Industrial certification has barely changed since the Victorian era. This is the process by which companies verify industrial processes such as carbon sequestration, building safety, environmental compliance, and dozens of other critical outcomes. For more than a century and a half, these certifications have been issued through slow, manual, labour-intensive processes, human inspectors, paper trails, and weeks of back-and-forth. The world has changed dramatically. The certification industry, largely, has not.
That is the market Isometric is transforming, and it is precisely why we invested in their $40 million Series A alongside AVP, Plural, and Lowercarbon Capital.
What Isometric Does
Isometric’s AI agents automate industrial certification, from carbon removal and clean power to low-carbon materials and industrial emissions.
Here is the problem they are solving. For example, when a company like Meta offsets its emissions with carbon removal, someone needs to certify that the carbon has genuinely been captured and stored. That certification process has historically relied on manual assessment and spot checks by traditional auditors. It is slow, expensive, and an obstacle to scaling.
Isometric has built Certify, an AI-native certification platform that makes this process faster, more accurate, and more consistent. Certify’s agents review millions of data points, surface the cases that need expert judgment, replace spot checks with complete coverage, and do in hours what used to take months.
This agentic platform is backed by Isometric’s in-house science and engineering experts and a wider external network of 500 specialists who develop the rigorous scientific protocols behind every certificate Isometric issues. This expertise creates a self-reinforcing loop baked into the AI platform, which is genuinely difficult to replicate.
This is not a feature. It is a moat.
The Founder’s Track Record
One of the first things I look for when evaluating any investment is whether the team has done something hard before. In this case, the answer is unambiguously yes.
Isometric’s founder, Eamon Jubbawy, previously built Onfido, an AI-powered identity certification platform focused on KYC processes for the financial industry. Onfido was sold for approximately $650 million. That is a meaningful exit in any market, and it tells you something important about Eamon’s ability to identify a large, structurally inefficient market, build durable technology, and take it to scale. His Arab heritage also resonates deeply with our regional thesis at DFDF. We believe founders with genuine ties to this part of the world bring an understanding of its dynamics that is hard to acquire from the outside.
The combination of a proven track record, domain credibility, and regional resonance is rare. When we found it here, it mattered.
Validation From the Market
We do not just take a founder’s word for the technology. We look for evidence that the hardest, most sceptical buyers in the world have already said yes.
Isometric’s client list includes Boeing, Anglo American, JPMorganChase, Veolia, and Microsoft. These are not early adopters looking for experimentation. These are large organisations with rigorous procurement processes, deep incumbent relationships, and reputational risk on the line. Their adoption of Isometric’s platform speaks louder than any pitch deck.
Perhaps more importantly, independent governance bodies have officially recognised and accepted Isometric’s approach. The certificates they issue are publicly listed and verifiable on their registry, which is itself a signal that the platform is operating at a level that traditional certification bodies must take seriously. We are no longer in the phase of “will regulators accept this?” The answer is already yes.
Why the UAE, and Why Now
At DFDF, every investment we make carries a dual mandate: generate strong financial returns and advance Dubai’s position as a global innovation hub. With Isometric, we see a compelling case on both dimensions.
The UAE has made climate commitments that are not symbolic. The country hosted COP28, launched the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative, and has positioned itself as a bridge between the Global South and international carbon markets. For all of that ambition to translate into certified, tradeable outcomes, the underlying infrastructure needs to be credible and scalable. Isometric is exactly that infrastructure.
When we began exploring this investment, we consulted with several stakeholders in the UAE ecosystem, and the response was consistent: if this technology works, there is clear demand for it here. That was meaningful validation. It confirmed that we were not bringing a solution and hoping the market would materialise. The market is already asking for what Isometric offers.
Dubai also gives Isometric something more strategic: a gateway. As a regional hub for the GCC, a base here would open doors to conversations with some of the largest industrial players in the world whose carbon accountability requirements are only going to grow in scope and scrutiny. We intend to be active partners in facilitating those introductions. That is part of what DFDF brings beyond capital.
The Bigger Picture
While Isometric started in carbon removal , this is not the endpoint.
They’ve already extended their model into adjacent verticals, such as low-carbon materials and industrial emissions, and are expanding across the industrial economy. This is a market that spans everything from data centres and fire safety compliance to water usage in construction and broader environmental standards. The logic is sound: the core capability they have built, AI agents capable of delivering rigorous, accreditation-grade certification, is horizontal. The specific domain is variable.
As global regulatory pressure intensifies and industrial accountability becomes non-negotiable across more sectors, the market for Isometric’s certification will grow considerably. We are investing not just in a carbon removal certifier, but in a new infrastructure layer for the industrial economy.
Closing Thoughts
The best investments we make at DFDF sit at the intersection of a large, underserved market, genuinely defensible technology, and a clear path to regional relevance. Isometric ticks all three. It is building in a space that is ripe for transformation, with technology that has already earned the trust of marquee clients and regulators, led by a founder who has scaled and exited a category-defining company before.
We are proud to back Isometric, and we are looking forward to helping them build something significant in the region.
About the Author
Aarzoo Sharma is part of the Investments team at Dubai Future District Fund, where she focuses on identifying and supporting technology companies aligned with DFDF’s mandate to build Dubai’s venture and innovation ecosystem. Her work spans direct co-investments across DFDF’s key focus sectors.
