Hand-curated structure profiles of 10 companies registered in UAE and Dubai, the entity type, the registration jurisdiction, ownership and the people on the filings. From Alphabet and Meta to Stripe, OpenAI and Anthropic.
The UAE runs two parallel incorporation systems: federal Commercial Companies Law mainland entities, and dozens of free zones with their own company registrars (DMCC, DAFZA, ADGM, DIFC, JAFZA). Free zones offer 100% foreign ownership and 0% corporate tax on qualifying income; mainland entities since 2021 also allow 100% foreign ownership in most sectors.
Most tech and commerce unicorns pick a DMCC, ADGM or DIFC structure; large retail and property groups operate as mainland LLCs or PJSCs.
The formation guide walks through LLC versus C-Corp, the EIN application, registered agents, franchise tax and BOI reporting.
Read the formation guide