Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: June 10, 2026 - Qualcomm (through its subsidiary Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd.), Aramco (through aramcoSAIL - Saudi Accelerated Innovation Lab), Saudi Arabia's Research, Development and Innovation Authority, and HUMAIN today announced the startups selected for the 2026 edition of the Design in Saudi Arabia with AI program (DISAI 2026).

DISAI was first launched during LEAP 2025; to support deep-tech startups building AI-enabled solutions in the Kingdom. Building on the 2025 inaugural cohort, the 2026 program attracted more than 124 applications from across Saudi Arabia, reflecting growing momentum in AI, the Internet of Things (IoT) and advanced wireless innovations across the national startup ecosystem.

DISAI 2026 is designed to support high-potential startups from concept through commercialization, with hands-on guidance across product design, development and intellectual property (IP) strategy. This year, the program expands its technical offerings, enabling startups to develop and prototype on an extended set of platforms - including Arduino® UNO™ Q and the recently announced Arduino VENTUNO™ JQ as well as Qualcomm AI accelerators such as AIC200 and industrial AI gateway platforms.

Participating startups will benefit from Qualcomm Technologies' technical and intellectual property (IP) mentorship, aramcoSAIL's industrial expertise, and Saudi Arabia's Research, Development and Innovation Authority's strategic guidance - supporting product readiness, commercialization pathways, and ecosystem development across Saudi Arabia's rapidly evolving technology landscape. Participation in the DISAI 2026 program is subject to completion of standard program requirements, including local registration, as part of the selected startups' engagement.

Additionally, DISAI 2026 edition has extended to include collaboration with the Kingdom's national AI champion, HUMAIN, to expand access to AI infrastructure and development resources. This may include inference cloud credits, hosting larger models on HUMAIN infrastructure, access to AI‑enabled PCs with on‑device acceleration and associated technical support.

The ten selected startups are:

1. Circula, a Saudi startup, offers an AI-powered circular-economy platform automating industrial waste recovery and compliance.
2. Crosscall, a French startup, provides Rugged AIoT trackers for 450 MHz industrial and worker-safety networks.
3. Deqa AI, a Saudi startup, offers an AI-powered enterprise automation and decision-support platform for operational efficiency.
4. Dexabot, a Canadian startup, specializes in industrial security and surveillance using drones and drone fleets.
5. Digital Petroleum, a Saudi startup, created a single edge-AI industrial sensor to replace multiple legacy sensors and simplify Industry 4.0 digitization.
6. Electronic Photonics, a Saudi startup, offers a LiDAR-based edge-AI traffic digital twin for smart intersections and mobility analytics.
7. Finix Systems, a Saudi startup, provides a Modular industrial IoT edge controller to retrofit legacy equipment for smart monitoring.
8. Nommas.ai, a Saudi startup, offers an AI 'factory brain' enabling quality inspection, predictive maintenance and safety at the edge.
9. SDM, a Saudi startup, offers a Multi-disease AI diagnostic platform using medical imaging for early detection.
10. Tawkeed, a Saudi startup, offers an On-prem, Arabic-first AI document intelligence platform compliant with Saudi data-sovereignty rules.

Ahmad O. Al-Khowaiter Executive Vice President Technology & Innovation at Aramco said: 'Having successfully graduated the first cohort of Design in Saudi with AI (DISAI) startups, in collaboration with Qualcomm and Saudi Arabia's Research, Development and Innovation Authority in 2025, Aramco is proud to continue collaborating with Qualcomm, Saudi Arabia's Research, Development and Innovation Authority, and now HUMAIN for the second installment of this flagship program. DISAI has not only allowed us to support and engage unique and technically advanced startups, but also inspired us to scale to a larger corporate program for open innovation, inviting global startups and innovation players to engage on Aramco's industrial challenges and solve them with industrial AI technologies. The next installment of the DISAI program will attract entrepreneurs from the region and globally to strengthen the ecosystem, focusing on industrial AI, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced communications.'

Dr. Yazeed Alaskar Acting Vice Governor of Innovation Ecosystem Development Sector at Saudi Arabia's Research, Development and Innovation Authority said: 'DISAI reflects the strength of Saudi talent and the impact of strategic partnerships in advancing innovation, particularly in the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence. The program demonstrates the Kingdom's growing leadership in enabling AI-driven solutions that address real-world challenges across priority sectors, from industry and energy to healthcare and sustainability. It also highlights the importance of building end-to-end capabilities from ideation and design to prototyping and commercialization within a supportive and collaborative ecosystem. At Saudi Arabia's Research, Development and Innovation Authority, we remain committed to empowering startups to scale advanced technologies into high-impact, globally competitive solutions, while strengthening national capabilities, fostering knowledge transfer, and accelerating the development of a sustainable, innovation-driven economy aligned with Vision 2030.'

Dr. Yaser Al-Onaizan Deputy CEO & President of AI Products at HUMAIN said: 'With Aramco, Qualcomm, and Saudi Arabia's Research, Development and Innovation Authority as key strategic partners, this program reflects the strength of collaboration across the innovation ecosystem. By empowering startups to design and deploy advanced, locally relevant AI solutions, DISAI is helping build a resilient and globally competitive technology landscape. Fostering deep partnerships between global technology leaders and emerging entrepreneurs is essential to unlocking the region's full potential in AI and deep tech.'

Wassim Chourbaji President, Middle East and Africa, and Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, Europe, Middle East and Africa at Qualcomm said: 'Saudi Arabia is building one of the world's most ambitious deep‑tech ecosystems, and we are proud to support this momentum through the second year of the DISAI program. As the Kingdom advances its Vision 2030 objectives - and marks 2026 as the Year of AI - initiatives like DISAI play a critical role in translating national ambition into real‑world innovation. In collaboration with Aramco, Saudi Arabia's Research, Development and Innovation Authority, and HUMAIN, we are supporting innovators as they move from breakthrough ideas to deployment by combining world‑class engineering, edge and data center AI platforms and a clear path to commercialization.'

'We warmly welcome ten Saudi startups to the DISAI 2026 program,' said Sudeepto Roy, Vice President, Engineering, Qualcomm Incorporated. 'The edge-AI solutions emerging from this cohort - privacy‑aware, real-time, and increasingly multimodal, - signal a new level of technical maturity and the potential to reimagine workflows across sectors. IP remains fundamental to long-term value creation, and we are pleased to see strong momentum in this area, supported by Arabic‑language IP training through L2prosaudiarabia.com.'

The DISAI program runs from April through November 2026, culminating in a finale event where startups will showcase product prototypes and services. During the program, participants will receive expert mentorship from Qualcomm and Aramco, access technical platforms and tools, benefit from entrepreneurship coaching, IP, patenting training, and engage with potential investors and industry partners.

In conjunction with DISAI, Qualcomm has launched a free online learning program hosted at L2prosaudiarabia.com, designed to equip startups, SMEs, and researchers with skills to protect, commercialize, and scale their intellectual property. By strengthening IP literacy and practical know-how, the program aims to unlock economic value and support a more robust national innovation ecosystem in Saudi Arabia.