23 November 2024, Sat |
12:57 PM
Dubai will transform into the ultimate digital epicentre of the world, as the UAE hosts the world’s largest tech show, converging the most advanced companies and best minds to deep dive into the making of the Web 3.0 economy.
GITEX GLOBAL will return to the Dubai World Trade Centre from October 10–14, 2022, with its largest edition to date featuring 5,000 companies throughout 26 halls and two million square feet of exhibition space, representing a remarkable 25% year-over-year increase and pushing the venue’s capacity limit.
The GITEX 3.0 edition features seven tech themes: North Star Dubai start-ups, Ai Everything, Future Blockchain Summit in association with VARA, Fintech Surge, Marketing Mania and two sell-out new launches of GLOBAL DevSlam and X-VERSE.
The seven themes show the event’s empowering curation and its level of experimentation in the metaverse, a decentralised future of the internet, and a sustainable global digital economy.
The event’s record size and continued expansion mirrors the ambitions of the UAE and the region’s digital transformation movement, as government initiatives such as the National Program for Coders, the Dubai Metaverse Strategy, and Next GenFDI propels the UAE to the forefront of the global digital economy.
This is furthered by the new GITEX GLOBAL 2022 launches of X-VERSE, sponsored by TMRW Foundation in partnership with Decentraland, one of the most immersive metaverse journeys featuring 28 experiential brands, and Global DevSlam, the largest ever coder and developer meetup in the Middle East, both of which sold out to a global audience within two months.
UAE companies also hold major portions in $2.6 billion of startup funding across the MENA region in 202, which gets an additional hall and 30% increase to 1,000 exhibitors at GITEX GLOBAL’s start-up event, North Star.
His Excellency Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for AI, Digital Economy & Remote Work Applications delivered the welcome note at the official GITEX GLOBAL 2022 press conference and said: “GITEX this year is bigger than ever. It spans two million sq. ft. with over 5,000 exhibitors from more than 90 countries, which makes this truly the biggest tech show in the world.
This year, my office has partnered with GITEX to ensure that we’re not just showcasing technology, but actually inventing and developing technology.”
In his speech, H.E. Olama also highlighted that the Global DevSlam event is poised to be one of the biggest developer events in the world. He concluded by thanking each and every single person that has believed in the UAE’s mission and who has supported the UAE.
Trixie LohMirmand, Executive Vice President of Events Management at Dubai World Trade Centre, GITEX GLOBAL’s organiser, added: “GITEX is not just a big gathering of people. It’s the super-connector humanising the virtual and digital economies.
“GITEX serves a profound purpose of enabling and accelerating the digital economies of UAE and many of its alliance partners through connecting earnest stakeholders with outstanding minds from the world, and materialising these connections into actionable partnerships.”
This year, a record-breaking 52% of new exhibitors will join GITEX GLOBAL, choosing the event and the UAE as their first-choice partners in their market access plans.
North star will host the biggest unicorn meetup in Dubai which will have 35 unicorns from 15 counties looking to expand in one of the world’s fastest-growing sectors and investigate new prospects.
The “Africa Fast 100” initiative will feature the largest-ever gathering of African start-ups outside of the continent, as global investors have dubbed African digital firms as the next ones to watch.
Debut international exhibitors such as Ooku, AMD, Tencent, and ByteDance, are seeking to extend their brand reach to a global audience through GITEX, along with FTX Exchange, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges with a five million-plus global customer base and an average daily trading volume of US$12 billion. FTX Exchange got a license in 2022 to establish and operate Virtual Asset Exchange and Clearing House services in Dubai by the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA).
Mohammad Hans Dastmaltchi, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, FTX Exchange said “We are thrilled to announce our first-ever participation in GITEX, the world’s most prominent technology exhibition. It is great testament to Dubai, the UAE and the vision of its leadership in embracing technology and Innovation.”
With their audacious initiatives and commitments to tech R&D and invention, UAE businesses are upending the global tech scene. One such company is the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), an international scientific organisation and the applied research arm of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council.
TII will have a significant presence at GITEX GLOBAL showcasing AI and Digital Science, Directed Energy, and Autonomous Robotics Research. Dr Ray O. Johnson, CEO of the Technology Innovation Institute, said: “We are delighted with our significant presence at GITEX GLOBAL, billed as the largest tech event in the world.
“Working at the intersection of discovery science and advanced technology, our research centres have announced, within the last two years, multiple research breakthroughs that give Abu Dhabi and the UAE greater tech sovereignty. Our journey has just begun. Research today is a collaborative field, and we look forward to the networking opportunities with the technology world’s leaders to accelerate our breakthroughs in the years to come.”
G42, an AI and cloud technology group of companies, will create a high-impact visitor experience showcasing powerful capabilities through its group of four companies. The company has multiple businesses and expertise and it is often a challenge to explain the breadth and depth of the Group’s offering.
Hasan Al Hosani, CEO of Bayanat, a G42 company said “At GITEX, we aim to get some of our flagship companies to come under one roof and give a better sense on the spectrum of our offering under the theme ‘The Answer is Yes’. We are looking forward to meeting our peers from the tech industry – from the region and beyond, and inviting them to experience the holistic offering of the G42 ecosystem.”
