Government officials, global industry leaders and experts gathered in Dubai for the opening day of the World Future Economy Digital Leaders Summit on Monday as conversations began about charting a course for AI Compute-Driven economic transformation.
GITEX Global, the world’s largest tech event, got underway at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), as topics on ‘Tech Investment Day’ centred around the next-gen semi-conductors market, which is expected to be valued at US$1 trillion by 2030, and the future of data governance. The mega event is under the theme of ‘Global Collaboration to Forge a Future AI Economy’.
The summit comes at a time when the UAE is accelerating its efforts in adopting AI in different sectors. Last year, the country’s AI market was valued at $3.47 billion.
This year’s GITEX has attracted its largest international participation with 40% growth, welcoming new nations to the 44th showpiece event. Europe has a major presence this week, the biggest in the event’s history, with the region’s tech industry projected to grow by 12% by the end of this year.
Stephane Ouaki, Head of the Department at the European Innovation Council, outlined how the continent is accelerating its tech ecosystem. He said the Council is supporting game-changing innovations, giving entrepreneurs access to opportunities to enhance their knowledge and learn from other professionals to boost the growth of their businesses, which benefits economies nationally and regionally.
Ignacy Niemczycki, Undersecretary of the State Ministry of Economic Development and Technology of Poland, delivered a presentation on how the country is embracing technology. He said, “Our culture is a key pillar in our journey of being a tech leader and we have a stable economy which has been very resilient for the last 30 years.
He also highlighted that his country has one of the best IT programmers in the world, with some great tech entrepreneurs already from Poland.
Attendees also heard from Dr. Jaroslaw Kutylowski, the founder and CEO of DeepL a German-leading global language AI company, on how his business utilises large language models (LLMs).
He said, “The models that we have been building have all stayed true to our products which has brought us success so far. As the company has been growing, we have been able to invest more into computing technologies and have built a data centre facility in Sweden.”
Meanwhile, Heman Bekele, who was named TIME’s 2024 Kid of the Year for inventing a potential treatment for skin cancer, shared his inspiring story. He explained how the failures he experienced in producing his innovative soap product have made him a stronger individual, and passion has been a key attribute to his career success so far.
Taking place at Dubai World Trade Centre until 18th October, GITEX Global presents its biggest, most international edition in its 44th year, welcoming over 6,500 exhibitors, 1,800 startups, and 1,200 investors alongside governments from more than 180 countries.