This December's edition of GITEX GLOBAL will unfold across two distinct phases in Dubai, beginning with a focused gathering of industry executives and policymakers before transitioning into a sprawling marketplace. The summit convenes on 7 December at Dubai World Trade Centre, followed by the main exhibition from 8 to 11 December at Dubai Exhibition Centre in Expo City Dubai. Platinum and Gold sponsors including Huawei, Microsoft, AWS and AMD anchor the programme, while companies such as Joby Aviation, Workday and Nexthink will participate for the first time.
A summit first, then the expo
The GITEX Summit operates as a full-day convening of government officials, business leaders, venture investors and startup founders. Running from 9:30am to 5pm in Sheikh Maktoum Hall at Dubai World Trade Centre, the programme centres on three pillars: the compute economy, the new map of capital and future frontiers.
The speaker roster spans executives and thought leaders across sectors. Confirmed participants include Peng Xiao, CEO of G42; Mohamed Alabbar, founder of Emaar; and Marc Ganzi, CEO of DigitalBridge. Academic voices join the mix through Gary Marcus, emeritus professor at New York University, alongside Mikko Hyppönen of Sensofusion and Connor Leahy of ControlAI. Government representation comes from deputy ministers representing Poland and Azerbaijan, plus the ITU's deputy secretary general.
The expo portion operates daily from 10am to 5pm, hosting more than 6,000 exhibitors from over 80 countries. Organisers position it as the planet's largest gathering focused on technology and artificial intelligence. The event carries the overarching theme "The Global Reset 2027", with parallel programmes Expand North Star and LIVX by GITEX occupying the same venue.
Who is coming
Huawei arrives as a Platinum Sponsor following its announcement of a next-generation AI computing architecture capable of connecting up to one million AI processors. The company's SuperPoD initiative was previously detailed at Huawei Connect in September.
Microsoft, holding Gold Sponsor status, is deepening its $15.2 billion commitment to the UAE through expanded infrastructure. The company plans to bring 200MW of additional AI computing capacity online by the end of 2026 in partnership with G42. Recent geopolitical considerations have influenced G42's semiconductor sourcing options this year.
AWS will showcase Amazon Bedrock, a platform supporting generative AI deployments across more than 100,000 organisations globally. AMD will display its Instinct accelerators and EPYC processors designed for hyperscale data centre environments.
Among debut participants, Joby Aviation brings its electric air taxi technology as Dubai moves toward launching its first commercial autonomous air taxi operations. Nexthink, valued at $3 billion, will present its digital employee experience platform, which currently serves more than 20 million workers. Workday, whose human resources and financial management systems power operations at over 65% of Fortune 500 companies, makes its first appearance. European power systems manufacturer Riello UPS, producing uninterruptible power systems scaling to 1,600 kVA, also debuts.
Snowflake participates through its $6 billion strategic partnership with AWS. Lenovo rounds out the roster following its announcement of an AI Cloud Gigafactory constructed on Nvidia's Vera Rubin architecture.
Speaking engagements feature Dr Tony Han, founder and CEO of WeRide, the autonomous vehicle company that launched Dubai's first fully driverless, revenue-generating robotaxi service in collaboration with Uber—the same partnership that expanded WeRide's operations to Madrid. The company targets deployment of 1,200 robotaxis throughout the Gulf region by 2027. Patrick Johansson, Ericsson's regional head for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, also takes the stage.
Robots, cyber defence and data centres
GITEX WORLD RobotiX creates a dedicated space for physical artificial intelligence—machines equipped to perceive their environment and execute real-world actions. The showcase integrates live demonstrations, product announcements, buyer networking, pilot programme discussions and investor engagement. Programming addresses vision systems, simulation technologies, fleet management, cybersecurity and network connectivity.
Cyber Valley assembles security vendors including Cloudflare, Fortinet, Netskope, Palo Alto Networks, Proofpoint, Trend AI, Veeam and Zscaler. Sessions explore threats from agentic AI systems, machine-speed defensive responses, sovereign security frameworks and safeguarding critical systems. The Cyberbase Village complements this with live penetration testing scenarios and practical training workshops.
Data centre programming reflects what organisers characterise as a competitive landscape involving nearly $3 trillion in capital deployment. Global capacity additions are projected to reach close to 100 GW by 2030. Abu Dhabi's planned 5 GW UAE-US AI Campus exemplifies this expansion, with regional capital increasingly flowing into infrastructure development. Conference sessions address gigawatt-scale facilities, high-performance computing, energy resilience, thermal management innovations and sovereign infrastructure models.
How to attend
Attendees can register through the GITEX website. The summit occurs on 7 December at Dubai World Trade Centre, while the expo spans 8 to 11 December at Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo City Dubai.
A visitor pass grants access to the expo, Expand North Star, LIVX and complimentary conference sessions, though it excludes the summit. Summit participation requires a GITEX Summit, Premium or All Access pass. Online pricing for visitor passes remains available through 7 December.
Source: The Next Web
