Dubai's IFZA Concludes First Scale360 Cohort As Startups Launch Pilots And Set Up In The Emirate

Dubai's International Free Zone Authority (IFZA) has completed the inaugural edition of its Scale360 accelerator program, graduating 14 international startups focused on artificial intelligence and sustainability.

Scale360, which was developed in partnership with the US-headquartered venture capital firm and innovation center Plug and Play, concluded with a Demo Day in Dubai, where founders presented to investors and representatives from organizations such as ENOC, Dubai Municipality, Abu Dhabi Ports Group, Abu Dhabi Customs, BECO Capital, AngelSpark, and 100VP. 

The accelerator drew significant global interest, receiving 136 applications from founders across the world. The selected cohort represented entrepreneurial talent from 11 countries, including Singapore, India, Egypt, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Germany, Slovakia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. During the Demo Day event, 11 startups delivered live pitches, demonstrating technologies ranging from enterprise automation and industrial AI to retail analytics, identity verification, and climate-focused platforms. 

In a statement, Jochen Knecht, CEO of IFZA, said, “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. 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.”    

Sinéad O’Keeffe, Head of Scale360, added, “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." 

The Scale360 program has already produced tangible business outcomes. Eight participating startups are currently working through UAE licensing and company formation processes, while two have made the strategic decision to relocate their global headquarters to Dubai. Additionally, IFZA has initiated three pilot programs with AI and sustainability partners emerging from the cohort. 

Throughout the program, participating companies received structured support designed to accelerate their regional expansion. The cohort collectively completed 33 commercial introductions with UAE corporations and government entities, engaged in 49 meetings with 11 different investors, and received more than 50 hours of mentorship covering sales strategy, business development, technical implementation, legal considerations, and fundraising approaches. 

Sinéad O’Keeffe, Head of Scale360.

Several companies achieved significant milestones during the program. Synteza AI, a startup that generates high-quality synthetic datasets to accelerate and improve AI training for computer vision , gained international exposure through its selection for Dubai Police's Innovation Sprint 2.0 at GITEX 2025, where the company demonstrated its synthetic data platform designed for computer vision applications. Interloom, which develops AI-driven workflow automation tools for enterprise teams, received recognition as one of 10 global winners in the Zurich Insurance Innovation Challenge, competing against more than 1,000 applicants. Following this success, one of Interloom's co-founders announced plans to relocate to Dubai in January to strengthen the company's regional presence. 

Tayar, an Egyptian startup working to electrify last-mile delivery fleets, secured a partnership with Talabat and entered advanced commercial conversations with Keeta and Amazon during the program. The company is also approaching the completion of its current funding round, benefiting from investor connections facilitated during Scale360's dedicated Investor Week. 

Other companies also secured validation. Nettle AI, which develops multilingual conversational AI for customer support, was accepted into the Microsoft GrowthX Accelerator Program delivered in partnership with Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) in Abu Dhabi, while Power Dime, an AI platform connecting businesses with renewable energy projects, has been admitted to Dubai's C3 Companies Creating Change Program. 

The graduated cohort includes companies addressing diverse market needs. Among them are 913 AI, which deploys AI-powered digital workers to automate operations across legal, finance, HR, and administrative functions, BrandContext, which uses AI-powered in-store analytics to help retailers understand shopper behavior and improve sales outcomes, and ISTINA AI, which deploys autonomous AI agents to manage customer service and core business operations.

Others, such as GlassHUB, focus on automating compliance reporting and supply-chain documentation verification for regulated industries, while Groundup AI delivers solutions that detect machine anomalies early to prevent industrial downtime and enhance safety. The cohort also included Organized Matter AI, a geospatial intelligence platform that transforms satellite, drone, and Internet of Things (IoT) data into actionable insights, and RELAYTO AI, which converts static documents into interactive, AI-enhanced content experiences. 

Additional ventures in the cohort included Sensgreen, which optimizes indoor air quality and energy consumption through AI-powered environmental sensors, and ShareID, which provides AI-powered identity verification using computer vision to authenticate documents and confirm user identity. 

Pictured in the lead image are the winners from IFZA's Scale360 accelerator program. All images courtesy of IFZA.