Seedubator, an AI workspace for first-time founders built in Dubai, is the only project identified with the UAE among the 25 awardees in the Build with Gemini XPRIZE. It took one of 15 runner-up awards, worth $50,000 each.
Seedubator was founded in May 2026 by Dubai-based entrepreneurs Nikhil Mankani and Aishwarya Nathani, without an incubator or a wider team, they told LAFFAZ.
“The biggest mistake is treating a promising idea as proof of demand. Seedubator helps founders test their assumptions before committing time and money.” said Nikhil, co-founder, speaking to LAFFAZ about what first-time founders most often get wrong.
The product follows that logic. It takes a founder from name and domain discovery through market-demand research and scenario testing, and includes a live, voice-based investor panel where users can rehearse a pitch against AI investor personas.
XPRIZE’s $2 million competition gave builders 90 days to launch an AI-powered, revenue-generating business, and the organiser says more than 26,000 registered. The winners were announced live on 25 September at Moonshots LIVE in Los Angeles. The grand prize of $500,000 went to Polyfork, a German project by Lucas Martinic.
Nikhil framed the product as a way of moving the awkward questions earlier. “Founders can spend months perfecting a solution before testing whether anyone needs it,” he said. “We built Seedubator to bring the hard questions forward, including demand, business model, and pitch, while there is still time to change direction.”
Aishwarya pointed to the launch itself as the hardest call. “Our hardest decision was to launch before every detail felt perfect. We let real users shape our priorities instead of polishing for ourselves. That is the lesson I would share with other founders: launch thoughtfully, listen, and improve.”
Both founders work as senior AI engineers, the team said, and say they have won at least 15 AI and software hackathon awards between them, including competitions organised by Google, Salesforce and Atlassian.
The founders intend to register Seedubator formally in Dubai. They also plan a wider launch in the UAE and the US, and plan to expand the team as the product grows.
