Today, the world’s largest tech and AI event, GITEX GLOBAL 2025 (www.GITEX.com) opened to capacity crowds and the largest coalition of global government leaders, tech enterprises, startups, investors, and business executives, capping a formidable 45-year journey at Dubai World Trade Centre.

Taking place from 13-17 October 2025, the monumental edition brings together more than 6,800 exhibitors, 2,000 startups, 1,200 investors, and delegations from over 180 countries. Beyond the scale lies the global impact, with this year’s edition echoing the accelerating fusion of technology, economic strategy, and geopolitical ambition – positioning Dubai as the convening force where governments, industry leaders, and innovators collaboratively confront the challenges and opportunities of building intelligence-driven economies and societies.

Global Ministers Collaborate on AI’s Economic and Policy Impact

Opening the landmark discussions to a packed audience on the main stage, H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism, addressed the theme “The Race Beyond Innovation: AI, Geopolitics, and the Global Economic Reset,” underscoring how innovation and economic diversification remain at the heart of the UAE’s national strategy.

H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism: “The United Arab Emirates, thanks to the forward-looking vision of its wise leadership, is not merely participating in the global race for innovation; it is shaping its contours and cementing its foundations by building an economic model defined by resilience and a future orientation, grounded in knowledge and advanced technology. This strengthens the nation’s position at the forefront of the global economic landscape.”

Shifting into the global impact of deep tech, Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation at the European Commission, joined Dr. Najwa Aaraj, CEO of Technology Innovation Institute, the applied research pillar of the UAE’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), to explore the influence of deep-tech ecosystems on nations.

Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation at the European Commission: “The European Union and the UAE share a vision to drive innovation that benefits our citizens. We are aligned on the importance of startups and scaleups for our economies. This journey starts at GITEX 2025.”

The “Intelligence Super-Cycle” panel brought together Hon. Evan Solomon, Canada’s Minister for AI and Digital Innovation; and Amandeep Gill, UN Envoy for Digital Technologies, to examine how AI is becoming the defining economic infrastructure of the century.

Hon. Evan Solomon, Minister for AI and Digital Innovation, Government of Canada: “GITEX is an absolutely core example of entrepreneurs being launched at a speed we’ve never seen – and we need to keep our values and build together. It’s fantastic to meet people, meet companies, and to see our profound partnership with the UAE deepen as we share this mission to transform AI from a trustworthy technology to one that is built for all.”

Andrew Feldman, CEO of Cerebras, a unicorn that launched the world’s largest supercomputer for AI training in partnership with G42, discussed how the company achieved the fastest AI inferencing speeds that could redefine high-performance computing.

Andrew Feldman, CEO of Cerebras: “We built the largest chip in the history of the computing industry, the size of a dinner plate. By going big on chips, we were able to keep more information on the chip and move it less. This meant less power was used, and the results were delivered more quickly.”

Global Enterprises Unveil the Future of Cloud, Mobility & AI

On the show floor, visitors experienced a wave of breakthrough technologies from global tech enterprises.

e& drew massive crowds with 90+ showcases of mobility, robotics, digital healthcare and consumer tech. Among the jaw-dropping highlights were the eVTOL prototypes powered by six independent batteries and multiple engines, as well as air taxis to autonomous solutions and record-setting electric vehicles, able to run thousands of kilometres on a single charge.

Oracle presented a suite of enterprise AI solutions including agentic AI tools that can plan finances, smart supply-chain management, alongside the popular Oracle Red Bull Racing, showing the power of Oracle Cloud powered real time data plays in helping the team win.

BlackBerry launched their mission-critical communications platform at GITEX GLOBAL 2025. As per a senior brand representative, BlackBerry has the only “tech in the market certified by many governments around the world for data sovereign classified comms, and they are a trusted partner for several G20 governments and 8 of the top 10 banks”.

The world’s largest cloud company, AWS showcased the true power of their cloud with in-built cybersecurity and operational capabilities, alongside the undisputed advantage their customers get in accessing AWS marketplace to plug new solutions into the cloud.

HCL Software unveiled innovations enabling real-time website and application customisation through generative AI, enhanced cybersecurity systems, and its endpoint management platform, BigFix. With a focus on AI education and practical implementation, HCL’s showcase highlights how businesses can securely and intelligently evolve.

The day was also marked by a record level of international participation, with Brazil joining as Country Partner with its largest-ever delegation, alongside national pavilions from Canada, Spain, Türkiye, Chile and Ecuador, and expanded representation from Europe, Central Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Levant.

What Next – AI-Native Societies Take Centre Stage

Day two continues the exciting unveilings and insightful discussions, with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI marking his first GITEX GLOBAL address, in a virtual conversation with Peng Xiao, Group CEO of G42, together exploring the structural foundations of AI-Native Societies. The nation-scale discussions continue with senior leaders from G42, OpenAI, Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, Khazna Data Centres, Cerebras, TAMM-Department of Government Enablement (Government of Abu Dhabi), Presight, Core42, Inception, AIQ and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.

High-level policy briefings, major tech launches, and cross-sector business networking will continue to buzz through the halls, as GITEX GLOBAL its role as the world’s most influential platform for technology, investment, and global collaboration. For more information, visit: www.GITEX.com.