AI Agents, LLMs & Cloud

Ashish Guglani is a real estate data and analytics professional at Reidin, specializing in market intelligence and data-driven solutions for B2B clients. With expertise in real estate insights, pricing trends, and data strategy, he focuses on delivering actionable intelligence to support decision-making across the industry. He has led the development of real estate analytics platforms, API integrations, and proprietary market indices, driving innovation in real estate data solutions. Passionate about data transparency and accuracy, Ashish is committed to enhancing real estate intelligence through technology and analytics while engineering bespoke analytics solutions that redefine industry benchmarks.

Hood Khizer is a seasoned AI researcher, software architect, and technology leader with over 12 years of experience in machine learning, software development, biological sciences, and smart city solutions. He specializes in deep learning, NLP, computer vision, federated learning, and MLOps, building high-performance AI systems for real-world applications. His expertise extends to distributed computing, intelligent automation, AI-driven infrastructure, and bioinformatics, bridging cutting-edge research with scalable implementation. Passionate about solving complex challenges through AI and data-driven technologies, Hood continues to drive innovation across multiple domains.

Tech entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in innovating simple solutions for complex problems, now leading Inova AI with the vision of building a better future through democratizing AI.

Eddy is currently executive director at e& capital overseeing technology investments with a special focus on AI. Previously, he was at Google where he drove early client adoption of ML-powered marketing tooling. He also held data & analytics leadership roles across multiple startups. At Markavip he set up one of the earliest data science teams for retail and Ecommerce in MENA, and at Zand bank where he severed as Chief Data and Analytics Officer. Eddy is a computer and networking engineer with a focus on high performance computing.

As Chief Development Officer at Fetch.ai and President of the Fetch.ai Innovation Lab, Sana drives the company’s strategic vision and fosters groundbreaking advancements in decentralized AI solutions. She bridges technology, entrepreneurship, and academia, ensuring Fetch.ai remains at the forefront of innovation. A passionate advocate for empowering young talent, Sana established the Fetch.ai Innovation Lab—a flagship hub for research, development, and entrepreneurial growth. Under her leadership, the lab has become a global force, supporting startups. In her role, Sana oversees Fetch.ai’s development strategy while also leading the Innovation Lab’s mission to incubate next-generation AI solutions. Her efforts have empowered a new wave of tech startups, driving multi-stakeholder AI collaborations across diverse industries. Sana’s holistic approach as a strategist, mentor, and facilitator has been instrumental in advancing Fetch.ai’s vision and creating impactful partnerships. Before joining Fetch.ai, Sana held senior leadership roles in the rail industry, where she successfully launched groundbreaking products that redefined asset management. With over 15 years of experience in product management, development, and operations, her expertise spans product strategy, agile methodologies, operational optimization, customer engagement, and organizational leadership.

Jordan is a corporate/M&A lawyer in the UAE at Linklaters, a global law firm. He advises international and regional clients, including sovereign wealth funds, government-related entities and financial sponsors, on their strategic investments in the Middle East, whether by means of public and private M&A, joint ventures, or equity raisings. He has extensive corporate law experience across a wide range of industries such as energy, infrastructure, technology, real estate, consumer goods, and financial services. His recent highlights include advising e& on its US$400 million investment in Careem’s super app, advising Brookfield on its US$2 billion preferred equity investment in GEMS Education, advising a consortium on the £2.2 billion recommended cash offer for Network International, and advising Hassana on its SAR 731 million acquisition of an interest in RAWEC from ACWA Power. He holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Hartford and a Juris Doctor from the University of Sydney.

Dr. Shadab Khan is a Healthcare AI researcher at ADIA Lab, and a Founding Advisor at Ruya since late 2024. Previously, he was the SVP of AI at M42, where he led a team of scientists and engineers to solve problems in Healthcare AI. His teams have developed Generative AI solutions such as Med42, a leading open-access LLM for clinical text, as well as solutions for real-world evidence (RWE). Before joining M42, he was a Healthcare AI researcher at Inception (G42) in UAE. At Inception, Dr. Khan was a founding faculty member at the Mohamed Bin Zayed University of AI (MBZUAI). Prior to moving to UAE, Dr. Khan was a Fellow in Radiology at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital. He holds a PhD from Dartmouth College, where he was a recipient of the highly selective William H. Neukom 1964 Fellowship in Computational Sciences for his research in building medical devices and medical data analysis tools, and a Master’s in Public Health from Harvard University.

