Beyond the Showcase: GITEX GLOBAL 2025 Anchors AI in Sovereign Strategy
The 45th edition of GITEX GLOBAL this week demonstrated a clear evolution, shifting from a technology showcase to a formidable platform for shaping national and economic strategy. While the scale was vast, with over 6,800 exhibitors and delegations from 180 countries gathered at the Dubai World Trade Centre, the conversation was focused. The central theme was the establishment of the "Intelligence Economy," with an unmistakable emphasis on sovereign AI, the infrastructure required to power it, and the geopolitical ambitions driving it.
The event’s tone was set by high-level government figures who framed technology not as an industry vertical, but as the foundation of future economic resilience. H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism, explained that the UAE "is not merely participating in the global race for innovation; it is shaping its contours... by building an economic model defined by resilience and a future orientation, grounded in knowledge and advanced technology."
This sentiment was reinforced by H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for AI, who positioned the event as a vital forum for governance. "As a platform, nothing really represents the UAE's vision when it comes to technology, and the UAE's position as a convener of the world than GITEX," he stated. He highlighted the event's role in tackling "critical discussions on AI risk, ethics and sovereignty."
The global technology industry met this top-down vision with practical strategy. In a virtual discussion on "AI-Native Societies," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman remarked, "I hope that the UAE serves as an example for the rest of the world about what it looks like for a forward-thinking country to really embrace AI."
This vision, however, depends entirely on compute power. The debate on infrastructure and sovereign capability was a dominant thread throughout the week. Jim Keller, CEO of Tenstorrent, was direct in his assessment, urging nations to build autonomous systems. "Open source is a path for innovation, but also a path to really own it, so you can chart your own destiny," he said. This was given physical context by Andrew Feldman, CEO of Cerebras, who spoke of building the "largest chip in the history of the computing industry, the size of a dinner plate," as part of its partnership with G42.
Discussions of a potential investment bubble were largely dismissed by financial leaders. Paul L. Palandjian, CEO of O'Leary Ventures, argued that the focus on AI is not short-term. "We are in the first half of the first inning of a five-decade megatrend," he stated. "The megatrend of power generation or data is not going away."
This foundational investment was a key theme for major enterprise technology providers. "With key investments being made into data centers and networks, the UAE is building the optimal foundation for AI adoption," commented Phil Mottram, Executive Vice President for Growth Markets at HPE. The company showcased its "Sovereign AI Factory," a modular solution designed to help governments deploy locally governed AI infrastructure.
Other major exhibitors demonstrated this shift from theoretical AI to applied tools. Oracle presented enterprise solutions including "agentic AI tools" for financial planning and smart supply-chain management. Huawei, meanwhile, dedicated a large area to its "Partner Park," demonstrating joint solutions for sectors from oil and gas to transportation. "The Huawei Partner Park exemplifies how collaboration... yields solutions that are greater than the sum of their parts," said Taylor Zhou, Partner Development Vice President at Huawei MEA.
A tangible example of sovereign AI in action came from Presight, a G42 company, which launched "Bayan" in partnership with the UAE Federal Public Prosecution. The platform is an advanced, domain-specific legal Large Language Model (LLM) designed for real-time judicial translation. Chancellor Salem Ali Al Zaabi, Head of Public Prosecution, described the project as being "rooted in a human-centered vision that views technology as a means to achieve justice, not an end in itself."
The rapid advancement of AI was shadowed by the concurrent theme of next-generation cybersecurity. H.E. Dr. Mohamed Al-Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity for the UAE Government, stressed that defence is not just a technical challenge. "The main message is to have a strong Cyber Culture across nations and society," he said. "Our people, our society, is and will always be our first line of defense."
This was echoed by industry experts. Jaakko Jalkanen, VP Marketing at CybExer, warned that AI "introduces speed, scale, and unpredictability that traditional defensive systems struggle to manage." He argued that this necessitates a new approach to national security: "Nations must be able to own their defences—understand them, control them, and test them under pressure." Kaspersky researchers provided context to the current threat landscape, releasing a report noting that hacktivists are using hashtags as coordination tools and that DDoS remains the dominant attack method.
Beyond enterprise and security, GITEX also pushed into new frontiers of applied technology. The "Beyond Biology" sessions explored the intersection of AI and health. Chris Gibson, CEO of Recursion Pharmaceuticals, argued, "the most exciting impact of AI, for humanity is on human health." Jack Hidary, CEO of SandboxAQ, explained how new hardware is leveraging this power. "Our bodies emit magnetic signals," he said. "A quantum sensor can pick up that magnetic signal and we can now pick that up and read it using AI."
The future of mobility was also on display, with e& showcasing eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) prototypes and air taxis, while Micropolis unveiled an autonomous vehicle for police and public safety operations. Even customer experience was reimagined, with Naji Salameh, CEO of IT Max Global, advocating for an "Agentic AI approach". "By blending Al with human empathy," he explained, "we enable organizations to deliver care, solve problems, and build loyalty at scale."
Finally, the week was marked by the event's own global expansion, reinforcing its role as a convener. Organisers announced a series of new international editions, planting the GITEX brand in markets including Serbia, Türkiye, India, and Brazil. This strategic move mirrors the show's core message: technology and global policy are now inextricably linked.
