bonuz Files GamifyDubai.com for Dubai-it Award 2026
bonuz has formally entered GamifyDubai.com into the Dubai-it Award 2026, alongside three related applications. For everyday bonuz wallet users, this matters because the AR city-quest feature behind the entry is not a concept, it is already running in their app.
What actually happened
On 10 September, bonuz filed four separate applications for the Dubai-it Award 2026. GamifyDubai.com was entered as a technology project, Bonuz Technology DMCC as an organisation in the economy category, founder Matthias Mende as an individual in technology, and uae971 as a project spanning society and technology. All four remain under review, according to bonuz. Mende, creator of bonuz and co-founder of Dubai Blockchain Center, stressed the status clearly: the project is submitted, not shortlisted or awarded. Since August 2026, the underlying feature, called LIFE mode, has been live inside the public bonuz app, built on 2.1 million lines of code. More than 10,000 users have already registered.
How we got here
Mende first experimented with augmented reality back in 2010 and 2011, long before phones, wallets or location networks could support it. The idea sat unfinished for over a decade. What changed is infrastructure, not ambition. Phones can now anchor a venue to its exact real-world spot, wallets now live natively on personal devices, and mapping, cameras and location data finally sync in real time. The Dubai-it Award exists to recognise projects that push the city's innovation profile forward, which is the lane bonuz is now competing in.
Why this matters for you
For wallet holders, LIFE mode means rewards and collectibles land directly in a personal wallet on their own phone, not in a separate app account. Users open the bonuz app, raise their phone, and see nearby venues and quests marked in the air with distance and direction. For businesses, it offers a new way to draw foot traffic without buying ads. For builders watching the wallet and AR space, it is an early case study in pairing location data with self-custodied rewards at city scale.
The bigger question
Can a wallet-based AR layer actually change how people move through a real city, or does the novelty fade once the award cycle ends?
What to watch
The Dubai-it Award 2026 review is ongoing, with no result date disclosed yet. LIFE mode is already active for anyone using the bonuz app in Dubai, available on iOS, Android and the web without a download, via app.bonuz.xyz.
