Four-month mentorship programme aims to help UAE startups scale globally
Six AI startups have been selected for the inaugural Mastercard Lighthouse UAE programme, marking the next stage of a new initiative focused on building the country’s AI startup ecosystem.
The UAE Government’s Artificial Intelligence Office and Mastercard’s Center for Advanced AI and Cyber Technology selected the startups from 14 finalists. The four-month programme will connect them with financial institutions, investors and industry experts.
The selected startups are Loyyal, NewForm Technologies, NodeShift, Polynome, Valura.AI and zypl.ai.
Six startups selected for Mastercard Lighthouse UAE
The startups were assessed on innovation, team strength, business model, scalability and potential for global growth.
The six companies bring different AI capabilities to the programme:
- Loyyal develops an AI and blockchain-powered loyalty platform.
- NewForm Technologies uses agentic AI for regulated financial institutions.
- NodeShift provides a sovereign generative AI cloud platform.
- Polynome develops agentic AI solutions for enterprises in Arabic and English.
- Valura.AI operates an AI-powered investment platform.
- zypl.ai uses AI for credit scoring, fraud detection and risk management.
Together, the companies reflect the programme’s focus on AI applications across financial services, enterprise technology and risk management.
Mastercard and UAE AI Office target global growth
Mastercard and the UAE Artificial Intelligence Office launched Mastercard Lighthouse UAE in 2026. Applications opened in May.
The programme is designed to give startups more than mentorship. It aims to create direct links between emerging technology companies, financial institutions and investors.
The initiative also supports the UAE’s wider ambition to become a global centre for artificial intelligence. In particular, it can help locally based startups build enterprise partnerships and expand into international markets.
The programme has attracted support from several major players in the UAE startup ecosystem. These include Hub71, Global Ventures, Further Ventures, Shorooq, VentureSouq and the Dubai Future District Fund.
UAE AI startups to meet investors at Demo Day
The four-month programme will end with a Demo Day. Startups will have an opportunity to present their businesses to investors and industry representatives.
This gives the participating companies a potential route to new funding, commercial partnerships and enterprise customers.
Mastercard Lighthouse has already established a track record in other markets. The global programme began in the Nordic and Baltic region in 2018 before expanding to Türkiye.
Its 228 alumni have collectively raised more than $1.3 billion in investment and include several unicorns.
UAE strengthens its AI startup ecosystem
The UAE edition comes as investment and interest in artificial intelligence continue to grow across the Middle East and North Africa.
The region has around 3,000 AI companies. Its AI market is forecast to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 44.8% between 2024 and 2030.
Mastercard Lighthouse UAE is focused on three areas: agentic commerce, risk and resilience, and credit provision for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
As a result, the programme could help bridge the gap between AI innovation and real-world business adoption.
For the six startups, access to banks, investors and industry partners could also provide a stronger platform for international expansion.
