Presight’s domestic order book hit a record in 2Q 2026, with more to come on government agentic AI mandate and SME push

AI-powered data analytics firm Presight AI Holding posted a record domestic order book in the second quarter, driven by large renewals of two mission-critical national platforms and a first push into non-kinetic defense contracting, Senior Director of Investor Relations Roger Tejwani tells EnterpriseAM. Group revenue rose 36.1% y-o-y to AED 713.2 mn in 2Q 2026, with net income after tax up 30.2% to AED 116.8 mn, according to its management discussion and analysis report (pdf). The firm’s order backlog stood at AED 4.9 bn as of the end of June, up 33.5% y-o-y.

The results are evidence that Presight’s “twin engines of growth” — sovereign AI at home, exportable platforms abroad — are “firing on all cylinders,” Tejwani says. The quarter’s domestic order book topped AED 2.5 bn, anchored by renewals for the National Crisis and Emergency Authority’s emergency response system and Abu Dhabi’s Safe City platform. Both platforms focus on public safety and security at a time when the government has sharpened its focus on national resilience.

The firm landed its first two non-kinetic defense contracts at the federal level, built around database integration — for instance, across the Defense Ministry — to support real-time decision-making for supply chain logistics and joint manpower operations, Tejwani says. More negotiations in that space are ongoing, with movement expected over the next few weeks, he adds.

REMEMBER- Tejwani told us earlier in May that the firm will expand its defense tech stack and sharpen its focus on domestic resilience amid a broader national focus on security and defense in light of the regional conflict.

International momentum builds beneath a domestic-heavy quarter

International revenue made up 23.5% of the total revenue for the group in 2Q, down from 30% the previous quarter — but Tejwani says that’s a function of an unusually large domestic renewal quarter, not a slowdown abroad. Domestic revenue grew 42% in 2Q, while international revenue grew at a smaller 19% clip during the quarter and rose 40% across the first half.

The firm’s global expansion strategy, which it also refers to as “land and expand,” is bearing fruit, Tejwani says. He flagged deeper engagement in Kazakhstan — including new agreements with the Transport Ministry and the Almaty city government, building on the Astana smart city platform — alongside a new Interior Ministry engagement in Montenegro that has, in turn, unlocked discussions in neighboring Bosnia.

Presight is also in earlier-stage discussions in Greece around a broader energy, defense AI, and smart infrastructure framework, alongside ongoing conversations in Malaysia, Vietnam, and across Africa.

Presight’s AI joint venture with Adnoc, AIQ, is also making headway abroad. Shortly after the second quarter ended in June, the energy-focused AI company signed its first international contract with a large Indian conglomerate for computer vision and video analytics spanning refining and retail operations. The mandate pushes the energy-sector-born platform beyond oil and gas for the first time.

The agreement is “the tip of the iceberg,” says Tejwani, pointing to developing relationships across Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Colombia, adding that AIQ is now set to “follow a similar playbook” to Presight’s own expansion strategy, which today spans 70-80 markets. It’s also launching pilot programs and commercial outreach in Colombia, Kazakhstan, Oman, and Indonesia while also targeting North America, Europe, and Australia, CEO Dennis Jol told CNBC last month.

Looking ahead

The quarter’s headline growth doesn’t yet reflect what may be the biggest medium-term demand driver: the UAE government’s mandate to deploy agentic AI across 50% of government operations within two years. Tejwani tells us local government clients have been “flooding in with their requests” since the mandate landed, but notes that this demand is still in the pipeline rather than the P&L and should start materializing in the upcoming quarters.

Sovereign AI for SMEs: Presight’s new MoU with the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, aimed at scaling agentic AI deployment across more than 100k SMEs in the emirate, is also evidence of a broader shift in appetite for sovereign AI that goes beyond big enterprises. SMEs “increasingly want control over their compute, over their data locality, and also the cost of consumption,” he says.