Presight AI, the Abu Dhabi-based AI platform developer within the G42 group, recently announced the list of 12 firms joining this year’s iteration of its well-resourced AI Accelerator programme – and it includes cutting-edge applications that are already benefitting the energy industry.
An initial 376 applications from 62 countries were whittled down to a shortlist of 33 firms. That was eventually reduced to a final 12 for entry to Presight’s “Cohort II” group, following a detailed evaluation process, informed by a series of virtual pitches to by a high-profile jury comprised of leading UAE government and regional energy industry figures.
The accelerator seeks to support, market-ready AI companies rather than early-stage start-ups, assisting participants to scale up further, by securing commercial contracts, creating partnerships, and accessing government-level opportunities.
The 33 shortlisted companies this year had already raised combined capital of over $340m, generated more than $28m in contracted annual recurring revenue, and had an estimated combined valuation over more than $2bn.Presight noted that they had proven potential given backing from big name investors such as Samsung Ventures, AMD, LG, Atlantic Labs, Airbus Ventures, KDB Capital, and Franklin Templeton.
The selection of 12 companies for this year’s final cohort, represents an expansion from the inaugural programme launched in 2025, which Presight said reflected the strength of the finalist group and the number of companies that successfully met the programme’s selection criteria.
Applications and technologies covered include topics such as AI inference optimisation, AI security and safety, climate intelligence, infrastructure inspection, data centre infrastructure, greenhouse gas monitoring, smart city platforms, financial intelligence, healthcare AI, industrial AI, and education technology, and included several AI solutions with relevance for the energy sector.
Data structuring
Those developing energy sector applications include Aberdeen-based rahd·AI, which has developed an AI-driven platform designed to cut cost, complexity and risk in the fast-growing offshore decommissioning sector by turning the unstructured data spread across decades of well records into usable intelligence using automated processes with decision support for oil and gas operators.
The firms said the platform allowed operators to plan decommissioning campaigns faster, cut engineering time, improve compliance with regulatory requirements and lower project costs. The company estimates its technology has the potential to reduce offshore decommissioning costs by up to 35%. That is a major consideration in a global market which could exceed $200bn by 2040, according to some estimates.
Jake Stride, rahd·AI’s CEO said, inclusion in the accelerator cohort represented a significant commercial opportunity, by providing an entry point into the Middle East, complementing the firm’s existing operations in the UK, the US and Australia.
“Being selected as the only UK company from such a competitive global field demonstrates that we are solving a problem with worldwide relevance,” he said.
Other cohort companies developing technology with direct benefits for the energy sector include AIRMO, a firm with German roots that provides AI-powered satellite and aerial monitoring of methane emissions for the energy sector, landfills, and regulators, and Germany-based FlyNex, which has developed an AI-driven platform for automated, drone-based inspection of critical infrastructure such as energy grids and telecom networks.
Support provided to the cohort covers access to enterprise-scale computing infrastructure, technical support from Presight, as well as input from Presight’s majority stakeholder G42, MBZUAI and Microsoft among others. Introductions to government and corporate customers across the Middle East region are also on offer.The companies will also be able to pitch to the Presight–Shorooq Fund I, a $100m AI investment fund run by Presight’s venture capital arm, which targets investments in AI businesses that can scale internationally.
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