Presight targets 50% overseas revenue with ‘matchmaking’ push

• Builds and deploys AI and data systems
• Significant operation in Kazakhstan
• 12 international scale-ups selected

Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence group Presight aims to generate half its revenue from international markets by the end of the decade as it takes on a key role connecting the emirate’s technology sector with innovators worldwide.

Overseas business currently accounts for about a third of Presight’s revenue, CEO Thomas Pramotedham told AGBI, as the company expands beyond the Gulf into Central Asia, the Balkans and Africa.

Listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Presight builds and deploys AI and data systems for governments and enterprise clients. The group is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi technology group G42.

It operates in 14 markets, with projects ranging from smart-city and utility management systems to AI supercomputers.

Kazakhstan has become one of Presight’s most significant overseas operations, with more than 60 staff based there. The company has also formed partnerships in South Korea to connect the country’s technology companies with opportunities across its international network.

Asked about his target for Presight’s overseas revenue by 2030, Pramotedham said 50 percent. “We were developed and scaled in Abu Dhabi and we’re exporting that,” he said.

Abu Dhabi gateway

Presight’s expanding role goes beyond deploying its own technology abroad.

It launched FutureSight, a new platform to identify promising AI businesses and “matchmake” their founders with potential customers, sovereign investors and government decision-makers across the UAE’s innovation sector.

The initiative was unveiled on Monday at the invite-only Future Forum at the Abu Dhabi Energy Center, a day before the two-day Ai Everything Abu Dhabi conference begins.

One panel brought together sovereign and venture capital investment leaders from Mubadala Capital, Shorooq, Plug and Play and BECO Capital. Pramotedham said they represented $60 billion in assets under management.

Scaling proven technology

Presight introduced 12 international scale-ups selected for FutureSight’s second cohort from 376 applicants across 62 countries.

They include Germany’s Airmo, which uses satellites to detect and quantify methane emissions, and South Korea’s Aitrics, whose technology predicts deterioration in hospital patients.

“We’re not here to mentor. This is not an incubator – this is an accelerator programme,” Pramotedham said in an interview on the sidelines.

This week, founders will hold one-to-one meetings with C-suite executives from leading Abu Dhabi institutions such as Adnoc and the Central Bank of the UAE.

Presight said last year’s programme generated more than 70 commercial and strategic leads, with more expected from this year’s cohort.

One beneficiary was NodeShift, whose privacy technology allows organisations to use large language models such as ChatGPT while limiting the exposure of sensitive data.

Presight later invested $1 million in NodeShift through a $100 million fund established with Abu Dhabi investment company Shorooq. It also formed a commercial partnership with the business.

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Last month, Presight and Shorooq invested in California-based Maven Robotics, which is scaling autonomous robots for logistics and manufacturing.

Pramotedham pointed to growing international investor interest in the UAE, including an influx of family offices and investment funds.

US institutions now account for about 30 percent of Presight’s institutional investor shareholder base. Ten analysts cover the stock, including JP Morgan, Citigroup and UBS, with more expected before the end of the year.

“People are paying attention to the fact that [the Abu Dhabi] ecosystem is propelling companies,” he said.

Presight listed in March 2023 after raising AED1.82 billion ($496 million) in an initial public offering. Its shares closed at AED3.84 on Monday, up 17 percent since the start of the year.

The company now wants to apply the lessons from its expansion to businesses coming through FutureSight. “It’s the same playbook we’re taking to these companies. You have done well in your country, you have strong clients. You have proven yourself. Now let us export you.”