February 11 - 12, 2020Dubai Internet City
DUBAI 2026
DUBAI
2026
Keep an eye out for updates and final agenda
The session explores how the UAE is building sovereign and regionally tuned AI capabilities, spanning data, regulation, and market design,…
The session explores how the UAE is building sovereign and regionally tuned AI capabilities, spanning data, regulation, and market design, to anchor the next decade of AI-driven economic growth from Dubai to the world, with a focus on tangible opportunity. It will highlight why global AI companies, investors, and founders should choose Dubai and the UAE as their base, showcasing opportunities across government, big tech, platforms, and capital through the lenses of Accenture, Dubai DET, TECOM/DIC, Astratech, and DFDF.
Exploring how strategic investors and corporates partner with startups, including CVC trends, value-add capital, and innovation ecosystems.
The shift from centralized cloud to hybrid/edge architectures to meet latency, cost, and data-sovereignty needs for AI applications (finance, mobility,…
The shift from centralized cloud to hybrid/edge architectures to meet latency, cost, and data-sovereignty needs for AI applications (finance, mobility, industry, smart cities).
As AI becomes mission-critical, leaders face tough choices between building proprietary platforms and adopting third-party solutions. This board-level discussion unpacks…
As AI becomes mission-critical, leaders face tough choices between building proprietary platforms and adopting third-party solutions. This board-level discussion unpacks the strategic, technical, and governance trade-offs shaping the pragmatic AI stack of 2026.
Macro playbook for AI value creation across the stack
Drawing from his experience leading Wipro's GenAI transformation and creating billion-dollar product categories, Arvind reveals the proven framework for moving…
Drawing from his experience leading Wipro's GenAI transformation and creating billion-dollar product categories, Arvind reveals the proven framework for moving beyond AI experiments to scalable, revenue-generating solutions.
Can human instinct outplay AI intelligence in shaping the future of business? Three high-stakes questions push both sides to battle…
Can human instinct outplay AI intelligence in shaping the future of business? Three high-stakes questions push both sides to battle over who truly holds the power to drive growth, build agencies, and make the decisions that matter.
As AI accelerates and human creativity holds its ground, the future hangs between insight and instinct. Through questions on storytelling,…
As AI accelerates and human creativity holds its ground, the future hangs between insight and instinct. Through questions on storytelling, creative direction, and sales impact, two teams face off to define which force will dominate tomorrow’s creative and commercial landscape.
This conversation brings together the perspective of a regional retail operator and investor, and a global platform shaping how commerce…
This conversation brings together the perspective of a regional retail operator and investor, and a global platform shaping how commerce now flows through social and messaging - to unpack how retail is being rebuilt from the bottom up.
A candid conversation with Y Combinator alumni founders from the Middle East and North Africa on what it takes to…
A candid conversation with Y Combinator alumni founders from the Middle East and North Africa on what it takes to break into the world’s most competitive startup accelerator. Hear how they navigated the application process, scaled their startups globally, and leveraged the YC network while staying rooted in the MENA ecosystem. Expect real stories, lessons learned, and advice for founders aiming to become market leaders in their regions or go global.
This panel explores how AI and advanced technologies act as horizontal enablers for economic growth and productive capital. Ministers and…
This panel explores how AI and advanced technologies act as horizontal enablers for economic growth and productive capital. Ministers and thought leaders will discuss state strategy, regulatory frameworks, and innovation ecosystems to shape the Levant’s next decade of competitiveness.
When thinking is automated, presence becomes the work.As AI automates thinking, human presence becomes the scarcest and most valuable capability…
When thinking is automated, presence becomes the work.As AI automates thinking, human presence becomes the scarcest and most valuable capability in leadership. This experiential session reframes executive presence as coherence under complexity, and explores how to embody awareness in a way that is a strategic advantage no system can replicate.
Experience how work changes when AI merges with your daily work to produce finished deliverables, not “helpful drafts”: Justin Liu…
Experience how work changes when AI merges with your daily work to produce finished deliverables, not “helpful drafts”: Justin Liu (Co‑founder & Chief Architect at Genspark) reveals how complex workflows collapse into a few decisive moments—so you leave with a new standard for teams: humans own the decisions, systems own the workflow, and your vision finally gets the execution speed it deserves.
Hear from top GTM leaders and CROs on how AI is reshaping how companies identify opportunities, close deals, and sustain…
Hear from top GTM leaders and CROs on how AI is reshaping how companies identify opportunities, close deals, and sustain revenue momentum.
How founders, regulators, and advisors de‑risk the move and scale faster from Dubai-based hubs than from other hubs, with concrete…
How founders, regulators, and advisors de‑risk the move and scale faster from Dubai-based hubs than from other hubs, with concrete levers like setup speed, visas, and talent access.
This panel explores how AI-driven transformation succeeds or fails not on tools alone, but on the culture, leadership, and talent…
This panel explores how AI-driven transformation succeeds or fails not on tools alone, but on the culture, leadership, and talent strategies that sit behind them. Executives and builders will unpack how to design organizational structures and technical infrastructure that empower people to adopt AI at scale, while safeguarding ethics, trust, and long-term competitiveness.
Discover how leading enterprises are moving beyond theory to successfully deploy AI at scale, transforming operations, customer experiences, and product…
Discover how leading enterprises are moving beyond theory to successfully deploy AI at scale, transforming operations, customer experiences, and product innovation. This discussion brings real-world case studies, lessons learned, and practical insights on strategy, governance, and measuring AI’s business impact.