Ranked as the world’s strongest telecom brand by Brand Finance, e&, the region’s largest telecom operator will also be showcasing at GITEX GLOBAL. This will be the first major exhibition by e& (previously Etisalat) since the launch of its new brand identity.
Hatem Dowidar, the Group CEO of e&, said: “Given the e& transformation journey we embarked on earlier this year, the 2022 edition of GITEX GLOBAL is truly special for us, as it is the first major global technology event where we will showcase the strides we’re taking to progress into a global technology and investment group that creates technology to empower every person and organisation to stride into a great wide-open future.
Dowidar added “This is in line with our ambitious strategy to drive a brighter, digital future that will transform societies in meaningful ways. We look forward to showcasing our diverse portfolio and growth aspirations covering the metaverse, fintech, cybersecurity, AI, cloud computing, and so much more.”
GITEX brings together the involvement of 250 government organisations driving strategic digital projects and public-private partnerships, with the UAE’s Digital Dubai Authority and Abu Dhabi Digital Authority guiding smart city and digital project development.
H.E. Tariq Al Janahi, Acting CEO, Digital Dubai Authority, said: “Following the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, to digitalize life in the city, this year Digital Dubai’s participation at GITEX GLOBAL 2022, in partnership with 32 government and seven private sector partners, will showcase the latest digitalization solutions built by Dubai Government, also displaying future plans to build a holistic city-wide digital ecosystem ensuring Dubai becomes a global benchmark for building digital economies.”
The Abu Dhabi Government Pavilion at GITEX will have more than 30 government and academic entities, showing over 100 innovative projects which will highlight the Abu Dhabi government’s key achievements in the field of digital transformation.
His Excellency Mansoor Al Marzooqi Executive Director, Strategy & Innovation Sector, Abu Dhabi Digital Authority said “GITEX Global 2022 is a global tech platform that gives the Abu Dhabi government the opportunity to showcase new digital initiatives in government services, digital government solutions, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and digital enablement, all of which have been carefully developed to further strengthen Abu Dhabi’s digital capabilities, enabling, supporting and delivering a digital government that is proactive, personalized, collaborative and secure.”
For more than 40 years, GITEX has been known for its prodigious MoU engagements and crucial enterprise collaborations between the public sector and private firms. These long-lasting business relationships have their roots in GITEX.
One example of such collaboration is Huawei which is a Diamond Sponsor in GITEX GLOBAL. The company will showcase its newest end-to-end products and advanced ICT solutions focusing on AI, digital power, cloud, 5G, cybersecurity, and industry applications.
Alaa Elshimy, Managing Director and Senior Vice President of Enterprise Business Group, at Huawei Middle East, said: “GITEX GLOBAL provides us with a golden opportunity to network with our customers, partners, industry leaders and experts from the Middle East region and around the world to explore how to more effectively unleash digital productivity, promote the digital economy, and build up stronger digital ecosystems.
Elshimy added “Using its connectivity, computing, and cloud technologies, Huawei will continue to work with its partners to drive ongoing industry innovation and multi-tech synergy, creating scenario-based solutions for diverse customer needs. This will create greater value and make it easier for customers to go the ‘last mile’ of their digital transformation.”
Microsoft will present its most elevated GITEX GLOBAL involvement by participating in all tech sectors including Global DevSlam and X-VERSE.
Naim Yazbeck, General Manager of Microsoft UAE said “At GITEX GLOBAL 2022, our focus is on mixed reality and the impact it can have on industry-specific scenarios.”
Yazbeck added “We recently announced the availability of the industry-leading HoloLens 2 mixed reality headset in the UAE…. Backed by the reliability, security, and scalability of our cloud, this state-of-the-art holographic device provides the most intuitive and immersive mixed reality experience which we will showcase at the event and demonstrate how mixed reality can support a wide variety of industry applications and use cases.”
XPENG, a tech company and EV manufacturer that designs, develops, manufactures and markets intelligent mobility solutions, has chosen GITEX GLOBAL 2022 to host an exclusive world’s first public flight of its pioneering eVTOL flying car X2 with the support of an official partner, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce.
The cutting-edge two-seater eVTOL flying car X2 is the most recent generation of flying cars created separately by XPENG’s affiliate XPENG AEROHT. It is equipped with an intelligent flight control system and autonomous flight capabilities.
Dr Brian Gu, Vice Chairman and President of XPENG said “We’re delighted to be holding the first global public flight of the XPENG X2 at GITEX GLOBAL 2022, showcasing our pioneering in-house R&D and proprietary manufacturing capabilities to push the e-mobility industry forward,”
According to Dr Brian Gu, the X2 produces zero carbon dioxide emissions during flight and is designed with low-altitude city capabilities in mind, reaching a maximum flight speed of 130kms per hour. He will also be speaking at GITEX GLOBAL’s mainstage conference programme about mapping the future of mobility.
Gu added, “We believe this advancement takes us one step closer to the future of short-distance city journeys taking advantage of this technology, including sightseeing and medical transportation.”
