MENA AI funding rises 81% to $678m in H1 2026

Companies focused on AI and AI-enabled technologies across the Middle East and North Africa secured $678 million in funding during the first six months of 2026, representing an 81 percent increase compared with the corresponding period in 2025, according to figures cited at the ninth Sharjah Investment Forum. The UAE captured 93 percent of that regional total.

Funding flows toward measurable outcomes#

Pablo Charron, founder and chief executive of UAE-based startup Ayan, said his firm monitors how AI assistants describe brands to consumers and provides that intelligence to sales teams. A deployment with a prestige beauty brand operating in five Gulf markets saw frontline advisors increase their use of the AI-generated brief by a factor of four over 13 weeks. Those advisors now convert four in 10 customers who had already consulted AI before arriving. Ayan raised AED2.2 million in pre-seed funding earlier this month.

Applications across traditional sectors#

Jigar Sagar, founder of Triliv Holdings, said traditional sectors including financial services, education and healthcare have adopted AI. Rahul Vamadevan, who advises entrepreneurs on finance and strategy, told the forum the advantage now lies in turning AI output into decisions. Varun Mayya, founder and chief executive of Aeos, said costs for content creation have dropped from approximately $1,000 to $50 per hour in some applications. Aeos currently generates approximately 2,000 videos each month through workflows powered by AI.

Government services plan#

The Cabinet approved a plan in April to operate half of government services using agentic AI by 2028. Saqr Ereiqat, secretary general of the Dubai Digital Asset Association, said early investment in digital economy infrastructure has been made. The ninth Sharjah Investment Forum was organized by the Sharjah FDI Office in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Investment and brought together participants from over 60 countries.