IEC Open Day energizes MBZUAI community; “Build It” Demo Day announced

In a closed‑door gathering for MBZUAI students and faculty, the MBZUAI Incubation & Entrepreneurship Center (IEC) hosted an intimate, high‑energy Open Day that brought together 200+ community members – including MBZUAI’s first‑ever undergraduate students. The message was clear: it’s time to build AI, and the best place to build is Abu Dhabi.

Professor Sami Haddadin, MBZUAI Vice President of Research, opened the day by calling the community to action—encouraging students and researchers to align around ambitious, applied AI problems. The IEC team then shared a quick progress update from its short yet impactful journey: 14 AI startups, all native and based in Abu Dhabi, moving from research to real products with growing traction and partners.

A panel that framed the opportunity for builders

Moderated by Haochen Sun, Acting Head of IEC, the panel, ‘Abu Dhabi’s AI & Entrepreneurship Ecosystem’, offered a clear, builder‑first view for the new cohort of students and incoming faculty:

• Talal M. Al Kaissi EVP – Chief Partnerships & Government Affairs Officer, Core42, Group Chief Global Affairs Officer, G42. emphasized Abu Dhabi’s long-term, system-level commitment to AI—from national compute and sovereign investment to mission-driven adoption across government and strategic industries—positioning AI as a cornerstone of the country’s broader transformation agenda.
  
• Abdulaziz Al Sagha Managing Partner at BECO capital highlighted how AI is accelerating venture building at unprecedented speed, with founder velocity becoming the key differentiator for success. He pointed to the UAE’s world-class infrastructure as a critical advantage for builders looking to move fast. 
  
• Abdallah Abu‑Sheikh Founder, Astra Tech and CEO of mal.ai challenged the audience to build boldly, expressing his expectation to see more innovation emerge from the region—not just for local markets, but solutions built from the UAE for the world.

Their combined message: Abu Dhabi now brings together ambition, capital, and a hands‑on builder culture—exactly what AI founders need.

IEC Demo Day — Build It

IEC announced a new recurring demo day, Build It, to cement a culture of momentum – based on the following principles:

• Ship early, ship often. Early, frequent launches create credibility.
• Small wins compound. Tight feedback loops bring learning cycles down to days, not months.
  

By making “build and launch” the default, IEC will help founders focus on users and usage, rally resources faster, and set the pace for the ecosystem. Build It will spotlight working demos from students, researchers, and founders across the MBZUAI community and beyond.

“IEC exists to help ambitious people build,” said Sami Haddadin, Vice President of Research. “Abu Dhabi now offers the compute, capital, and community to do it at global scale. With the new demo day initiative, we’re making shipping our norm and turning prototypes into products—fast.”

Call to the community

MBZUAI students, researchers, and faculty will be given priority when it comes to submissions for the first Build It Demo Day. However, we’re also open to standout teams from outside MBZUAI; apply through IEC channels to be considered. More information will follow on MBZUAI/IEC channels.