Abu Dhabi-listed AI company Presight AI has chosen 12 companies for the second group of its AI startup accelerator. The program received 376 applications from 62 countries.
The 33 companies that made the first cut had already raised more than USD 341 million in funding. They generated over USD 28 million in annual recurring revenue. Their combined value exceeded USD 2.1 billion.
Investors backing these shortlisted firms include Samsung Ventures, AMD, LG, Atlantic Labs, Airbus Ventures, KDB Capital, and Franklin Templeton.
The selected startups come from South Korea, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Kazakhstan, and the UAE.
Their work covers AI safety, satellite methane monitoring, hospital early warning systems, drone inspections, data centre infrastructure, and financial fraud detection.
A Rigorous Selection Process
Presight started reviewing applications in April. The team conducted interviews and detailed assessments. They narrowed the field to 16 finalists. These finalists presented at virtual Pitch Days in early June.
An eight-member jury evaluated the finalists. The panel included representatives from the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, Abu Dhabi AI University MBZUAI, G42, and Singapore venture firm K3 Ventures.
Presight chose 12 companies for this cohort. The program expanded its intake because of the strong quality of the finalist group.
What the Selected Startups Do
The 12 companies bring diverse AI capabilities to the program.
AIM Intelligence from South Korea builds AI safety and security tools. The company creates red teaming and guardrail technologies for enterprise and government AI systems.
AIRMO, operating across Germany, Luxembourg, and the UAE, uses AI-powered satellite monitoring to track methane emissions for energy companies and regulators.
AITRICS from South Korea provides clinical early warning AI that predicts patient deterioration in hospitals.
Dtonic, also from South Korea, offers an AI data platform that turns spatial and physical world data into real-time intelligence for city operations, defence, and retail.
Featherless AI from the United States enables serverless AI inference. The company scales GPU infrastructure based on demand rather than model count.
FlyNex from Germany runs an AI-driven platform for automated drone-based inspection of energy grids and telecom networks.
FortyGuard, based in the UAE, delivers AI-powered temperature intelligence. The company provides hyperlocal forecasting and analytics for businesses, cities, and critical infrastructure.
MangoBoost, operating from South Korea and the United States, designs hardware and software for agentic AI infrastructure in data centres.
rahd·AI from the United Kingdom offers an AI platform that transforms unstructured data into decommissioning intelligence for oil and gas operators.
TheStage AI from the United States automates AI model acceleration without requiring fine-tuning.
Transparently.AI from Singapore uses forensic finance AI to detect accounting manipulation and financial statement fraud.
Trust Exam from Kazakhstan provides AI proctoring and exam security for high-stakes assessments.
Access to Major Resources
The selected companies gain entry to the technical ecosystems of Presight and its majority owner, G42.
Participants receive mentorship from an international advisory board chaired by Presight Chairman Mansoor Al Mansoori.
They also have the chance to receive investment from Presight’s venture capital arm.
The Cohort II Bootcamp will run in the coming months. The program connects participating companies to commercial opportunities across the UAE ecosystem.
Building on Early Success
Presight launched the accelerator at Expand North Star in Dubai in October 2024.
The first cohort focused on helping early-stage AI startups refine their business models and reach product-market fit.
The program gave participants access to Presight’s computing infrastructure, foundational language models, and the wider G42 ecosystem.
Last year, Presight strengthened the accelerator’s proposition by launching a USD 100 million global AI innovation fund in partnership with Abu Dhabi investment firm Shorooq.
The Presight Shorooq Fund I has already invested in six AI companies across the United States and the UAE.
These investments span sovereign AI infrastructure, vertical intelligence platforms, and edge native intelligence systems.
A Growing AI Hub
The UAE continues to build its position as a destination for applied AI.
Hub71 partnered with Google to launch the Google for Startups Accelerator within the Hub71+ AI vertical. The program selected 28 startups for a three-month program offering mentorship and cloud credits.
Mastercard Lighthouse also launched in the UAE to advance fintech and AI. The program provides a pathway for startups to pilot and commercialise AI-led solutions.
Presight itself is expanding rapidly. The company reported revenues of AED 1.09 billion in the first half of 2025, representing year-on-year growth of nearly 80 percent.
International markets contributed 26.8 percent of second quarter revenue, up significantly from 4.9 percent in the same period last year.
The company’s contracted backlog has climbed to nearly AED 3.7 billion, providing visibility on medium-term revenue streams.
Presight operates in over 17 countries and has worked on more than 25 projects across the UAE and MENA.
What This Means for AI Startups
The accelerator program attracts startups that are already performing well. The shortlist’s combined USD 2.1 billion valuation and USD 341 million in raised capital show that Presight is selecting ventures with proven traction.
The program offers more than just funding. Selected companies get access to G42’s ecosystem, which includes world-class investors such as Mubadala, Silverlake, Microsoft, and the Dalio Family Office.
This combination of capital, infrastructure, and commercial pathways creates a clear route from innovation to deployment.
For AI startups looking to scale, the Presight accelerator provides a direct connection to the UAE’s growing AI economy and beyond.
