• The Shell.ai Futures Pitch 2025 was hosted in Qatar for the first time, in collaboration with QSTP and Qatar Shell, drawing 86 startup entries from 27 countries.
• Indian startup MaxiML won first place for enhancing asset data quality, with Prewave (Austria) and UptimeAI (USA) securing second and third spots respectively.
• Winners received up to $100,000 in funding access and entry into QSTP’s innovation ecosystem, marking a major step for AI-driven energy solutions in the region.

The Qatar Edition of the Shell.ai Futures Pitch 2025 competition, being hosted for the first time in Qatar with a strategic collaboration between Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) a member of Qatar Foundation and Qatar Shell Research and Technology Centre (QSRTC), has awarded three innovative startups for their groundbreaking digital energy solutions.

The competition provided a platform for technology startups to address major energy issues through harnessing Shell's capabilities in AI and energy technologies and QSTP's vibrant innovative environment.

This year's edition saw 86 applications from 27 nations, out of which 40 percent of applications were from the Middle East and North Africa region. Startups were challenged to build AI-based solutions for three challenge tracks: detection and quantification of supply chain risks, quality improvement of data used in intelligent asset workflows, and smart fault diagnosis through AI-enabled HAZOP analysis.

14 startups were shortlisted out of 86 applications based on their outstanding ideas and technological potential. After going through a three-round evaluation process, Prewave from Austria in the supply chain risk category, MaxiML from India in the asset data quality challenge category, and UptimeAI.com from the US in the HAZOP-based fault diagnosis category were selected as the three finalists. The finalists showcased their solutions to a panel of judges comprising Shell senior leaders and the president of QSTP.

MaxiML won this year's first place for its innovative solution that maximizes data quality for smart asset workflows. Prewave took second prize, and third prize went to UptimeAI. The winners were awarded cash and funding opportunity access of up to $100,000 to build a proof-of-concept, in addition to access to QSTP's innovation ecosystem.

The finalist companies were a diverse and rich global group, testament to the increasing pace of digital transformation in the energy industry. Rama Chakaki, president of QSTP, underscored the need for supporting early-stage innovation in new technologies to drive Qatar's startup economy ahead.

The Shell.ai Futures Pitch competition is in line with QSTP's vision to develop creative solutions to difficult problems by leveraging technology and AI to enhance Qatar's role as a center for innovation disruption.

"We are very pleased to host the Shell.ai Futures Pitch competition in Qatar for the first time due to the close collaboration between QSTP and QSRTC", added Rob Maxwell, managing director and chairman, Qatar Shell Companies. "This is evidence of our common ambition to promote digital innovation in the energy industry and to support startups in addressing real-life, energy-related challenges through the application of artificial intelligence". The standards and scope of ideas presented this year are a demonstration of the international scope of open innovation.

This successful Qatar edition of the Shell.ai Futures Pitch reaffirms the strength of the continued partnership between Qatar Shell and QSTP. As a long-term partner of trust, Qatar Shell remains firmly committed to driving innovation, building local capabilities, and generating sustainable in-country value.