthening Singapore-UAE Fintech Axis
Singapore and the UAE are two of the world's leading regulated digital finance gateways. Singapore's MAS advances this through Project Guardian, stablecoin frameworks, and digital payment token licensing under the Payment Services Act.
In the UAE, ADGM is the primary regulatory domicile for this joint venture, a jurisdiction with direct application of English Common Law, comprehensive frameworks for tokenised securities, digital asset custody, and cross-border payments, and robust AML requirements aligned with FATF standards. This joint venture is a direct expression of the digital finance leadership the jurisdiction has built.
H.E. Jamal Abdulla Mohammad Bin Abdulwahab Alsuwaidi, UAE Ambassador to Singapore:
"The UAE strongly believes in the mutual benefits driven by forward-looking Singapore-UAE partnerships like this Alpha Ladder-Maqam International Holding collaboration. We welcome Alpha Ladder as a leading Singapore entity at the forefront of building resilient cross-border financial ecosystems between our nations."
Dr Brian Shegar, UAE Singapore Business Council:
"We applaud Alpha Ladder's pivotal role in this landmark collaboration and encourage more Singapore businesses to follow their lead in advancing UAE-Singapore economic ties through cross-border innovation and sustainable financial infrastructure development. We are delighted to have played a role in encouraging Alpha Ladder to pursue its UAE business aspirations."
The joint venture intends to apply for a licence with the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) and launch initial operations in 2026. Alpha Ladder and Maqam International Holding are building the institutional digital finance infrastructure that connects Abu Dhabi's premium real asset base to global capital markets, powered by MetaComp and governed by Alpha Ladder's global compliance standards.
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Maqam International Holding
Maqam International Holding is an Abu Dhabi based company, dedicated to managing a diverse investment portfolio of assets and has been a cornerstone for strategic growth, driving economic development in UAE and beyond. With unwavering commitment to shaping a prosperous future, Maqam International Holding is dedicated to fostering transformative opportunities that enhance economic vitality and create job prospects within the economy. At the heart of our strategic vision are three pivotal areas of focus:
Real Estate
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- Acquiring, developing, and managing residential, commercial, and retail assets
Hotels
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- Development of Hotels managed by top-tier global brands in MENA and Zanzibar
International and MENA Investments
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- Strategic investments in equities and global investments in private equities, managed portfolios, equity and associate investments
About Alpha Ladder Group Pte. Ltd
Headquartered in Singapore, Alpha Ladder Group is a technology and financial services group driving Digital Green Transformation. We operate on the conviction that the future of financial infrastructure is neither purely centralised nor distributed, but a Hybrid.
From our first member subsidiary founded in 2016, we have grown into a multi-vertical ecosystem that operationalises this conviction across three critical sectors:
Digital Financial Services
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- MetaComp Group and affiliates deliver at group-level Asia's leading licensed fiat &stablecoin hybrid platform, providing compliant payment & wealth services, with more than US$10billion payment volume and US$500+ million wealth AUM* in 2025.
Sustainable Investment
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- Asia Green Fund, an award-winning impact investment firm with around US$2.5 billion AUM* focusing on investing in deep-tech companies for decarbonisation.
AI-Powered Green Technology
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- MVGX, a leading AI ESG platform providing end-to-end carbon SaaS solutions: AI emission factor search engine, Scope 1, 2, & 3 measurement, decarbonisation rating, AI ESG reporting, green asset tokenisation & trading; and
- Greenlyzer, a deep tech company building a hydrogen-based Green Moving Grid, a distributed power grid to augment traditional grid, to deliver a robust, intelligent and sustainable power infrastructure for next-generation AI.
At Alpha Ladder Group, our name reflects our commitment to continuous evolution. We believe that by engineering the intersection of Digital and Green, we move the world forward to pursue sustainable alpha—one particle at a time.
*Figures as of April 2026
References
[1] Mordor Intelligence, "Middle East and North Africa Digital Payments Market"
[2] Real-world asset tokenization: a $500 billion opportunity for the GCC
[3] InvestaX Q3 2025 RWA Report
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Alpha Ladder Group and MetaComp Partner with Maqam International Holding, an Abu Dhabi (UAE) company, to Advance RWA Tokenisation and Web2.5 Payments Across Singapore-UAE Corridor
