Thousands of executives, founders and investors attending Ai Everything in Abu Dhabi this week are being presented with technologies designed to reshape healthcare, cities, energy and business. But as artificial intelligence development accelerates, a more difficult question is emerging: how many of these technologies will actually be adopted?
AI experimentation has moved faster than implementation across many companies. Deloitte found this year that only 25 per cent of organisations had moved at least 40 per cent of their AI pilots into production, although the figure is expected to rise.
Thomas Pramotedham, chief executive of Abu Dhabi-based Presight, said the central challenge is increasingly about changing organisations rather than building sophisticated AI systems.
“You can have a great idea, but if you’ve not driven adoption, that means you have not gotten a way to communicate the idea to someone who would take change,” he told Khaleej Times. “Change may be the hardest.”
The issue was a central theme at Presight’s Future Forum on Monday, held a day before Ai Everything. The event brought founders together with potential customers, technology companies, government entities and investors. It also introduced FutureSight, a platform intended to help move technologies from discovery and investment towards deployment and commercial growth.
Presight received 376 applications from 62 countries and selected 12 companies working in areas such as healthcare, AI safety, critical infrastructure, smart cities and climate intelligence.
Pramotedham said the selection process focused on more than innovative ideas or high company valuations. Presight examined whether businesses already had users, credible customers and evidence that organisations were prepared to pay for and integrate their technology.
Companies showcased at the forum included systems designed to predict deterioration in hospital patients, detect methane using satellite and aerial data, inspect infrastructure with drones and manage risks associated with enterprise AI systems.
Pramotedham said one investor advised a founder to spend only about 10 seconds of a 60-second pitch explaining the idea and the remaining time discussing the founder.
The advice reflected the uncertainty surrounding AI businesses, where products and strategies can change as customers respond and new challenges emerge.
The wider industry faces a similar problem. McKinsey reported last week that 89 per cent of organisations regularly use AI in at least one business function, but only about 6 per cent qualify as high performers that are generating significant financial impact from the technology.
Abu Dhabi is seeking to close that gap by connecting technology companies with customers and institutions capable of putting their products into operation.
Hub71 startups had raised more than $2.7 billion by the end of 2025 and generated $1.5 billion in revenue. Corporate deals signed by companies in its ecosystem between 2022 and 2025 were worth $244 million.
FutureSight aims to extend that commercialisation model by linking emerging companies with capital, customers, Presight and its broader network.
Pramotedham said Abu Dhabi also needs partnerships to move quickly enough as AI develops.
“You can always build your own capability,” he said. “But you can’t grow as fast as you need to in today’s world, where the AI revolution is growing so quickly. So you need to partner and share.”
The UAE’s relatively small domestic market could present a limitation, but Pramotedham sees the country as a gateway to wider markets.
“UAE is not just a single market. UAE is a catalyst,” he said, pointing to opportunities across the GCC, Central Asia and other regions.
For Abu Dhabi’s AI ambitions, success will ultimately depend on what follows the demonstrations and meetings. A promising technology must become a pilot, then secure procurement and survive integration, regulation and changes in workplace practices.
The city’s next test is whether its capital, computing infrastructure and growing customer base can turn AI innovation into technologies that businesses are willing to use at scale.
