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From game development at 10 to pitching Al Habtoor: A young founder's journey
15-year-old Dubai resident Mustafa, who started game development at the age of 10, presented his AI-powered startup idea to Dubai billionaire Khalaf Al Habtoor
- PUBLISHED: Tue 16 Jun 2026, 12:35 PM
One day before an important presentation in front of one of the UAE’s richest men, 15-year-old Mustafa Mevlan quickly scrambled to put on a presentation for a competition he forgot he applied for.
The Dubai resident was set on presenting his business pitch for Khalaf Al Habtoor, the Emirati billionaire and founder of Al Habtoor Group, as part of his ‘Open Talks’ session.
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Mustafa’s entrepreneurial endeavors began way earlier.
He told Khaleej Times that his curiosity for video games prompted him to start game development at age 10. Ever since, his curiosity got the best of him, and the young entrepreneur has even started freelancing, which allowed him to make money on the side.
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He added that he started his first startup at age 13, where he led teams in game development, which he learned by himself.
“Most of my time at home didn't go to studies,” he said. “I wasn't too focused on studies.” All the while, Mustafa said his parents supported him in his journey.
Forgotten email
“I was checking my email yesterday (Wednesday) and (it) said you got accepted. I had no preparation or anything,” he told Khaleej Times. And so, Mustafa began putting everything together while still at school.
The Emirati billionaire was hosting the 13th edition of Open Talk, where startup founders pitched their ideas in front of a series of judges, Al Habtoor included. 95 pitches moved on to the second phase, with the final winners set to be announced later this week.
Mustafa’s idea is to provide startup founders with everything they need to set up their project using AI agents, from the hardware (electronics) to software, leaving founders plenty of room to work on other priorities.
“They just enter the description, our agent researches and plans the project specifications, and then the user has to pull the product, the electronics, and the posture, and everything will be ready for the project,” he explained during the presentation.
Currently, Mustafa is working on an accelerator called ChallengeChain mainly for young startup founders aged 17-24. “We're currently about to finish the first cohort, and along with it, I'm also working on a couple of startups in deep tech and sectors like energy which we are currently in ideation and research,” he said.
Hind Aldah is a business reporter based in Sharjah. In her spare time, you will find her playing classical guitar, painting amateur oil paintings, or crocheting the same old scarf that leads nowhere.