Hub71 welcomes record AI startups in latest cohort, reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s role in global AI innovation

• 26 startups selected for Hub71's Cohort 17, which have raised over USD 223 million (AED 818 million) - the highest to date
• 81% are AI-driven startups tackling challenges across Abu Dhabi's priority sectors, including healthcare, finance, energy and ClimateTech
• Majority are seed-stage companies from 12 countries, including the US, UK, Singapore and India

Hub71, Abu Dhabi's global tech ecosystem, has onboarded its most AI-intensive cohort to date, welcoming 26 high-growth startups to its 17th Cohort. Together, these companies have raised over USD 223 million (AED 818 million), the largest funding total of any Hub71 cohort to date, underscoring the calibre of startups scaling from Abu Dhabi and rising investor confidence in Abu Dhabi's position as a global centre for advanced technologies.

Over eighty per cent of startups selected are developing AI-driven solutions to address critical challenges across priority sectors, including HealthTech, FinTech and ClimateTech, contributing to the diversification of Abu Dhabi's economy. Their entry into Abu Dhabi reflects the emirate's growing strategic relevance in the global AI landscape, amplified by the launch of Hub71+ AI, the specialist ecosystem backed by partners including AI71, Core42, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google for Startups, designed to catalyse cross-sector AI breakthroughs.

Cohort 17 was selected from over 2,000 global applications, with startups from 12 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, France, Canada, Egypt and India. Notably, 74% are headquartered outside the UAE, reflecting Abu Dhabi's emergence as a destination of choice for internationally ambitious founders seeking capital, customers, and growth. The cohort is primarily composed of seed-stage startups, aligning with Hub71's focus on empowering early-stage startups to grow into resilient international businesses.

Ahmad Ali Alwan, CEO of Hub71, said: "The startups joining Cohort 17 reflect the ambition and calibre of founders we are welcoming into our community. Backed by strong funding and building technologies with broad market applications, they are pursuing growth globally. Their decision to build from Abu Dhabi highlights the strength of our ecosystem and its position as a global launchpad for innovation."

Among the notable startups joining Hub71 is Harmonic Discovery, a US BioTech company applying AI to design precision therapies for hard-to-treat diseases like sickle cell disease. The company has raised USD 8.5 million (AED 31.2 million) in funding. Also joining Hub71 is Planys Technologies from India, which develops autonomous underwater robots and smart sensors for diver-free inspection, with USD 7.2 million (AED 26.4 million) in funding.

Six startups in Cohort 17 are scaling solutions to address environmental challenges, leveraging the Hub71+ ClimateTech ecosystem to accelerate their growth and impact. Among them is SunGreenH2, a Singapore-based company building high-efficiency electrolysers to produce green hydrogen for industrial, energy and mobility use, backed by USD 6.6 million (AED 24.2 million) in funding. Eight startups will develop solutions in blockchain and Web3 technologies and will benefit from the Hub71+ Digital Assets ecosystem, including Resolv Labs, a UAE-based crypto investment platform that has raised USD 12.5 million (AED 46 million).

Cohort 17 startups will join Hub71's Access programme, benefitting from a comprehensive support package that includes up to AED 500,000 in in-kind and cash incentives, and the opportunity for top-performing startups to receive up to AED 1 million in follow-on support after completing one year at Hub71. Beyond capital, startups gain access to the Hub71 network and Abu Dhabi market, talent pool, and investor networks, positioning them to take advantage of commercial opportunities and scale quickly from the UAE capital.

This latest cohort confirms Hub71's growing global attractiveness and Abu Dhabi's rising influence in shaping the future of AI-powered industries.

