Lina Alkhayyal

Saudi Arabian AI developer creating assistive technologies for neurodiverse communities

About Lina Alkhayyal

Lina Alkhayyal is a Saudi innovator and founder of NeuroTech Solutions, a startup developing AI-powered tools to support individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Her flagship product, 'AbleAI Companion,' uses facial recognition and speech analysis to help users manage social interactions, achieving 92% user satisfaction in clinical trials. Launched in 2020, the app has been adopted by 350 special education centers across the Middle East.

Alkhayyal's work gained international recognition after winning the UN Sustainable Development Goals Award in 2021. She pioneered the first Arabic-language dataset for autism research, now used by MIT Media Lab and Stanford's Autism Initiative. Her team's collaboration with Dubai's Smart City initiative integrated assistive tech into public transportation systems.

In 2022, she developed 'EchoLens,' smart glasses that provide real-time social cues for users, funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. Alkhayyal's advocacy led to new legislation requiring all public apps in Saudi Arabia to include accessibility features by 2025.