Built for Cities by Those Who Know Cities Best
We built Top Urban AI because we lived the problem — watching smart city investments get made on gut instinct, political pressure, and spreadsheets. There had to be a better way.
Our Vision
A world in which every city makes rigorous decisions to better serve its people.
Our Mission
To build AI for complex urban decisions — and put it within reach of every city, whatever its size, data or budget.
Where We Are In Our Journey
Top Urban AI is established in the DIFC AI Campus. The platform is in build. Founding pilot cohort from January 2027.
Practice Driven
We reason from what has been done inside city government, not from theory. Where we lack that experience ourselves, we bring in someone who has it.
Informed Choices
We give options and the reasoning behind them. The choice, and the authority, stay with you.
Evidence Based
We show our reasoning, our sources and where we are uncertain — especially when the evidence does not support a claim.
Inclusive
We make our services accessible, so commitment, not resources, decides who we work with.
Transparent
Where either company has an interest in what we recommend, we say so in writing before we recommend.
Why We Built This
Smart city initiatives represent some of the most significant investments a city can make — in infrastructure, technology, and community wellbeing. Yet most cities evaluate these investments the same way they did 30 years ago: committee meetings, spreadsheets, and whoever argues loudest.
We've seen what happens when cities lack a structured evaluation process. Investments concentrate in already-advantaged neighborhoods. Financially risky projects get approved because they sound exciting. Genuinely impactful initiatives get rejected because they don't have a champion in the room.
Top Urban AI exists to change that. We believe every city deserves a process that's structured, transparent, and built around evidence — not politics.
The Team
People who've been in the room where these decisions get made.
HAZEM GALAL
Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer
Led a Big Four firm's global cities and local government practice for two decades, advising governments on four continents.
AKIF KAMAL
Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer
Previously co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of an explainable artificial intelligence company acquired by Apple. Machine learning systems where the reasoning behind an output has to be visible and defensible.
MAURICIO RODAS
Co-Founder
Former Mayor of Quito, Ecuador, where he delivered the largest infrastructure project in the city's history and led transformational initiatives in socioeconomic development and sustainability.
JAN VAPAAVUORI
Co-Founder
Former Mayor of Helsinki and former Finnish Minister of Economic Affairs. Has run public procurement in one of the most tightly regulated environments in the world.