UAE’s AI startup to deliver Friday sermons in over 30 languages

UAE residents may soon be able to read Friday sermons in more than 30 languages through an artificial intelligence platform developed by local startup KhutbahFlow and showcased at the Khalifa Fund Entrepreneurship Competition. The platform, which is expected to launch this year, will make translated khutbahs accessible to worshippers via QR codes placed in participating mosques and will support major languages including English, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Tagalog, Indonesian, Pashto, Russian, Chinese, Turkish, Uzbek, Malay, Swahili and Somali.

"The competition at the Khalifa Fund event is tough, and that's exactly what's inspiring about being here. It pushes us all to do better, and it's an extremely exciting place to be building a company," said Mohammed Ahmad, founder and CEO of KhutbahFlow. He added that “being surrounded by founders who are building innovative solutions gives me confidence that the UAE entrepreneurship scene is becoming increasingly competitive and globally relevant."

Context and product details

KhutbahFlow is positioning its AI platform as a practical response to the UAE’s linguistic diversity — a country that hosts more than 200 nationalities. The company says the service will support over 30 languages, enabling non-Arabic-speaking worshippers to access translations of Friday sermons on their phones through QR codes deployed at participating mosques. The approach combines natural language processing and localisation techniques to generate readable sermon translations across a broad set of regional and international languages.

The project was among a roster of startups featured at the Khalifa Fund Entrepreneurship Competition, an initiative run by the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development that provides financial and non-financial support to entrepreneurs. Ali Abdullah Al-Saadi, Director of Program Management at the Khalifa Fund, highlighted the organisation’s role in nurturing the UAE entrepreneurial ecosystem. "For the past 18 years, Khalifa Fund has been shaping the entrepreneurial ecosystem within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi," he said, noting that the fund offers business planning, financial planning, advisory services and mentorship to help build sustainable businesses.

The competition drew entrants from diverse sectors and regions, including Abu Dhabi, Al Dhafra and Dubai, and included other technology-focused ventures. One highlighted participant, Baynuna Gene Solutions — an Abu Dhabi-based biotechnology company — presented plans to design, manufacture and validate molecular diagnostic testing kits locally. "Today, molecular testing kits are largely imported from overseas. Our goal is to design, manufacture, and validate these solutions locally using artificial intelligence and the capabilities that already exist within the UAE," said Dr. Omar Najam, CEO and co-founder of Baynuna Gene Solutions. He added that the company aims to use Abu Dhabi as a launchpad for expansion across the Middle East and Africa.

Outlook

KhutbahFlow plans to go live later this year and will rely on mosque partnerships to roll out the QR-code-enabled translations. The product’s success will depend on the accuracy of machine-generated translations, adoption by worship centres, and user trust in AI-driven religious content. For KhutbahFlow, the Khalifa Fund competition has provided both exposure and a testbed for refining the offering amid intense local startup competition.

• Company: KhutbahFlow — founder & CEO Mohammed Ahmad
• Launch window: expected this year
• Distribution: QR codes at participating mosques
• Languages supported: English, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Tagalog, Indonesian, Pashto, Russian, Chinese, Turkish, Uzbek, Malay, Swahili, Somali, and others
• Programme host: Khalifa Fund Entrepreneurship Competition — Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (Ali Abdullah Al-Saadi)