Great ideas can come from anywhere, and Dubai has just opened its doors to creative minds from across the globe. The Create AI Agents Championship is a new global competition designed to speed up the adoption of agentic AI and encourage useful, AI-powered solutions with real-world applications. It is a warm, welcoming initiative, and one that gives everyday innovators a genuine chance to turn ideas into real products.
What Is the Create AI Agents Championship?
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, explained that the Create AI Agents Championship marks a shift from traditional app development to building autonomous AI-agent systems that can tackle practical challenges.
The competition is part of the Create Apps in Dubai programme and is open to innovators around the world, regardless of their technical background. Participants are invited to develop AI agents that can grow into scalable products, services, and even full business ventures. That openness is genuinely appreciated, since it means good ideas matter more than a technical résumé.
A Generous Reward for Winners
The total prize pool is over AED 2.5 million, and it is designed to help winning ideas keep growing:
- Each category winner receives AED 550,000 to support further development of their solution
- One of those category winners will also be named AI Agent of the Year
- The AI Agent of the Year receives an additional AED 1 million
Four Categories to Suit Different Ideas
Participants will compete across four categories, each focused on a different kind of impact:
- Best Societal AI Agent
- Best Personal AI Agent
- Best Business AI Agent
- Best Youth AI Agent
This variety means someone building a tool for their community, their daily routine, a growing business, or a school project can all find a place to compete in the Create AI Agents Championship, with a category that suits their idea.
Part of a Bigger, Proven Programme
The challenge belongs to the Create Apps in Dubai initiative, led by the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy. The initiative supports app development, digital skills, and technology entrepreneurship across the emirate.
The track record so far is encouraging, and the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy has clearly built something people trust. Across its three editions, the app championship has attracted:
- 15,564 applications from 153 countries
- 1,700 prototypes developed
- More than 140 applications launched
The third edition alone drew 9,754 entries from around the world, a clear sign of how much interest this programme has built. These numbers show steady growth and real results, not just early excitement, which makes this new AI-focused edition feel like a natural next step for innovators who want to build something useful.
Celebrating the Third Edition Winners
Alongside the launch, the winners of the third edition of the Create Apps Championship were honoured at Emirates Towers Boulevard. Each of them shows how creative and practical app ideas can be:
- Best Youth-made App: Ettan Ehsan, a gamified learning platform that turns school subjects into short, visual, engaging challenges
- Most Impactful App: RUSH, a marketplace offering curated group travel experiences built around shared interests and connections
- Most Innovative App: LiaPay, an AI-powered financial wellness assistant that analyses financial and employment data to offer personalised insights and guidance
- Longevity App of the Year: POP by Kwelio, a smart medication-adherence app that uses behavioural science, gamification, and predictive analytics to encourage consistent medication use
POP by Kwelio also took the top title of Dubai’s App of the Year, a lovely recognition for an app focused on helping people look after their health.
Why This Championship Deserves Appreciation
- It welcomes people from every background, not only technical experts
- It offers real funding to help ideas grow beyond the competition
- It builds on a programme with a proven record of turning ideas into launched apps
- It encourages AI agents that solve practical, everyday challenges
- It makes the Create AI Agents Championship a place where good ideas, not just big budgets, can win
Conclusion
The Create AI Agents Championship is a thoughtful, open-hearted way to encourage new ideas in a fast-growing field. By pairing a generous prize pool with an inclusive entry approach and a proven programme behind it, Dubai is giving innovators everywhere a genuine opportunity to build something that matters.
If your team has an idea for the Create AI Agents Championship and wants guidance on shaping it, Horizontal8 is here to help. Reach out to Horizontal8 today, and let’s talk about how to turn your idea into something real.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can enter the competition?Â
It is open to innovators from around the world, regardless of their technical background.
How much can winners receive?Â
Each of the four category winners receives AED 550,000, and one of them is also named AI Agent of the Year with an additional AED 1 million.
What are the four categories?Â
They are Best Societal AI Agent, Best Personal AI Agent, Best Business AI Agent, and Best Youth AI Agent.
Who is behind the programme?Â
It is part of the Create Apps in Dubai initiative, led by the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy.
How successful has the earlier app championship been?Â
Across three editions, it has attracted 15,564 applications from 153 countries and supported the launch of more than 140 applications.