Abu Dhabi-based accelerator startAD, powered by Tamkeen and anchored at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), has launched the AI Adoption Barometer, a new report developed through its AI for Good initiative with support from Google.org. The barometer offers a practitioner-informed view of how UAE organizations in healthcare and social impact are currently using artificial intelligence, revealing a significant gap between ambition and practical readiness.
Quick Facts
- Insights drawn from 52 UAE-based organizations.
- 81% of healthcare orgs are defining AI use cases.
- 42% of healthcare orgs report having no dedicated AI budget.
Momentum Meets a Reality Check
While enthusiasm for AI is high across the UAE’s healthcare sector, the new report highlights a critical bottleneck: funding. The survey found that while 81% of healthcare organizations have already defined AI use cases and 58% are actively piloting or deploying solutions, a substantial 42% still operate without a dedicated AI budget. This disconnect points to the challenges organizations face in moving from experimental projects to broad, systematic adoption.
The social impact sector faces an even more foundational hurdle, with many institutions still in the early stages of identifying use cases and building the internal expertise needed for effective AI implementation.
Practical Tools for Real-World Adoption
To address these challenges, startAD has also released two implementation playbooks alongside the barometer. The AI Use Case Discovery Playbook is designed for non-technical teams to transform a general idea into a concrete, testable AI use case. The second, the Evaluate and Pilot AI Solutions Playbook, provides a framework for selecting and running a responsible pilot program within existing operations.
These resources, available on the new startAD AI Resource Hub, are intended to provide clear, actionable guidance for organizations looking to integrate AI responsibly.
Ashwin Joshi, Director of startAD, explained, “AI for Good was created to help mission-driven organisations move from interest in AI to practical adoption. One of the clearest needs that emerged from our work was for practical, step-by-step implementable, accessible guidance – tools that meet organisations where they are and help them move forward responsibly and realistically.”
Anthony Nakache, Managing Director of Google MENA, added, “This project challenges the assumption that meaningful AI requires massive financial resources or specialized technical proficiency. Being part of Google’s regional AI Opportunity Initiative, Google.org’s support to startAD is designed to improve healthcare accessibility for disadvantaged communities across the UAE.”
About startAD
startAD is an Abu Dhabi-based accelerator, steering local and global startups to scale in the UAE and beyond. Powered by Tamkeen and anchored at NYU Abu Dhabi, startAD is a new model for innovation that creates customized and impact-driven programs in partnership with stakeholders including governments, corporations, investors, and innovation entities, furthering the UAE’s transition into a knowledge-based economy. startAD’s unique sprint accelerator model enables corporations to further innovation by partnering with startups disrupting their core businesses, while equipping startups with the training and opportunity to pilot their solutions with industry leaders.
Source: Zawya
