From 9 to 12 February 2026, WHX Dubai 2026 marked a new chapter for the region’s flagship healthcare exhibition, formerly known as Arab Health. Hosted for the first time at Dubai Exhibition Centre in Expo City, the rebranded World Health Expo positioned Dubai not only as a convening hub, but increasingly as a platform for deployable healthcare innovation and cross-border capital.
Kylla was represented on the ground by our Investment Managers, Sevde Asan and Victoria Gabaraeva, who attended WHX Dubai with a clear mandate to meet investors active in the health tech sector and to connect with high-growth companies seeking capital and international expansion support.
Now that the event has concluded and official announcements have been released, several clear investment themes have emerged, particularly relevant for growth companies operating at the intersection of technology, life sciences, and healthcare infrastructure.
Clinical AI Moves into Regulated Care Pathways
The debut Xcelerate start-up competition crowned Predictheon as “Champion of Innovation 2026” for its AI-based perioperative decision support platform, designed to predict adverse events during anaesthesia and support real-time clinical decision-making.
The significance is not simply that AI featured prominently. Rather, it is that investor and jury attention centred on regulated, clinically embedded AI systems, not only workflow optimisation tools. This reinforces a broader shift towards higher-barrier, evidence-driven digital health solutions capable of integration into hospital pathways.
For growth investors, this category demands strong regulatory strategy, clinical validation, and adoption evidence, yet offers defensible positioning and scalable economics once embedded.
National Health Data Infrastructure as an Investment Catalyst
The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention showcased its “Bayan” enterprise health data warehouse and disease registry platform, alongside a Behavioural Insight AI system designed to enable predictive, prevention-led public health interventions.
These announcements underline a structural trend: national-scale data platforms are being built as foundational infrastructure. Growth companies positioned in interoperability, analytics, consent management, AI modelling, and health data cybersecurity are likely to benefit from this shift.
For cross-border expansion strategies, the Gulf is increasingly demonstrating its ability to implement large-scale, centrally coordinated digital programmes at speed.
Life Sciences, AI Drug Design and Manufacturing Localisation
Life sciences were another defining theme of the week. Regulatory authorities and industry partners highlighted AI-driven drug efficacy design initiatives, advanced preclinical models, such as Organ-on-a-Chip technologies, and pharmaceutical manufacturing localisation strategies.
For investors, this signals opportunity not only in therapeutics, but in enabling platforms: AI-driven drug discovery, preclinical modelling technologies, regulatory science support, and advanced manufacturing infrastructure.
Remote Monitoring and Platform Partnerships
Digital health partnerships moved beyond discussion to pilot-level execution, particularly in AI-based remote patient monitoring and wearable-enabled care models.
The pattern is clear: the region favours partnership-led market entry, with pilots serving as gateways to broader procurement or equity participation. For growth companies seeking regional expansion, structured collaboration with large provider networks remains the primary route to scale.
Women’s Health and Prevention as Core Categories
Women’s health emerged as a headline innovation vertical rather than a peripheral theme, with femtech and menopause support platforms receiving significant attention.
Prevention-first digital platforms, chronic disease risk management, and personalised health engagement tools are increasingly positioned as commercially viable, not merely socially desirable.
Kylla’s On-the-Ground Investment Perspective
Sevde Asan reflects:
“What stood out most was the shift from concept-stage innovation to deployable solutions. Many companies were not simply showcasing technology, they were presenting validated pilots, regulatory pathways, and concrete expansion strategies. The level of sophistication in AI-driven clinical tools and life sciences platforms was notably higher than in previous editions.
There was also a strong appetite for structured partnerships. Conversations were less about abstract innovation and more about implementation, data integration, and scaling within health systems. For growth companies seeking capital in the €1 million to €30 million range, the region is clearly positioning itself as a serious deployment and co-investment environment.”
What WHX Dubai 2026 Tells Us About the Investment Landscape
Taken together, WHX Dubai 2026 reinforced five investable themes:
- Regulated clinical AI with strong validation pathways
- National health data infrastructure and predictive analytics
- AI-enabled drug discovery and advanced preclinical platforms
- Remote monitoring and connected care ecosystems
- Women’s health and prevention-focused digital health
More broadly, the event confirmed the Gulf’s evolution into a deployment market rather than solely a procurement market. Strategic memoranda of understanding, national digital platforms, and pilot programmes indicate an ecosystem willing to adopt and scale innovation at system level.
At Kylla, we continue to monitor global healthcare platforms such as WHX Dubai closely, with a focus on identifying scalable technologies, cross-border expansion opportunities, and structured co-investment routes in growth-stage companies.
By: Sevde Asan
Investment Manager
Kylla Corporate Transactions
