Expand North Star 2025: A Decade of Startup Innovation

Expand North Star 2025 has officially launched in the UAE, marking a decade as the world’s largest startup and investor gathering. This landmark four-day event, running from October 12-15 at Dubai Harbour, is designed to significantly boost funding opportunities, scaling efforts, and deal-making activities. The program aims to forge powerful new partnerships and accelerate inclusive digital growth, particularly within emerging AI economies worldwide.

Organized by the Dubai World Trade Centre and hosted by the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, the event brings together a global assembly of leading founders, investors, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and public-private strategic partners. Since its inception in 2016, Expand North Star has established itself as a central hub for collaboration and capital, offering an inclusive international stage from which more than 8,000 founders have successfully grown their ventures.

Building on this impressive legacy, the 2025 edition connects over 2,000 of the world’s most disruptive startups with 1,200 international investors who collectively manage a staggering $1.1 trillion in assets. The event features an unprecedented concentration of growth and late-stage startups, showcasing groundbreaking projects and solutions across artificial intelligence, climate technology, deep tech, digital health, and financial technology.

This year’s event aligns with the recently announced “The Emirates: The Startup Capital of the World” initiative, which seeks to cement the UAE’s status as the premier global hub for startups. The government’s ambitious strategy focuses on nurturing innovation and attracting international talent, with targets to generate 30,000 new jobs by 2030 and cultivate at least 10 unicorn companies, businesses valued at over one billion dollars, by 2031.

In a keynote address, His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, discussed the nation’s long-term vision. “Our perspective spans multiple decades, not just short-term cycles. Our investments in AI began as early as 2008, a time when few recognized its potential. Abu Dhabi was strategically investing in semiconductor chips and global AI-focused enterprises. Many doubted our capacity to become a key player in this field, yet we are demonstrating our capabilities against all expectations. This success inspires observers from both Eastern and Western hemispheres,” he stated.

Minister Al Olama emphasized the nation’s commitment to continuous learning and collaboration. “We strive not only for our own success but also to learn from every individual who engages with the UAE. We position ourselves as dedicated students and attentive listeners. We give our solemn promise that any advice offered to us will be treated with the utmost seriousness and integrated into our plans for the coming years,” he added.

During a panel discussion titled ‘Scaling a digital future: How will emerging tech redraw the startup map of the next decade’, Hatem Dowidar, Global CEO of e&, shared his insights on technological evolution. “The shifting technological landscape and evolving customer demands will inevitably lead to adjustments in corporate investment strategies. The deployment of 5G standalone networks, often referred to as 5.5G, will undoubtedly unlock opportunities for numerous new businesses, including startups. Concurrently, we must establish robust governance frameworks for artificial intelligence to safeguard data integrity and privacy. Within our own ecosystem, we have implemented a comprehensive AI governance system that ensures complete data anonymity and protects customer privacy,” Dowidar explained.

Presight, a G42 company and the region’s premier big data analytics firm, is among the prominent UAE enterprises featured at this year’s event. Building on the launch of its AI-Startup Accelerator at the 2024 edition, the program’s inaugural cohort of startups presented their market-ready prototypes. This accelerator represents the UAE’s first dedicated AI acceleration program and the first created by a publicly-listed technology company in the Middle East. It leverages Presight’s technical expertise, enterprise partnerships, and customer network to provide participating startups with direct commercial pathways, access to world-class infrastructure, and invaluable mentorship.

Thomas Pramotedham, CEO of Presight, highlighted the program’s distinctive approach. “While numerous accelerator programs exist globally, ours is uniquely positioned to create a truly international platform. The UAE and Abu Dhabi have emerged as the AI capital, the intersection where cutting-edge technology meets innovation. Through G42’s extensive ecosystem and the UAE’s global reach, we provide our cohorts not merely with computational resources and expertise, but with tangible business opportunities. Since the program’s inception, our startups have engaged with ambassadors, major enterprises, and key stakeholders across both public and private sectors,” Pramotedham noted.

The showcase highlighted Presight’s expanding role in advancing the UAE’s AI innovation ecosystem, featuring ten high-potential international startups developing AI solutions with significant real-world applications. Pramotedham’s involvement coincided with Presight formalizing a partnership with the UAE Cybersecurity Council, one of several significant collaborations announced on the event’s opening day.

Prior to the signing ceremony, Dr. Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security for the UAE Government, elaborated on the critical role entrepreneurs play in supporting national security objectives. “Cybersecurity is fundamentally embedded in everything we undertake. Across all technological domains, whether today’s AI, tomorrow’s quantum computing, or future innovations, safety and security remain foundational pillars for elevating next-generation startups and ensuring society utilizes technology optimally. Our national digital transformation strategy maintains a human-centric focus, and we are fortunate to collaborate with numerous exceptional entrepreneurs and visionary thinkers who contribute to safeguarding our national security and critical infrastructure,” Dr. Al Kuwaiti stated.

This year’s event set a new record for international participation, with representatives from 180 countries. ApexBrasil, the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, is participating as the event’s first-ever Country Partner. Across two dedicated pavilions, 55 Brazilian startups and innovation hubs specializing in AI, fintech, and other sectors are demonstrating how Brazil is driving technological innovation and creating solutions for global challenges.

Expand North Star 2025 presents its largest-ever unicorn showcase, featuring over 40 billion-dollar companies. Among the most notable are PsiQuantum from the USA, a $68 billion unicorn developing the first fault-tolerant quantum computing system, and Kuwait’s talabat, the leading on-demand online ordering and delivery platform in the MENA region valued at $8.5 billion.

Other standout unicorns include the UAE’s Andalusia Labs, a global leader in digital asset risk infrastructure that achieved billion-dollar status within just eleven months of launch, making it one of the fastest-growing unicorns in history. Also featured is Singapore’s Carousell, recognized as one of Southeast Asia’s most rapidly expanding e-commerce platforms.

The event attracts the world’s most influential multinational banking institutions, venture capital firms, and investment corporations from Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East, all seeking the next generation of transformative ventures that will define the future of technology and innovation. Notable participants include JP Morgan (USA), Daiwa Capital Management (Japan), Eurazeo (France), Octopus Energy Generation (UK), Qatar National Bank (Qatar), Raiffeisenbank (Austria), Samsung Ventures (Japan), and SBI Ventures (Germany).

(Source: Economy Middle East)