Gamechangers: AI | AskSary’s Sary Ismail Believes The Future Of AI In The MENA Must Be Localized
Ismail was one of the innovators celebrated in the 2026 edition of Gamechangers: AI, an annual Inc. Arabia showcase of the business leaders driving the AI revolution in the MENA.
AskSary founder Sary Ismail built his Bahrain-based artificial intelligence (AI) studio to address the critical challenge of digital fragmentation and linguistic barriers in the MENA region’s rapidly evolving tech landscape. “While global AI models exist, they often lack the localized interface, regional focus, and integrated toolsets required by the Middle Eastern developer and creator community,” Ismail explains. “AskSary effectively solves this through a localized, high-performance ecosystem designed to align with regional digital transformation goals. Out of a total user base of over 8,200, approximately 43 percent are concentrated in the Gulf, with 1,500 users in Bahrain, and 2,000 in Saudi Arabia. The platform maintains a 30.5 percent conversion rate on the Google Play Store, demonstrating that the localized interface and feature set meet the specific demands of the MENA market.”
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However, for Ismail, this is just the beginning—he tells Inc. Arabia that the traction AskSary has secured is the starting point for a much broader vision. “My goal is to establish a dedicated AI lab in Bahrain that serves as a regional powerhouse for educational innovation, specifically focusing on transforming how universities and institutes manage knowledge,” Ismail reveals. “By leveraging my platform’s unique knowledge base and neural memory features, I want to empower academic institutions to upload vast repositories of global research and internal data, making them instantly searchable and interactive via AI. This isn’t just about automation; it’s about building a foundation for the economies of the future by equipping the next generation with localized, high-speed access to the world’s collective intelligence.”
Pictured in the lead image is Sary Ismail, founder of AskSary. Courtesy of AskSary.
Ismail was one of the innovators celebrated in the 2026 edition of Gamechangers: AI, an annual Inc. Arabia showcase of the business leaders driving the AI revolution in the MENA. Check out the full list by clicking here.
