Dubai AI Campus is DIFC’s dedicated hub for artificial intelligence companies. It gives AI startups a subsidised licence, coworking space, training through the Dubai AI Academy, and programmes such as the She Leads with AI accelerator for women founders. It hosted more than 400 AI companies as of June 2026, and is aiming for more […]
Dubai AI Festival 2026 takes place on 26 and 27 October at Dubai World Trade Centre. For startups, the main event is the FutureTech World Cup, a live pitch competition open to AI and tech startups worldwide with under $250,000 in annual revenue. Winners receive a Dubai AI Licence and cloud credits. A basic Event […]
The Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority is a new federal body covering the whole UAE, not just Dubai. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid approved it on 14 June 2026, and it reports directly to the UAE Cabinet. It brings three existing bodies together: the UAE AI Office, the UAE Data Office and the digital government sector […]
The Antler Residency in Dubai is a free, full-time, 10-week programme for people who want to start a company, even without a co-founder or a fixed idea. It now runs from Dubai Founders HQ, where Antler set up its UAE headquarters in February 2026. Teams that pass Antler’s investment committee at the end receive $180,000 […]
Dubai startups can get free cloud credits from all three major providers. Bootstrapped founders can start with up to $5,000 from AWS Activate Founders or up to $2,000 from Google Cloud’s Start tier. Funded startups can reach up to $200,000 from AWS, $200,000 from Google (up to $350,000 for AI startups) and up to $150,000 […]
Dubai startups can claim free AI credits from five major providers: AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, Anthropic and OpenAI. The largest published amounts are up to $350,000 from Google for AI-first startups, up to $200,000 from AWS and up to $150,000 from Microsoft. Anthropic and OpenAI give their biggest credits mainly through partner VCs. None of […]
Dubai startups can apply to Anthropic’s Claude for Startups program. The UAE is on Anthropic’s list of supported regions, and the program accepts bootstrapped, pre-seed and venture-backed companies. But the headline offer has changed. As of 13 October 2026, Anthropic’s program page says it is “over capacity” on the $1,000 API credit and free Claude […]
The DIFC AI licence costs USD 1,500 a year, but that isn’t what your first year costs. DIFC requires a physical workspace before it issues the licence, and a flexi desk can cost more than the licence itself. Add registration, data protection and visa fees, and a solo founder’s first year comes to roughly USD […]
Dubai Chambers Academy is Dubai Chambers’ e-learning platform, launched on 1 September 2026. Its first major offer is a set of agentic AI training tracks for more than 14,000 companies. The catch is eligibility: the tracks are aimed at member companies of the Business Groups and Business Councils operating under the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, […]
in5 is TECOM Group’s startup incubator in Dubai. Its biggest draw is a subsidised free zone licence costing AED 1,000 a year for the first three years, against a full price of AED 15,000. You also get a desk, up to four subsidised visas and access to labs and studios. in5 takes no equity. To […]