VC of Blitzscaling AI Fund, Speaker, Event Host in Silicon Valley

Shay Gaafar is the founder and CEO of TwentyToo, an AI startup transforming GCC e-commerce and retail by enabling businesses to quickly identify market trends and optimize profitability. Leveraging market product data and AI tools, TwentyToo helps clients understand product popularity, track sales velocity, and adjust pricing based on competitor actions. Shay’s unique expertise blends technology and e-commerce, evident from her previous ventures in fashion and e-commerce markets and her experience as a technology leader at IBM and PepsiCo. She holds degrees in Computer Science, Entrepreneurship, Data & Analytics, and Fashion Styling from prestigious institutions, including Babson College, New York University, and the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Nuha is cofounder of CozmoX AI. She is an electrical engineer, and dropped out of her PhD in the US to move to the UAE and start building her own startup. She and her cofounder raised $3 million dollars from Y Combinator, Dubai Future District Fund and other prominent investors in Silicon Valley and globally. She has received the PMI Future 50 award and her company is a Future 100 company in the UAE.

Kushaal Devanahalli is a serial tech entrepreneur and Co-Founder of Proximity Works, where he leads AI innovation and platform development. Proximity Works partners with global leaders like Nasdaq, Disney+, ESPN, JioStar, and Media.Net delivering transformative AI solutions across the US, MENA, and Southeast Asia. An aerospace engineer turned entrepreneur, Kushaal specializes in crafting scalable, AI-driven solutions that solve complex problems. Based in Dubai, he is dedicated to helping companies embrace the future by building strategic AI roadmaps and identifying opportunities to leverage AI for competitive advantage. With over a decade of experience launching and scaling products internationally, Kushaal combines technical expertise with a passion for building impactful, future-focused solutions.

Marta is an exceptional corporate leader, investor, and entrepreneur who has made significant contributions to the tech, fintech, energy transition, and cleantech industries on a global scale. Her dedication to driving digital innovation and her focus on developing cutting-edge solutions to address climate change make her a truly inspiring figure. As a corporate leader, Marta has demonstrated her ability to drive innovation in various roles. During her tenure as SVP B2B Strategy and SVP B2B Products & Innovation at Safaricom in Kenya, she played a crucial role in conceptualizing and launching numerous B2B Mpesa-based solutions, as well as B2B mobile, fixed data, IOT, and cloud offerings. Her work on the M Agri proposition, which helped farmers receive fair pay for their harvest by eliminating middlemen, showcases her commitment to using technology to drive positive social impact and support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Marta’s focus on the tech side of energy and energy transition is particularly noteworthy. She has been actively scouting for the most innovative solutions in digital twins, industrial simulations & analytics, and industrial robotics autonomous operations. By collaborating with cutting-edge tech companies, startups, and brilliant engineering minds worldwide, Marta is working to develop and co-create commercially profitable tech partnerships and digital products that will help decarbonize and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Her efforts in this area are crucial in addressing the urgent need for climate action and promoting sustainable development. As an entrepreneur and investor, Marta has co-founded Kuwekeza Investment Holdings, which supports digital due diligence and commercial strategy. She has also invested in early-stage emission-free, digital, and fintech innovations, such as Bitpesa, Fiskl, and Pawame. These investments demonstrate her commitment to supporting innovative solutions that have the potential to drive positive change in the world. Marta’s involvement as a Value Creation Committee member of Dubai Angels Investors, a member of the Investment Committee of Saudi Angels Investors, and a Board Member of Maramoja further highlights her dedication to fostering the growth of innovative startups in the tech and cleantech sectors

Tiago is an AI technology executive with 12+ years of experience in cloud computing, specializing in distributed systems, big data, and AI. Currently, he leads Google Cloud’s AI/ML Technology Practice across EMEA, empowering organizations to leverage AI for business challenges. His career includes key roles at Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, along with founding and leading a tech startup. This diverse background provides him with a unique perspective on AI implementation across various environments. Tiago is a recognized thought leader and shares his expertise through keynote speeches, international conferences, and guest lectures at institutions like EAE Business School and the Universitat de Barcelona. He is passionate about driving the practical application of AI to solve real-world problems and frequently advises startups on their AI transformation journeys.

