Dubai — IFZA, one of the world’s most dynamic Free Zone communities, announced the results of its inaugural Scale360 accelerator cohort, culminating in a Demo Day in Dubai that graduated 14 international AI and sustainability startups, with pilots already live, market entry underway, and relocations to the UAE in motion.
From 136 global applications, Scale360 selected a cohort representing 11 countries (Singapore, India, Egypt, Canada, the UK, the US, France, Germany, Slovakia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE). At Demo Day, 11 startups pitched live to a room of investors, corporates, and key stakeholders, demonstrating solutions spanning enterprise automation, industrial AI, retail analytics, identity verification, climate and energy platforms, and sustainability technologies.
The program is already showing strong visible commercial traction; eight startups are currently advancing their UAE licensing and company setup, two are relocating their global headquarters to Dubai, and IFZA has launched three AI and sustainability pilots partners.
“At IFZA, we’re not just a host; we’re the Free Zone community founders rely on. From licensing and pilot facilitation to curated corporate and investor introductions, Scale360 removes barriers so companies can grow from Dubai into the region,” said Jochen Knecht, CEO of IFZA. “That practical support is central to the UAE’s innovation agenda, and we will keep investing in the infrastructure and relationships founders need to succeed here.”
Reflecting on the strong on-ground engagement during the program, Sinéad O’Keeffe, Head of Scale360, said: “We’re seeing more international startups choosing the UAE as a place to relocate and scale, rather than just test the market.
Beyond the regulatory and structural advantages, what truly stands out for founders is how open the ecosystem is to working with startups. During Scale360 Demo Day, many startups secured pilots and initiated early conversations with local corporates leading to their first potential customers. That level of openness is a strong green flag and gives founders confidence that they can deploy and grow their solutions here.
“While the region is different from other markets, founders are recognizing that the ecosystem is designed to support them, from engaged corporates to government-backed initiatives and opportunities to raise capital, making the UAE a compelling destination to expand and operate.”
Strong deal flow: corporate access, investor engagement, and structured mentorship
Across the cohort, participating startups completed:
- 33 commercial introductions with UAE corporates and government entities
- 49 investor meetings with 11 participating investors
- 50+ hours of structured mentorship, covering sales, business development, technical strategy, legal, and fundraising
Global recognition and UAE expansion momentum
Several cohort companies secured notable international and regional breakthroughs during the program:
- Synteza AI earned international visibility after being selected to participate in Dubai Police’s Innovation Sprint 2.0 at GITEX, showcasing its synthetic data platform to support advanced computer vision applications.
- Interloom was named one of 10 global winners of the Zurich Insurance Innovation Challenge, selected from 1,000+ applicants. Building on Scale360 momentum, one Interloom cofounder will relocate to Dubai in January to expand market presence.
- Tayar, an Egypt-based startup electrifying last-mile delivery fleets, signed a partnership with Talabat and entered advanced commercial discussions with Keeta and Amazon during the cohort. Tayar is also nearing the close of its current fundraising round, supported by investor introductions made during Scale360’s Investor Week.
- Nettle AI, a Slovakia-based company developing multilingual conversational AI for customer support and automation, was selected for the Microsoft GrowthX Accelerator Program, delivered in partnership with ADIO in Abu Dhabi.
- Power Dime, a Canada- and India-based AI platform connecting businesses with renewable energy projects and managing the lifecycle from planning to monitoring, was accepted into the C3 Companies Creating Change Program in Dubai.
“Our startups proved that Dubai is where global AI and sustainability companies can build, partner, and scale quickly. The impact has been immediate, with pilots launched, investor engagement, and teams relocating to the UAE. This momentum aligns with national priorities such as the UAE National AI Strategy 2031 and the Net Zero by 2050 commitment and sets a strong foundation as we look forward to welcoming even more advanced AI startups in future cohorts.” said Sinéad O’Keeffe, Head of Scale360.
“Our focus now is on deepening Scale360’s role within the UAE’s AI ecosystem. First, we will continue to strengthen our AI proposition by working closely with corporates, government and investors to understand the AI solutions the region is actively seeking, and by supporting startups that align with real market demand. Second, we aim to embed our startups more deeply into the ecosystem through visibility and participation. With major AI events ahead such as Dubai AI Week, the AI Festival and AI Everything in Abu Dhabi, it’s important that our startups are present, visible and connected to what’s happening in the UAE.”
The demo day attracted several representatives from organizations such as ENOC, Dubai Municipality, Abu Dhabi Ports Group, and Abu Dhabi Customs, alongside investors including BECO Capital, AngelSpark, and 100VP.
Developed in partnership with Plug and Play, the world’s largest innovation platform, Scale360 combines global best practices with deep UAE market access, providing tailored mentorship, business setup support, corporate partnership opportunities, and curated investor introductions.
Cohort companies:
913 AI: Deploys AI-powered digital workers to automate core operations (legal, finance, HR, admin).
BrandContext: Uses AI-powered in-store analytics to help retailers understand shopper behavior and increase sales performance.
GlassHUB Uses AI to automate compliance reporting and verify supply-chain documentation for regulated industries.
Groundup AI: Delivers AI solutions that detect machine anomalies early to prevent downtime and improve industrial safety.
Interloom: Offers AI-driven workflow automation tools that streamline operations across enterprise teams.
ISTINA AI: Deploys an orchestrated team of autonomous AI agents that fully manage customer service and core business operations end to end.
Nettle AI: Builds multilingual conversational AI systems that automate customer support and business interactions.
Power Dime: Connects businesses with renewable energy projects through an AI-powered platform that manages everything from planning to monitoring.
Organized Matter AI: A geospatial AI platform that turns satellite, drone & IoT data into actionable, location-based insights.
RELAYTO AI: Transforms static documents into interactive, AI-enhanced content experiences.
Sensgreen: Optimises indoor air quality and energy consumption through AI-powered environmental sensors.
ShareID: AI-powered identity verification platform using computer vision to authenticate documents, detect fraud, and confirm user identity in real time.
Synteza AI: Generates high-quality synthetic datasets to accelerate and improve AI training for computer-vision.