The 26 startups selected to join Hub71's Cohort 17 include:

Access Programme

1. Banxx is one app to manage your entire financial life- connecting banking and AI to help you plan, optimise, and manage your financial life with ease.
2. eVoost AI is the intelligence layer for modern real estate, a complete go-to-market engine that informs every off-plan development decision from planning to pricing.
3. Harmonic Discovery uses AI to design precision therapies for hard-to-treat diseases, with a lead programme targeting Sickle Cell Disease.
4. HealthStay.io is an advanced AI software that helps medical providers qualify, convert, and manage international patients through automated workflows and streamlined operations.
5. Monit provides AI-powered IoT solutions for industrial asset monitoring, worker safety and operational efficiency.
6. Orbii is a credit intelligence platform enabling lenders to launch and scale SME lending products using AI-based underwriting to real-time disbursement and collections.
7. PayTic automates compliance and back-office payment operations - including reconciliation, dispute management, and regulatory reporting - enabling banks and FinTech's to reduce costs, enhance efficiency, and scale with confidence.
8. Planys is revolutionising critical infrastructure structure inspection through innovations in marine robotics, advanced underwater NDT, and AI-driven analytics. Their un-manned solutions enable online inspections that are safer and help asset managers improve efficiency and avoid shutdowns.
9. Professional.me is a talent intelligence system powered by micro-LLMs tailored to each employer and professional that drives smarter decisions across hiring, upskilling, and workforce planning.
10. Reno simplifies renovations by bringing contractor selection, project management, and financing into one easy-to-use platform.
11. Ukama empower enterprises and communities to build their own cellular networks and bring internet access to remote communities.
12. Wrtn Technologies is a leading consumer AI provider with its AI companion and AI character chat apps, while empowering businesses to boost productivity through AI agents in its B2B offerings.
13. ZenAdmin.ai is a comprehensive IT platform that helps companies of all sizes equip, manage, and support their teams anywhere in the world. We handle the entire IT hardware lifecycle, security, and support-ensuring employees have secure access to the tools they need to do their best work, without disruption.
    
    

Hub71+ ClimateTech

1. Lypid develops a patented plant-based fat that replicates the taste and texture of animal fat, ideal for dairy and baked goods, but without the cholesterol and with less saturated fat.
2. Mitico provides an affordable, simple and safe carbon capture technology, helping industrial emitters cut their carbon emissions by over 95%.
3. P1 Energy's modular synthetic fuel platform, a turnkey "refinery-in-a-box", converts renewable methanol into drop-in fuels usable in today's engines without modification.
4. Sager is an AI-powered digital twin platform that uses drone and geospatial data to monitor assets and optimise operations in real time.
5. SNAPP provides compact aquatic drones for ocean habitats, scalable as a swarm, and assisted with AI monitoring.
6. SolarisKit designs and manufactures flat-packed solar thermal collectors in the UAE, offering an easy-to-ship, quick-install, low-maintenance solution that delivers affordable clean heat for hot climates.
   
   

Hub71+ Digital Assets

1. Hearst is a cryptocurrency mining service focused on sustainability and institutional-grade reliability.
2. HIFI is a U.S based financial technology company for programmable money infrastructure. They allow businesses and institutions to integrate stablecoins directly into their workflows to move money across the world.
3. MANSA is the stablecoin-powered infrastructure enabling payment providers to deliver instant global settlement
4. Merkle Science, an AI-powered blockchain analytics leader, helps governments, banks, and crypto firms detect illicit activity. Backed by $27M from top investors, it delivers compliance, investigations and real-time risk intelligence.
5. Plume is the leading RWAfi chain focused on making it easy to access the real-world chain. With over $400M+ in RWA TVL, 200+ projects building on Plume, and as #1 chain by RWA holders, Plume is the premier place for RWAs to build, launch, and grow. Plume has raised $30M+ from leading investors like Haun Ventures, Galaxy Digital, Apollo Global, YZi Labs, Brevan Howard, and more.
6. Predicate powers the regulated rails for on chain financial products. We abstract policy logic and enforcement from smart contracts, making it easy for organisations to meet their business and compliance requirements.
7. Resolv is an investment infrastructure providing access to the broad range of crypto-sourced yields in a stablecoin format.