Mastercard selects six AI startups for UAE finance mentorship program

Mastercard’s first Lighthouse UAE cohort has selected six AI startups to move forward in a four-month mentorship program designed to help them scale and connect with financial institutions and investors. The companies are Loyyal, NewForm Technologies, NodeShift, Polynome, Valura.AI and zypl.ai, chosen from 14 finalists by the UAE Artificial Intelligence Office and Mastercard’s AI and cyber technology team. The program focuses on practical AI use cases in finance, including risk management, trust, personalization and credit access for smaller businesses, reflecting the UAE’s push to strengthen its position as a regional hub for digital finance and startup growth.