Sheikh Hamdan launches Dh2.5-million AI agents challenge for innovators globally

Launched by Dubai’s Crown Prince, the challenge encourages participants to identify priority problems, design AI-assisted systems to address them, test the impact of the solutions they develop, and explore the possibility of transforming them into viable and scalable commercial products, services, and projects.

Who can participate?

The challenge opens the door for participation to innovators from around the world, whether they are specialists or non-specialists in technical fields, without setting a minimum age limit.

Individuals and teams can participate with an innovative idea, a prototype, or an initial product in its early stages.

The challenge also allows existing companies to present new solutions or capabilities in the field of assistive artificial intelligence. Solutions that have been fully launched and commercially marketed are excluded from participation.

The wide scope of participation in the competition is intended to provide an opportunity for a larger number of innovations and quality solutions.

Contest categories

Participants compete in four main categories. These are ‘Best Assistant in the Community Category’, ‘Best Assistant in the Personal Category’, ‘Best Assistant in the Business Category’ and ‘Best Assistant in the Youth Category’.

Here are the categories explained:

Best Societal AI agent: This focuses on creating a positive impact on society by promoting social cohesion and inclusion, and supporting education, sustainability, and social resilience.

Best Personal AI Agent: This focuses on employing artificial intelligence to improve daily life, productivity, health, wellbeing, and support personal decision-making.

Best Business AI Agent: This focuses on enabling public and private sector organisations to improve workflows, services, decision-making processes, and customer experience.

Best Youth AI Agent: This must be developed by a participant no older than 21 years of age. If participating as part of a team, the team must be led by a young man or woman, and the main applicant for participation must be under 21 years of age at the time of registration.

Prizes and participation

The winner in each category receives a grant of Dh550,000, enabling them to continue developing their AI assistant solution and growing their project.

Meanwhile, one of the four winners will receive the highest recognition in the challenge, the title of ‘AI Agent of the Year’, and their prize will be Dh1 million, bringing the total value of the prize to more than Dh2.5 million.

The challenge kicked off today with the opening of registration to innovators, entrepreneurs, students, and technology developers from around the world.

Three introductory workshops on artificial intelligence assistance will be organised, and in November, the ‘Digital Academy’ will open, which includes four advanced training courses and four applied workshops, along with mentoring sessions.

Participation will close in December 2026, with completion of requirements including the prototype, presentation and demonstration video.

Participants have access to self-learning knowledge content, workshops, specialized sessions, and specialised mentoring programmes that help them deepen their understanding of assistive artificial intelligence, develop ideas and solutions, evaluate their potential, and prepare presentations.