Mohamad Charafeddine is the Vice President of Data & AI at Careem, where he leads efforts to leverage AI for delivering competitive value from data. His work includes personalizing discovery and search experiences across the Everything App, optimizing marketplace efficiency and pricing, and using Generative AI to drive innovation and create new experiences. Prior to joining Careem, Mohamad was part of the Core ML team at Meta in Menlo Park, where he focused on classifying all ad content across Facebook and Instagram. He also led the Applied AI R&D lab at Samsung, where he developed the first large-scale applied Reinforcement Learning and Deep Learning AI enterprise platform. Under his leadership, the lab produced several patents and co-published with OpenAI, as well as at top AI conferences such as NeurIPS, ICML, and CVPR. Mohamad holds an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and a PhD in engineering from Stanford University, where his research earned an IEEE Best Paper Award. He is passionate about AI, technology, and the VC space in the MENAP region, with a focus on driving economic empowerment and GDP growth.

Maria Paula ‘MP’ Oliveira connects businesses to the future. She is the SVP, Venture Investments for NeoVentures, Mashreq Bank’s venture capital fund, and chairwoman for the Dubai chapter of AI Salon, a global AI community. A senior global business leader with 20+ years of experience, MP builds resilience to disruption through strategic planning, innovation management, and corporate development. She has closed investments and M&A deals worth $1B+, co-founded two Silicon Valley startups, and launched three innovation hubs (LATAM, APAC, MENA). MP’s expertise spans financial services, professional services, and payments, with a footprint across MENA, APAC, US, and Latin America.

Ayman Bazaraa is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for unleashing human potential through technology. As the CEO of Sprints, he has spearheaded the development of a revolutionary platform that seamlessly integrates talent assessment, hiring, payroll, and upskilling, empowering companies to build world-class tech teams. Ayman also co-founded MicroDoers, a cutting-edge augmented reality solutions company, and Avelabs, a leading software provider for autonomous and connected vehicles. Avelabs, boasting a team of over 300 professionals across four countries, was successfully acquired by the Fortune 100 company Arrow. Ayman’s diverse management experience includes roles at France-Telecom, IBM, and Valeo, underlining his expertise in propelling tech advancements.

Ayush is a seasoned business leader with over 20 years of global experience in Finance and Strategy, spanning across Financial Services and Technology Startups. Currently, he serves as the General Manager- MENAT for Bridgewise, an AI-driven financial research platform with a global footprint in LATAM, the UK, Europe, and APAC regions. Before joining Bridgewise, Ayush was the Head of Strategy at Dubizzle Group, the largest digital classifieds platform in emerging markets. His earlier career includes a decade in the U.S., where he held roles in Equity Research, Risk Management, and Fixed Income at prestigious firms such as S&P and Wells Fargo. Ayush holds a Bachelor’s degree in Financial Economics from the University of Virginia.

Haninder P. Singh is a seasoned entrepreneur and builder. He started his career with Booz & Company, advising Fortune 100 enterprises and Governments on strategy development, turnaround, and investments. He took an operator role in a high-growth e-commerce venture, leading its strategy, finance, IR, and analytics functions, which had raised $100m+ of venture capital since its inception. After personally experiencing a talent shortage in the Middle East, Haninder built StrategyConnect, an on-demand talent platform serving institutions by augmenting teams to fire-power strategic initiatives. With 8 years of operations and a wealth of data, StrategyConnect has built Marvin, a fully verticalized AI to support independent consultants and internal strategy teams to 10x their output by leveraging Marvin’s large pool of knowledge and collaborative problem-solving workflows.

Swami Sekar is a Technologist, Investor and Serial Entrepreneur. He is an Operating Partner at Accelerating Asia Ventures, and has founded 2 companies in conversational AI. He has held leadership roles at LivePerson, Intel and VMware across Asia-Pac and US. He holds a Masters in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Shubham Yadav is the founder of Marvin AI, a platform redefining how generative AI integrates into real-world applications. A dynamic leader with expertise in technology, strategy, and innovation, Shubham excels in creating impactful solutions, particularly in the public sector and management consulting.. With a focus on problem-solving and collaboration, Shubham thrives at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and strategic leadership.

Abrar Siddiqui is a seasoned entrepreneur and visionary leader with over 20 years of experience driving innovation in Generative AI, Fintech, and Digital Transformation across the UAE, Canada, and the USA. As the CEO and Founder of SarahAI, he is transforming the future of work with an Agentic AI platform designed to enhance productivity and well-being for SME leaders. Abrar previously founded Lucova, a mobile payments startup in Canada that was acquired by NownPOS. He holds patents in Bluetooth mobile payments technology and has led transformative AI initiatives at UAE Ministry of Finance, IBM, Accenture, EPAM Systems, TD Bank and Callsign. Educated at York University in Toronto, Abrar combines deep technical expertise with a proven ability to scale ventures across emerging technologies, making him a driving force for innovation.

