Abu dhabi: GITEX GLOBAL 2025, the world's largest tech and AI event, is taking place from 13-17 October at Dubai World Trade Centre. This event is occurring at a crucial time when countries are transitioning from fragmented AI adoption to nation-scale intelligence strategies, where key elements like computing power, data, institutional readiness, and governance are converging to drive economic and societal transformation.
According to Emirates News Agency, the event has garnered global attention for its focus on the emergence of AI nations. A major highlight is the participation of Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, who is making his debut at GITEX GLOBAL. Altman will join Peng Xiao, Group CEO of G42, in a virtual discussion themed 'From Early Adoption to AI-Native Societies: Envisioning the Next Era of Intelligence.' This session is anticipated to provide insights on moving beyond experimentation to full integration of AI, setting the stage for AI-native societies.
The GITEX and G42 AI-Native Societies Programme delves into strategic alliances and architectures. Senior executives from Core42 and the US-UAE Business Council will explore the UAE-US 5GW AI Campus, the largest AI infrastructure project outside the US. Discussions will cover intelligence infrastructures and the visionary Global Intelligence Grid, with contributions from senior leaders from G42, OpenAI, Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, Khazna Data Centres, and Cerebras.
Attention then turns to real-world AI deployments with insights from TAMM - Department of Government Enablement (Government of Abu Dhabi), Presight, Core42, OpenAI, Inception, AIQ, and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence. These organisations will showcase how governments, industries, and education systems are implementing AI on a large scale.
GITEX GLOBAL 2025's conference programme unites a formidable lineup of ministers, policymakers, tech CEOs, founders, and investors from more than 180 countries. The event includes multiple summits on AI geopolitics and sovereignty, quantum frontiers, cross-sector use cases, investment priorities, and cyber resilience in the AI era.
The event is supported by a show floor featuring over 6,800 tech enterprises, 2,000 startups, and over 40 unicorns, as well as 1,200 investors managing US$1.1 trillion in assets. These discussions are expected to have significant implications on future strategies, business pivots, collaborations, and economic forces reshaping the tech industry.
Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, will lead discussions on Europe's ambition to convert its deep-tech capabilities into economic power. UAE's Minister of Economy and Tourism, Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, will address economic strategies reoriented around AI.
High-level dialogues will continue with Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, alongside Hon. Evan Solomon, Canada's Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation. They will discuss the 'intelligence super-cycle' and how nations can leverage AI to navigate economic volatility and assert digital leadership.
Investment bank UBS anticipates $375 billion in funding for AI projects in 2025, raising questions about the geopolitical influence of these investments. A key session will feature China's Victor Gao, Chairman of The China Energy Security Institute, and Dr. J¶rg Goschin, CEO of Germany's KfW Capital, discussing the geopolitical dynamics of investment.
Naima Al Falasi, SVP AI Strategy and Transformation at Mubadala, will provide strategic insights on embedding AI and Machine Learning in key sectors to boost national competitiveness.
McKinsey reports that 92% of companies are accelerating AI spending in 2025, increasing pressure to deliver business value from AI. Peter Koerte, CTO and CSO of Siemens, will discuss leveraging industrial AI for competitive advantage, while Zulfi Alam, Corporate VP for Quantum at Microsoft, will focus on developing a quantum-ready workforce.
Qualcomm's Wassim Chourbaji and IBM's Ana Paula Assis will offer perspectives on macro-prosperity through chip and AI strategy alignment and the quantum-AI era of business and governance.
Founders like Andrew Feldman of Cerebras and Greg Jackson of Octopus Energy will share visions of AI's future economics, exploring themes of sustainability, scale, and flexibility.
The World Economic Forum's Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2025 highlights the increasing use of Generative AI by hackers. Dr. Mohamed Al-Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity in the UAE Government, and Liisa-Ly Pakosta, Estonia's Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs, will discuss AI's role in securing public infrastructure and addressing AI-enabled threats.
Andr© Molina, Secretary of Cybersecurity and Information Security at Brazil's GSI, will highlight AI's role in reinforcing cyber defenses.