AN ABERDEEN artificial intelligence company has beaten hundreds of competitors to secure the only UK spot in one of the world’s most selective commercial tech accelerators.

The energy-focused software firm Rahd·AI was chosen on Monday 6 July as one of just 12 global scale-ups admitted to Cohort II of the Presight AI Accelerator in Abu Dhabi.

The selection follows a fiercely contested international campaign that drew 376 applications from AI firms across 62 countries.

Operated by Presight – an Abu Dhabi-listed big data analytics company majority-owned by UAE technology conglomerate G42 – the program is designed specifically for mature, venture-backed companies rather than early-stage startups.

An image of Jake Stride and Innes Grant. — Chief Executive Jake Stride (L) and Chief Operating Officer Innes Grant.

Collectively, the 12 chosen companies hold a market valuation exceeding $2.1bn, have raised over $341m in funding, and generate more than $28m in contracted annual recurring revenue.

The recruitment represents a major commercial breakthrough for the Aberdeen firm, which specializes in digitizing decades of unstructured paper well logs and engineering records into 4D offshore decommissioning intelligence.

By restructuring fragmented data, the platform allows North Sea operators to de-risk designs, shorten offshore campaigns, and save up to 35% on decommissioning bills.

The global market for retiring aging offshore oil and gas infrastructure is projected to exceed $200bn by 2040, with the UK Government aiming to reduce its domestic decommissioning bill by 35% by 2035.

Rahd·AI, backed by climate tech venture studio Ventex, has already demonstrated 10% cost savings during live pilot deployments in the UK and Australia.

During the program, the scale-up will receive direct access to Microsoft-backed enterprise computing infrastructure, introductions to Middle Eastern government ministries, and the opportunity to pitch to the Presight-Shorooq Fund I, a $100m global AI investment fund.

Jake Stride, chief executive of Rahd·AI, said the appointment provides a direct path to scale the Aberdeen-born technology internationally.

Jake said: “Being selected as the only UK company from such a competitive global field demonstrates that we are solving a problem with worldwide relevance.

“The Presight AI Accelerator is not about ideas; it is about helping proven AI companies scale through real commercial opportunities.

“The Middle East is an important strategic market for us and this programme provides unrivalled access to customers, partners and investors. This creates real momentum as we continue building a globally significant AI company from Aberdeen.”

Innes Grant, chief operating officer of the firm, added that the backing of global tech giants like Presight and G42 provides an exceptional launchpad for their Middle Eastern expansion.