Hub71 picks record 40 startups for Cohort 19 after 2,502 applications
What's the deal? Hub71Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Abu Dhabi's global tech ecosystem, has selected 40 startups for Cohort 19, its largest intake to date, after a record 2,502 applications from 117 countries. The chosen companies have raised a combined $296 million, up 29% on Cohort 18. With an acceptance rate of 1.6%, the cohort draws founders from 14 countries, with 88% coming from international markets.
How it works: All 40 startups join Hub71's Access Programme. Twelve enter a sector-agnostic track, 19 join specialist ecosystems in digital assets, climate tech and life sciences, and six come through Anjal Z, an early childhood initiative run with the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority. The remaining three join a new pathway into Abu Dhabi's Smart and Autonomous Vehicles Industry cluster.
Why now? The intake lifts Hub71's total community to 644 startups. Spanning Pre-Seed to Series A, the cohort includes six Series A companies, up from two in Cohort 18, and AI sits at the core of 90% of the selected startups.
What's the endgame? Hub71 is building a wider, more specialised pipeline tied to Abu Dhabi's economic priorities, with more than two-thirds of the startups in its priority sectors. "Cohort 19 reflects the growing depth and maturity of the companies joining Hub71," said chief executive officer Ahmad Ali Alwan.
Who's joining? New entrants include UK-headquartered TurinTech AI, a software engineering platform that automates code modernisation, which has raised $15 million, and US-based Remarkable AIDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a customer retention platform for e-commerce brands that has raised $14 million. Emirati-founded MosadadDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which helps insurers process motor claims faster, joins after a $540,000 Pre-Seed round.
The signal: The record application count — and the fact that 85% of startups were sourced or referred through Hub71's partners, founders and investors — points to a growing network effect. The harder test will be whether these companies secure lasting investment, customers and operations in Abu Dhabi.
Read more: mid-east.info
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
