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ABU DHABI/ WAM
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 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.
Faisal Abdulaziz Al Bannai, Adviser to the UAE President for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology Affairs and 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.”
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. Over 500 Chief AI Officers (CAIOs) and Tech Executives will participate alongside 150 most-active global investors managing $70 billion in assets.