A sustainability advocate, consultant, and founder of Sustainable Narrative with a clear vision on a sustainable, circular economy and the new role of business, addressing how 3 P’s – people, planet and profit can make a positive impact. At Sustainable Narrative, I’m conceptualizing sustainable and impactful green solutions to various businesses in the UAE by working with clients to lead a wave of innovation and economic growth that safeguards our planet and advances sustainability. Catering to all the industry sectors to transform to reach net zero by 2050, balanced with the sustainable development goals. My aim is to take ideas as well as concepts from the natural world, turn them into accepted business models with the approach ‘business today from the perspective of tomorrow’. Website link : https://www.sustainablenarrative.net/

Principal at e& capital with a background as an operator raising USD 150 m for startups across the region with experience spanning from strategy, product and commercial roles

Abdullah is the global head of AI & digital transformation at APCO, an adjunct faculty at Middlesex University Dubai, and an advisory board member at various organizations in the UAE. He holds a PhD in Computer Science and Machine learning from the University of Leipzig, Germany and has served as a trusted advisor for many global firms, government entities, and other organizations in Europe and MENA, supporting and guiding their digital transformation journeys.

Samir Safar-Aly is a regulatory lawyer with over 11 years of experience in the Middle East, specializing in FinTech, financial crime, and AI governance. He holds credentials in law and coding from UC Berkeley, MIT, Harvard Law School, and King’s College London. Samir has advised leading AI companies and financial institutions on regulatory frameworks, compliance, and responsible AI adoption. He is the Policy and Regulations Co-Chair of the MENA FinTech Association and regularly advises on the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East. As a mentor at the DIFC Innovation Hub, he actively supports start-ups in developing regulatory strategies. Samir’s expertise in both legal frameworks and technical processes positions him to contribute to policy-making that fosters innovation while upholding security and ethical standards.

Manar is a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of KASO, revolutionizing the Middle East’s food supply chain with AI-driven solutions. He is also a founding partner of Qlub, transforming global payments, and the founder of Helpling, a leading platform for on-demand household services. With over a decade of experience launching and scaling innovative businesses, including leadership at Rocket Internet SE, Manar is dedicated to driving impactful change and building scalable, tech-powered solutions.

Founder & CEO @ overwrite.ai – The ONLY Artificial Intelligence Proptech startup from MENA in NVIDIA’s Inception accelerator | Real Estate AI Pioneer | Public Speaker | ex Head of Real Estate @ EmiratesNBD Private Bank

Office of the CEO, President of International at Groq, Inc. Senior advisor to Blackstone and Siguler Guff ($20 Bil AUM) Operating partner at Kestrel Partners in London ( https://kestrelpartners.com/ ) Previously roles include: Founder and Managing Partner of Seif Capital, Chairman of Astrea Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ: ASAX). Board member or a Sr. advisor to: X-Energy, Axiom Space, Vcinity, Edgecloud Link (ECL), Ethernovia Founder and CEO of Stanford Business Systems (SBS – acquired by Accenture), Emerging Markets division leader at Cisco Co-founder of CNTP, a global, multi-stage, technology investment firm with $300 mil AUM Board Member of Global Capacity Mr. Moazami holds a Masters of Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and Bachelors of Science in Engineering Sciences and a Minor in Economics from University of California, San Diego.

Deepak Gupta is a forward-thinking CTO at CARS24, with over 24 years of experience at the intersection of technology and business. He is a prominent figure in the FinTech and AI landscape, known for his thought leadership and extensive innovation in AI, ML, and Data science. Deepak has played a key role in developing resilient engineering platforms, scalable FinTech solutions, and cutting-edge websites, apps and products. In his current role, Deepak is spearheading the expansion of CARS24’s automotive and FinTech presence, including the NBFC landscape. Previously, he served as the Global Head of Technology at Airtel Africa, where he spearheaded successful FinTech products like Airtel Payments Bank and Airtel Money – digital payments, Merchant payments, cross-border remittances, lendTech, RegTech, business banking, and developer portal across 14 African countries. Deepak is a strong advocate for using technology to drive positive change, going beyond mere trend-chasing to strategically harness its potential in addressing complex challenges and optimizing operational efficiency. He is also actively involved in mentoring, global speaking engagements, and prestigious technology communities, including being a LinkedIn Top Voice for AI and Data Architecture, a Forbes Technology Council member leader, and a member of the MIT CIO community and Chief Architect Forum.