Regional banks are accelerating digital transformation with AI and modern technologies to boost innovation, customer experience, and resilience. Understand the…
Regional banks are accelerating digital transformation with AI and modern technologies to boost innovation, customer experience, and resilience. Understand the challenges institutions face when redesigning products, optimizing workflows, and strengthening regulator ties to stay competitive.
Hiring for talent is easy.Hiring for alignment is what scales. Using real-world lessons from his book on startup culture, "Advantage:…
Hiring for talent is easy.Hiring for alignment is what scales.
Using real-world lessons from his book on startup culture, "Advantage: Culture", Jaïr Halevi explains why startups that prioritize skills over behavior lose focus, and how hiring for cultural alignment turns culture into a self-reinforcing management system.
Less control.More ownership.Better teams.
This fireside chat unpacks how BFL used e‑commerce, automation, and strategic transactions to future‑proof the business. The discussion will look…
This fireside chat unpacks how BFL used e‑commerce, automation, and strategic transactions to future‑proof the business. The discussion will look into how heavy investment into digital and robotics (e.g., multi‑million‑dirham e‑commerce push, 160+ warehouse robots, 38,000 m² automated fulfillment in Saudi Arabia) and how these moves, combined with international expansion and the partial sale to TJX, changed the growth trajectory and governance role of an Executive Chairman in a maturing, cross‑border retail platform.
The next AI revolution will move beyond chat interfaces into the physical world.This keynote explores how physical and embodied AI—powered…
The next AI revolution will move beyond chat interfaces into the physical world.This keynote explores how physical and embodied AI—powered by world models, spatial intelligence, agentic systems, and smart glasses—is reshaping how intelligence operates in real environments, with humanoid robots and holograms as its most visible expressions. Drawing on deep experience across Big Tech, governments, and global markets, Cathy Hackl connects technology, capital, and real-world deployment to show how the next AI stack is coming to life.
As AI redefines every layer of financial systems from institutional decision-making to retail personalization, the race is now about mastering…
As AI redefines every layer of financial systems from institutional decision-making to retail personalization, the race is now about mastering intelligence, not just automation. This session explores how global banks, governments, and venture investors are shaping AI strategies that balance innovation with governance, scale with security, and profit with purpose. What frameworks will ensure competitive, responsible, and sovereign AI-driven finance in the decade ahead?
A discussion and reflection on the past year in the tech MENA ecosystems and a prediction for 2026 onwards.
Explore the clash between traditional centralized monetary control and the decentralized innovations of Crypto, questioning which will ultimately shape the…
Explore the clash between traditional centralized monetary control and the decentralized innovations of Crypto, questioning which will ultimately shape the future of finance.
As attention becomes the rarest commodity in an always‑on world, the rules of media are being rewritten by AI‑driven content,…
As attention becomes the rarest commodity in an always‑on world, the rules of media are being rewritten by AI‑driven content, distribution, and measurement. This panel explores how AI is reshaping what gets made, where it appears, and how its impact is valued across digital media, out‑of‑home, and live experiences. From personalized storytelling and dynamic creative to predictive attention metrics and smarter planning, speakers will unpack how AI is transforming the media ecosystem in 2026 and what creators, brands, and platforms must do now to stay truly seen
Exploring how artificial intelligence is transforming fraud detection, identity verification, and transaction monitoring to create safer, more resilient payment systems.
Exploring how sophisticated investors turn the perceived volatility of emerging markets into systematic opportunity.
A candid fireside chat with Tim Draper and Ash Kumra exploring the mindset behind some of the most iconic venture…
A candid fireside chat with Tim Draper and Ash Kumra exploring the mindset behind some of the most iconic venture bets of our time. From spotting transformational patterns to backing contrarian ideas early, Tim shares insights on risk-taking, MENA’s emerging “rhino” companies, and what still excites him about investing in the next generation of founders. A must-attend conversation for founders, investors, and anyone curious about how bold ideas become category-defining companies.
Explore how AI-powered payments, digital wallets, and embedded finance are driving new growth for fintech innovators.
Explore how venture capital firms are using artificial intelligence to transform deal sourcing, due diligence, and valuation, and reshape how…
Explore how venture capital firms are using artificial intelligence to transform deal sourcing, due diligence, and valuation, and reshape how investors identify and back the next generation of startups.
How MENA-founded fintechs are leveraging AI to compete globally in payments, lending, and wealthtech.
Exploring the evolving MENA landscape of venture debt and uncovering the emerging markets, sectors, and strategies driving its next wave…
Exploring the evolving MENA landscape of venture debt and uncovering the emerging markets, sectors, and strategies driving its next wave of growth.
A debate on how timing, pricing, and market cycles shape exit outcomes across IPOs, M&A, and secondary transactions. The session…
A debate on how timing, pricing, and market cycles shape exit outcomes across IPOs, M&A, and secondary transactions. The session will explore when liquidity is best achieved through public markets, strategic sales, or private secondaries and how each path shifts value between founders, early investors, late-stage VCs, and new capital providers.
Panelists will debate whether IPO windows truly maximise long-term value or simply offer episodic liquidity, how buyer appetite and regulatory complexity influence M&A outcomes, and why secondaries have emerged as a critical third option in volatile markets. The conversation will also examine how public-market volatility, extended holding periods, and capital recycling pressures are changing behaviour — with founders increasingly balancing partial liquidity and control against full exits, and VCs using secondaries to manage timing risk without forcing premature outcomes.
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