From an AI-powered software which essentially draws a ‘Google Map’ for buildings to a platform that democratises education, three unique student-led startups took the top honours at the New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Entrepreneurship Incubator Programme.
The competition, organised by startAD – the Abu Dhabi-based startup accelerator anchored at NYU Abu Dhabi and powered by Tamkeen – partnered with global logistics giant Agility to support student founders building ventures in artificial intelligence, healthcare and advanced industries.
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A ‘Google Maps’ for buildings
Taking home the top prize of Dh10,000 was Twynable, an AI-powered facility management platform that creates a real-time digital replica of any building, tracking everything from structural data to a failing air conditioning unit.
Founder Juan Diego Castaño told Khaleej Times that the idea came to him during a visit to the Natural History Museum of Abu Dhabi while it was still under construction. “I noticed an enormous amount of data that was generated, but it was scattered across multiple systems,” he said. “I saw a way to make their lives a bit easier and cut those inefficiencies. Twynable is essentially like a Google Maps for a building.”
The startup, which includes two NYU Abu Dhabi professors — Borja Garcia De Soto and Eyob Mengiste — among its co-founders, has already secured a pilot with the university and is now targeting further contracts across the UAE.
Democratising education
The other two winning teams of the competition took problems they faced and turned them into an opportunity. The second prize winning project Colleged is a peer-to-peer marketplace connecting high school students with university students who offer admissions counselling and tutoring at affordable rates.
Co-founder Ayberk Cimen said that growing up in Turkey, he and his co-founder Cagan Okur had no guidance when applying to universities abroad. “We had no idea how to apply,” he said. “We had to research it all on our own.” Now at NYU Abu Dhabi, the pair built a platform so others would not face the same struggle. Live since February, Colleged already has mentors from universities including Harvard, and connects students globally.
The audience choice award went to Lemma Education, an AI-powered maths tutor that can listen to students in real time, watch them solve problems on a digital canvas, and respond like a human tutor would. Co-founder Shayan Ahmad said the goal is to make quality tutoring accessible to everyone. “The only solution right now is a human tutor that can be expensive, like $30 an hour,” he said. “We’re trying to democratise that.”
Co-founder Myra Rafiq added that early research revealed students learned very differently from one another. “Everybody has a unique learning style,” she said, explaining why the platform supports voice, typing and handwriting input simultaneously. Daniar Zhylangozov and Vlera Mehani are other partners in the project.
Growing ecosystem
The competition is in its third edition and has now supported close to 70 entrepreneurs. Ashwin Joshi, Director of startAD, said the cohort showed “strong technical depth, originality, and a clear commitment to solving practical challenges across sectors that matter to the UAE.”
This year’s programme brought together 40 founders from more than 20 nationalities, working across sectors including medtech, fintech, cybersecurity and construction tech. To date, the broader NYUAD Entrepreneurship Program has supported 79 student ventures across six programs. Nihal Shaikh, Associate Director of startAD, said that the cohort this year showed gender balance with an almost equal number of male and female participants.