James Wang is the General Manager of UAE at Alibaba Cloud. James leads the regional sales, marketing, solution and operations for one of the world’s largest cloud computing platforms. With over 15 years’ experience in the IT industry and 7 years with Alibaba Cloud, James have developed and executed key accounts and channel strategies, built strong partnerships with technology and service providers, and helped many companies across Australia, New Zealand, Europe and Middle East to transform their businesses through the power of AI and Cloud Computing.

Ajith Nayar is the CEO, and Co-Founder of CamCom, a Computer Vision (CV) platform, building the World’s first industry-agnostic AI-powered Large Vision Model (LVM) for damage assessments. Ajith’s vision gained from his obsession with quality and intent to make India synonymous with quality like Germany and Japan led to the creation of CamCom. The platform enabled Saudi Arabia to become the first country in the world to comply with a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal and its global footprint today includes satisfied customers in India, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Greece, Austria, the UK, and Mexico. Cutting-edge thinking and willingness to take calculated risks have shaped Ajith’s career in the world of technology, an industry that relies heavily on constant change and innovation. His commitment to excellence is evident in his transparent leadership style and track record of consistently delivering quality results. An ardent practitioner of Kaizen and Lean Six Sigma processes, Ajith has the rare and precious ability to make a disparate group act as a single unit to produce the desired result. Educationally, Ajith holds an MS from the University of Delaware. He has founded a platform focused on creating a thriving entrepreneur ecosystem outside of technology in villages across India. He is a speaker in demand as a thought leader in quality and management strategy at many institutions across the globe.

Cofounder of DOO AI Platform and former Microsoft professional with 25 years of entrepreneurial experience in the tech and digital space. An expert in designing, managing, and scaling digital products and services, specializing in Product Development, Growth, & UX.

Mazen Mohsen is an inventor and researcher working as Chief Robotics Scientist at Isento GmbH, leading the development of a 3D-printed humanoid robot from concept to market. The humanoid robot, pib has earned multiple awards in Germany including 8th Digicon Munich and AI for common good Berlin. Mazen’s passion for robotics began with a Bachelor’s in Mechatronics Engineering from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology. He advanced his expertise with a Master’s in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Essex and an Executive Certificate in Leadership from the University of Utah. Beyond his technical roles, Mazen has shared his insights through TEDx talks and teaching. Additionally, as a professional MMA fighter, he brings the same discipline and perseverance to both his athletic and professional pursuits, always driven by a desire to make a change and empower others.

Yasser Bashir is the Founder/CEO of Arbisoft Ltd – one of the region’s fastest growing software and technology development companies. Arbisoft employs more than 900 full time engineers and has built technology for some of the leading tech businesses around the world including edX, 2U, KAYAK, Amazon, Indeed, Microsoft, MIT, Harvard and Spotify to name a few. Arbisoft has also worked on a number of award winning products including Moonbeam, IlmX, Edly and FixAlert.

Having worked in various leadership positions, I have a record of driving impactful growth across organizations through developing strategies that are centered around continuous product discovery and around developing robust processes and systems. I have a deep interest in both managed and heavily managed marketplaces having played a critical role in building one of the largest marketplaces in the UAE. Currently, I am building AlGooru to reshape the extremely outdated private tutoring industry.

I am the General Partner and Founder of Aurelia Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm that supports early-stage B2B SaaS startups to scale from ideation to seed. We are focusing on applications for national security, enterprise infrastructure, cybersecurity, fintech, and AI.

Jawad is an entrepreneur with 18+ years of experience in the field of technology, digital transformation and healthcare innovations. He has served Saudi Airlines, King Abdulaziz University and Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company. And has founded Athir and Mawrid to drive healthcare innovations and to digitalize enterprise resources and interconnect the ecosystem.

A serial tech entrepreneur, board executive, and public speaker with over 21 years of experience spanning AI, tech, telecom, oil and gas, retail, distribution, BPO, healthtech, and proptech industries. Currently, he serves as the CEO of Maverika, an AI transformation company, Partner & CBO at Macber, a digital transformation agency and co-founder and CCO at Comet Innovations – a proptech for smart communities.