Abu Dhabi’s Palantir rival bets on global south to spur growth

Presight AI Holding Plc, a data analytics provider based in Abu Dhabi, is seeking global deals to drive its next phase of growth.  

On Wednesday, the company reported first quarter sales of 563.9 million dirhams ($153.5 million), a 115% annual increase. Around 23% of those sales came from outside the UAE. The company is “striving toward 40%” in international sales, focusing primarily on countries across Asia, Latin America and Africa that make up the Global South, according to chief executive Thomas Pramotedham. 

“Now, and in the next ten years, this is the growth engine,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. 

The company’s majority shareholder is G42, the UAE technology conglomerate backed by Microsoft Corp. Presight competes with larger tech firms like Palantir Technologies Inc. in selling data-crunching software to government agencies and industries such as energy and finance.

Presight has recently entered into deals with city governments. In February, the company unveiled a $190 million “smart city” project with Astana, the Kazakhstan capital. Presight has shared plans for similar initiatives in Albania, working on services like improving traffic management and public safety. 

Pramotedham said Presight is planning to open an office in Albania, describing the Balkans as a growth region. The company signed an agreement with the Colombian government last year and is active in several African nations.

“So far, they have shown that they’re good partners,” Zhaslan Madiyev, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Digital Development, said in an interview late April. “All these algorithms with the cameras that they use [have] proven that they can help to create a safe environment.”

Presight has more than 700 employees, nearly double its total when it listed on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange in 2023, according to a company spokesperson.