Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s Research, Development and Innovation Authority (RDIA), HUMAIN, Qualcomm, and Aramco, through aramcoSAIL, announced the ten startups selected for the 2026 edition of the Design in Saudi Arabia with AI program (DISAI 2026).
According to the official statement, the startups are: Circula, Crosscall, Deqa AI, Dexabot, Digital Petroleum, Electronic Photonics, Finix Systems, Nommas.ai, SDM, and Tawkeed.
Participants will benefit from Qualcomm Technologies’ technical and intellectual property (IP) mentorship, aramcoSAIL’s industrial expertise, and RDIA’s strategic guidance. 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 IP strategy.
This year's edition includes collaboration with 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.
Ahmad Al-Khowaiter, Executive Vice President for Technology and Innovation at Aramco, stated: “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.”
First launched during LEAP 2025, DISAI aims to support deep-tech startups building AI-enabled solutions in the Kingdom. DISAI 2026 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.