Abu Dhabi, UAE – 4 February, 2025: The UAE’s journey of spearheading AI progress worldwide has marked another milestone, with the announcement that Ai Everything Global Summit & Expo will be hosted in Abu Dhabi in 2026. This launch reinforces the UAE’s commitment to becoming a premier global hub for AI excellence.
Abu Dhabi aims to become the world’s first fully AI-powered government within the next two years, driven by the newly announced Abu Dhabi Government Digital Strategy 2025-2027. The UAE is already a leading global hub for AI talent, second only to the United States.
The announcement was made on the opening day of the inaugural Ai Everything Global Summit at St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort in Abu Dhabi, the largest gathering of AI and tech leaders. The 2026 launch announcement comes amid major global AI investments, the rise of new AI models, and shifting dynamics in the global AI race. Ai Everything Global is the cross industries fully AI-focused forward-looking event of GITEX GLOBAL, the largest tech and startup show in the world. The first edition of the event opened to an oversubscribed full house audience with delegates from over 149 countries.
Organised by KAOUN International, the international events company of Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) and the organiser of GITEX GLOBAL – the world’s largest tech show taking place in the UAE, Ai Everything Global will be hosted at the ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, part of ADNEC Group, in strategic partnership with the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT). It will annually converge international influential brokers from private and public sectors to catalyse the development of a future economy powered by AI under the bold and visionary UAE leadership.
His Excellency Faisal Al Bannai, Adviser to the UAE President & Secretary General of the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), said: “In Abu Dhabi and the UAE, our commitment to AI innovation, advanced technologies, and R&D underpins a dynamic ecosystem that empowers talent and drives strategic progress. Today, we are proud to support Ai Everything Global in Abu Dhabi – an annual gathering that brings influential AI shapers and innovators to our capital to challenge conventions and explore synergies in the safe development and deployment of AI, strengthening the UAE’s role as an architect of future intelligence-driven economies.”
Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of ADNEC Group, said: “Bringing Ai Everything Global to Abu Dhabi is a testament to ADNEC Group’s commitment to positioning the capital as a global hub for technological innovation and artificial intelligence. This event aligns with our vision to foster cutting-edge advancements, attract world-class expertise and drive meaningful dialogue on the future of AI. By hosting Ai Everything Global, we are creating a platform that empowers industries, governments and innovators to harness AI’s transformative potential, reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s leadership in shaping the future of technology and digital economies.”
Trixie LohMirmand, CEO of KAOUN International and EVP of Dubai World Trade Centre, said: “Ai Everything in Abu Dhabi and the UAE stands as the pivotal convergence of innovative advances in AI thinking, solutions, and global outcomes. The annual event compels stakeholders to reflect, recalibrate, and reset to respond to new challenges and paradigms, competitively yet collaboratively. Ai Everything Global Summit & Expo shall emerge as an international force in the global AI economy to influence policies, advanced tech developments, R&D, and investments; powering fast yet responsible adoption in governments, businesses, and civic societies. Building on the UAE’s already robust digital infrastructure fabric, Ai Everything Global ramps up its transition towards a human-centred AI knowledge economy.”
In partnership with all stakeholders, Ai Everything Global is committed to advance cross continental collaborations, enabling the transition of worldwide governments towards robust AI frameworks, optimising international talent development and deployment, harnessing the creation and responsible large-scale adoption of AI across industries, fostering R&D, and augmenting the power of AI for socio-economic growth.
The new home of Ai Everything Global, ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, is a world-class,
multi-award-winning venue, purpose-built to host major global events. Its state-of-the-art facilities, interconnected campus, and six onsite hotels make it a premier setting for high-level AI collaborations, cutting-edge technology showcases, and international policymaking forums.
This partnership with DCT Abu Dhabi underpins Abu Dhabi’s position as a thriving nexus for global AI dialogue and investment, fostering collaboration between public and private sector leaders to shape a future economy powered by AI.
UAE – The Rising AI Force
With AI projected to contribute $100 billion in national GDP contributions by 2030, Ai Everything Global 2026 will accelerate new tech infrastructure projects and sector-wide AI applications. The event aligns with the UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 and the Abu Dhabi Government Digital Strategy 2025-2027, reaffirming the country’s role in shaping AI-driven economies.
Further solidifying its commitment to AI leadership, the UAE is actively engaged in global AI initiatives, including MGX’s participation in the $500 billion Stargate AI Consortium – the largest AI infrastructure, and the launch of the ADQ Growth Lab, committed $27 million to fund R&D testbed projects and accelerate AI adoption through proof-of-concepts and pilot programmes. In Dubai, a first-of-its-kind public-sector initiative has seen the appointment of several Chief AI Officers across government entities, ensuring AI integration remains at the forefront of policymaking and public service innovation.
Meanwhile, the UAE continues to drive AI talent development through its ambitious ‘One Million Arab Coders’ initiative, training and equipping the next generation with essential AI and coding skills to future-proof the region’s workforce.
Examining the winds of change in the ‘AI in Everything’ era
Inspired by GITEX GLOBAL, Ai Everything Global 2025 is taking place on 4 February in Abu Dhabi and 5 to 6 February in Dubai, opening with the Summit themed ‘Big Winds of Change: It’s AI in Everything’. As the year’s largest public-private global AI gathering, the event dives into the changing and unpredictable AI dynamics with 200+ speakers, alongside groundbreaking showcases, industry applications and use-cases from 500+ global tech enterprises and award-winning startups from over 70 countries.
World’s leading tech powerhouses will present how they are spearheading the interconnected AI revolution, with participation from ASUS, Alibaba Cloud, AWS, Dell, e&, Fortinet, G42, HP, and IBM to Intel, Lenovo, Nokia, Oracle, Palo Alto Networks, Red Hat, Technology Innovation Institute (TII), and Zoom. Over 500 Chief AI Officers (CAIOs) and Tech Executives will participate alongside 150 most-active global investors managing $70 billion in assets.
