Presight Sees Applications Triple for AI Accelerator Programme
Abu Dhabi-based Presight has reported a sharp rise in global interest in its AI Accelerator Program, with applications for the second cohort more than tripling as startups increasingly target commercially viable AI solutions for government, enterprise, and critical infrastructure.
Presight has received 376 applications from 62 countries for the second cohort of its AI Accelerator Program, according to WAM. The total marks a significant jump from the 120 applications from 17 countries recorded for the inaugural cohort, underlining growing international interest in applied AI programs linked to real-world deployment and commercialization.
The first cohort selected 10 companies and has already generated discussions around a potential total contract value of $26 million, alongside a confirmed $1 million investment in NodeShift from the Presight-Shorooq Fund I.
WAM reported that the bulk of applications came from the Middle East, followed by Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. The top five countries by application volume were the UAE, the US, India, the UK and South Korea, pointing to broad interest from both regional and global innovation ecosystems.
According to WAM, many of the applicants are developing technologies in enterprise AI, automation, data analytics, and sector-specific use cases across fintech, healthtech, govtech, smart cities, and cybersecurity. Presight said this reflects rising demand for AI systems that can operate in complex, regulated environments and be deployed at national and enterprise scale.
The company also said the second cohort appears more commercially mature than the first, with a substantial number of applicants already showing revenue generation, active customers and capital raised. WAM noted that the first cohort selected 10 companies and has already generated discussions around a potential total contract value of $26 million, alongside a confirmed $1 million investment in NodeShift from the Presight-Shorooq Fund I.
The latest figures reinforce Abu Dhabi’s wider ambition to position itself as a hub for deployment-led AI development rather than pure experimentation. For the regional market, the program offers another sign that AI investment in the Gulf is increasingly focused on commercial scalability, infrastructure relevance, and alignment with government and enterprise demand. This final sentence is an inference based on the program’s structure and the application profile described by WAM.
