Start-ups Augmental from Lebanon, Nabta Health & Amal Glass from the UAE and Statys from the UK win big at Supernova Challenge

Dubai, UAE – 2 May 2019:  Taking home cash prizes worth a whopping US$100,000, four start-ups have celebrated their success at the Supernova Challenge, the world’s third largest start-up pitch fund, as Ai Everything draws to a close. 

Receiving over 60 submissions from more than 20 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Singapore, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, a total of 20 shortlisted start-ups have taken to the stage to pitch their disruptive ideas to a jury of AI-leaders during Ai Everything, which ran from April 30 – May 1 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Taking home first place, and a total prize money of US$50,000, was Lebanese start-up Augmental. “We are an education technology targeting middle to high school students where course materials are adapted to each student learning capabilities.” Said Paul Barakat Diab, Co-founder of Augmental Education. “We are super excited that we won the first place. The prize money will definitely have a significant impact on growing our business and making education more personalized and accessible.”

Participating start-ups entering the challenge came from across 15 different sectors as diverse as Technology, Healthcare, Finance, Energy, Utilities, Arts, Media, Agriculture and Forestry, as well as Logistics and Supply Chain, showcasing anything from AI-powered risk analysis tools for SMEs, cancer diagnosis tools and innovations to improve the lives of people of determination.

Making second place was Nabta Health from the United Arab Emirates, which won a total of USD $25,000. Pleased about the prize, Sophie Smith, Co-founder and CEO of Nabta Health, said “Nabta Health is healthcare platform that seeks to empower more than 500 million women across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, Nabta integrates virtual care such as mobile technologies, smart medical devices and tests, as well as machine learning into traditional care pathways.”

Third and fourth place with US$15,000 and US$10,000 respectively went to local start-up Amal Glass and Statys form the UK. Amal Glass produces a wearable device that enables blind and visually impaired people to live independently, whilst Statys delivers SME risk analysis as a service that provides automated risk assessments to financial institutions and FinTech firms. 

Mohammed Islam, Co-founder and CEO of Amal Glass, said, “The event is amazing and it’s opening doors for us to see new technologies in the region. At the same time, it also helps us to use a wide variety of technologies to enhance our business. The Supernova challenge was really tough, but it was worth it in the end and we are really glad that we have made third place.”