Presight Announces Its Inaugural Cohort of its AI Accelerator Program
The announcement follows an evaluation and selection process that attracted 120 applications from AI startups across 17 countries, spanning diverse sectors such as Smart Cities, Fintech, Energy, AI Governance, and Sovereign AI.
The shortlisted pool of 15 global finalists was selected to participate in the final pitch days, held on 2–3 June. The event featured in-person pitches in Abu Dhabi at Presight's office and virtual presentations from international startups. Finalists had already raised over USD $150 million collectively, backed by leading global accelerators like Microsoft, Google, Alchemist, and Techstars—underscoring the exceptional calibre of applicants.
Thomas Pramotedham, Chief Executive Officer of Presight, said: 'The Presight AI-Startup Accelerator is more than a program—it's a strategic growth engine for both visionary startups and Presight itself. We launched this initiative to identify and scale the most promising AI innovations globally, integrate them into our ecosystem, and drive transformative impact across industries. In providing the 10 AI startups with access to infrastructure, mentorship, and market reach, we're accelerating their growth and our own innovation pipeline. This approach allows us to build a portfolio of world-class AI solutions faster and more effectively than traditional R&D or acquisitions.
'Through the evaluation process, we prioritized rigor, readiness to scale, and strategic alignment with Presight's business focus. These 10 startups represent the strongest potential for impact within Presight's ecosystem. The selection process was among the most competitive in the region, and we thank all 15 finalists for their impressive vision and energy.'
Meet the 10 Winners: Derq (UAE, USA): A leading provider of patented AI-powered intelligent transportation systems (ITS) helping cities prevent crashes, solve complex road safety challenges, and improve traffic flow.
A leading provider of patented AI-powered intelligent transportation systems (ITS) helping cities prevent crashes, solve complex road safety challenges, and improve traffic flow. Resync (Singapore): AI-driven Energy Efficiency and Sustainability solution for the Built Environment. Resync's cutting edge technology provides HVAC optimisation, iFM and Energy Savings for commercial and industrial buildings across Southeast Asia and Middle East.
AI-driven Energy Efficiency and Sustainability solution for the Built Environment. Resync's cutting edge technology provides HVAC optimisation, iFM and Energy Savings for commercial and industrial buildings across Southeast Asia and Middle East. AlphaGeo (Singapore): Provides data, analytics and tools to navigate climate risk and invest in adaptation and resilience.
Provides data, analytics and tools to navigate climate risk and invest in adaptation and resilience. ai (UAE/Tajikistan): Zypl generates synthetic outliers from its proprietary zGAN model to optimize the performance of AI agents — especially under edge cases and black swans. Focused on financial services use cases, zypl's enterprise AI platform enables banks to reduce defaults, improve fraud detection and increase repayment rates.
Zypl generates synthetic outliers from its proprietary zGAN model to optimize the performance of AI agents — especially under edge cases and black swans. Focused on financial services use cases, zypl's enterprise AI platform enables banks to reduce defaults, improve fraud detection and increase repayment rates. ai (Indonesia / Singapore): Provides native AI-powered education and training solutions with adaptive learning pathways for schools, enterprises, and government institutions.
Provides native AI-powered education and training solutions with adaptive learning pathways for schools, enterprises, and government institutions. Waverity (Azerbaijan): Solves the challenge of limited insights and low accuracy in seismic data interpretation. Using advanced AI algorithms, it enhances image quality, reduces subsurface uncertainty, and accelerates exploration and drilling decisions in the energy sector.
Solves the challenge of limited insights and low accuracy in seismic data interpretation. Using advanced AI algorithms, it enhances image quality, reduces subsurface uncertainty, and accelerates exploration and drilling decisions in the energy sector. Vulcan (UAE): Offers GenAI security, safety, & compliance tools, from assessment through protection. Trusted by leading organizations in the high-tech & public sectors, Vulcan is the GenAI-specific solution to ensure safety, security and operational integrity.
Offers GenAI security, safety, & compliance tools, from assessment through protection. Trusted by leading organizations in the high-tech & public sectors, Vulcan is the GenAI-specific solution to ensure safety, security and operational integrity. NodeShift (UAE, USA): A sovereign AI cloud platform that lets users run LLMs, image, and speech models in one click — securely, on cloud or on-premises. No DevOps required.
A sovereign AI cloud platform that lets users run LLMs, image, and speech models in one click — securely, on cloud or on-premises. No DevOps required. Maiden Century (USA): Developer of a proprietary data science platform designed to help fundamental and systematic investors harness the power of both internal and external data resources to generate powerful investment insights.
Developer of a proprietary data science platform designed to help fundamental and systematic investors harness the power of both internal and external data resources to generate powerful investment insights. Cobi (UAE, USA): Offers an AI-powered business intelligence platform designed to enhance customer engagement and product optimization.
A distinguished jury panel evaluated each 10-minute pitch before selecting the final Cohort winners. Members of the judging panel included: Kareem Okeili, Senior Partner Development Manager, Microsoft; Sultan Al Hajji, Senior Adviser to the President of Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligent (MBZUAI); and Darsh Singh Mann, Head of Business Development and Partnerships, StartX by Stanford University. They were joined by a selection of senior management from Presight.
Amr Kamel, General Manager, Strategic Partnerships, Microsoft Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa at Microsoft – a strategic partner of the Presight AI-Startup Accelerator, said: 'We are excited about the calibre and vision demonstrated by the AI Startups participating in the Presight AI-Startup Accelerator. Through our collaboration with Presight, Microsoft is committed to equipping these startups with advanced AI tools and cloud infrastructure, helping them develop innovative solutions and accelerate their growth. We look forward to seeing how they leverage these resources to make meaningful contributions across various industries.'
Sultan Al Hajji, Senior Adviser to the President of MBZUAI, said: 'While evaluating the finalists, we had a clear window into the bold thinking that's driving the UAE's AI startup ecosystem. As a strategic partner of the Presight AI Startup Accelerator, MBZUAI, through our Incubation and Entrepreneurship Center, is committed to empowering founders by providing cutting-edge AI expertise and mentorship. Together, we aim to accelerate the UAE's leadership in AI innovation by supporting the development of transformative AI ideas.'
Next Stop: Accelerator Bootcamp
The selected startups will now join the Presight AI-Startup Accelerator Bootcamp in Abu Dhabi. This immersion program includes technical mentoring, strategic market access to scale with potential commercial proof-of-concepts and contracts, product refinement, and investment readiness for the venture capital funding during demo day.
Presight's Vision for Applied Intelligence
The Presight AI-Startup Accelerator offers startups access to Presight's cutting-edge AI infrastructure, the UAE and G42's partner ecosystem, and industry-leading mentorship. The program is designed as a launchpad for market-ready startups to scale exponentially across public services, finance, energy, education, and more.
The Accelerator helps startups refine their AI-powered products, optimize go-to-market strategies, gain access to distribution channels, and integrate with Presight's product pipeline—providing unmatched cross-selling, networking, and promotional opportunities.
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