Dubai Opens Global AI Agent Contest With AED2.5 Million-Plus Prize Pool
Four categories share grants of AED550,000 each, with an extra AED1 million for the entry named AI Agent of the Year.
Karim El-Sayed Karim El-Sayed covers company news, policy and regulation across the UAE and wider MENA for Anecdoted, with a focus on how new rules and licences reshape how startups operate. karim@anecdoted.com
Dubai has opened a worldwide competition for builders of autonomous AI agents, carrying a total prize pool above AED2.5 million. The Create AI Agents Championship was launched by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai.
The contest succeeds the Create Apps Championship and moves its emphasis from digital applications to autonomous agent systems.
Four tracks, and a top prize on top of them
Entries compete in four categories:
- Best Societal AI Agent
- Best Personal AI Agent
- Best Business AI Agent
- Best Youth AI Agent
Each category winner receives an AED550,000 grant. From those four, one is named AI Agent of the Year and collects a further AED1 million.
What each track rewards
The societal track looks for work with a positive social impact, spanning social cohesion, inclusion, education, sustainability and resilience. The personal track covers daily life, productivity, health, well-being and individual decision-making. The business track targets public- and private-sector organisations seeking better workflows, services, decisions and customer experience. The youth track is reserved for entrants under 21 when they register, and a team entering it must be led by someone in that age bracket.
Organisers want agents wired into practical applications that answer real user needs and market demand. Entrants are expected to name a priority challenge, design an agent around it, test what it changes, and work out whether it can scale into a product, service or commercial venture.
Who can enter
Registration is open to innovators, entrepreneurs, students and technology developers from anywhere, with no minimum age outside the youth category. A technical background is not a condition of entry. Individuals and teams may submit an idea, a prototype or an early-stage minimum viable product, while established companies can put forward a new agent solution or capability. Fully commercialised solutions are excluded.
Support, deadlines and what to submit
Three introductory workshops on agentic AI will follow the launch. In November, a Digital Academy opens with four advanced training courses, four hands-on workshops and mentorship sessions. Participants also receive self-paced learning material and specialist sessions to sharpen their builds and their pitches.
Registration closes in December 2026. Entrants must submit an agent prototype, a pitch deck and a demo video.
Sheikh Hamdan framed the championship as an extension of the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai: strengthening human capabilities, widening access to advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, and reinforcing Dubai's standing across technology-driven sectors. The competition sits within the emirate's wider push to speed up adoption of agentic AI and ready its business ecosystem to use it, with an eye on commercial and economic applications.
