The GITEX Global 2025 event, recognized as the largest international gathering focused on technology and artificial intelligence, is set to take place from October 13 to 17 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. This event comes at a crucial turning point, where the global landscape is shifting from fragmented AI adoption towards comprehensive national strategies that integrate computational power, data, institutional readiness, and governance to accelerate economic and social transformation.
With a spotlight on the emerging role of AI, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is making his anticipated debut at GITEX Global. He will participate in a significant virtual discussion alongside Bing Xiao, CEO of G42, under the theme “From Early Adoption to Indigenous AI Communities: Envisioning a New Era of Intelligence.”
This dialogue will feature two leading global influencers in AI development, providing pioneering insights on transitioning from experimental phases to full AI integration, laying the groundwork for building “indigenous AI” societies.
The GITEX program, in partnership with G42, will expand discussions to encompass strategic alliances and frameworks. Senior executives from Core42 and the U.S.-UAE Business Council will be present to highlight the UAE-U.S. AI hub project, boasting a 5 gigawatt capacity, which is the largest AI infrastructure outside of the United States.
Conversations will also delve into smart infrastructures and future global intelligence networks, featuring leaders from companies such as G42, OpenAI, Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, Khazna Data Centre, and Cerebras.
The focus will then shift to practical applications, where leadership from Abu Dhabi’s government services platform “TAM” – Government Empowerment Office, along with representatives from Presight, Core42, OpenAI, Inception, AIQ, and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, will showcase how governments, industries, and educational institutions are widely implementing AI technologies.
The GITEX Global 2025 conference is set to bring together an unparalleled gathering of ministers, policymakers, executives, founders, and investors from over 180 countries, featuring a series of summits addressing geopolitical dynamics, sovereignty in AI, prospects for quantum computing, sector-specific AI applications, investment priorities, and cybersecurity resilience in the AI era.
This event is expected to showcase a massive exhibition platform with over 6,800 tech companies, 2,000 startups, and more than 40 billion-dollar companies, along with 1,200 investors overseeing assets exceeding $1.1 trillion, ensuring that the discussions held will significantly influence future strategies, business transformations, alliances, and the economic forces reshaping the global tech industry.
Opening sessions will feature Ekaterina Zakharieva, the European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, discussing Europe’s ambitions to leverage its expertise in deep technologies into a strategic economic force, while UAE’s Economy and Tourism Minister Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri will address the need to recalibrate economic strategies amid the AI transition.
High-level discussions will include contributions from Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for AI, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, and Ivan Solomon, Canada’s Minister of AI and Digital Innovation — the country’s inaugural AI minister — during a session titled “Super Intelligence Cycle.”
Leaders will explore how nations are harnessing AI to enhance their resilience against economic fluctuations and solidify their position in digital leadership worldwide.
With projections from investment bank UBS estimating that AI project financing will reach $375 billion by 2025, critical questions arise concerning the geopolitical implications of such investments.
In a key session at GITEX Global 2025, Victor Gao, Chairman of the Chinese Energy Security Institute and a prominent expert in international affairs, will engage in a profound discussion with Jörg Goschen, CEO of KfW Capital, the largest state-supported venture capital fund in Europe valued at €2.5 billion, analyzing the new economic geography of investment and the use of capital as a strategic technological power tool.
On a national scale, Naima Al Flasi, Senior Vice President of AI Strategy and Transformation at Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign fund managing over $302 billion, will provide strategic insights on integrating AI and machine learning technologies in vital sectors to enhance the country’s competitive edge and leadership in the global digital economy.