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The Dubai AI Festival 2026 organised by the Dubai AI Campus at the Dubai International Financial Centre in partnership with the Office of the UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications will explore global AI governance infrastructure investment and the future of work. More than 150 speakers 500 investors and 200 exhibitors are expected to attend the two-day event at the Dubai World Trade Centre under the theme Where Intelligence Meets Opportunity. A DIFC statement highlighted how the gathering will focus on moving from AI experimentation to practical implementation across industries while strengthening links between technology capital and policy.
Themes at the festival will include AI for all immersive experiences innovation and ethics as well as AI literacy according to the event agenda published by organisers. Roundtables and workshops will examine agentic AI enterprise transformation and computing power with participants invited to nominate startups for the FutureTech World Cup competition. The programme builds on previous editions that featured senior government officials and executives from major technology firms.
The event takes place under the directives of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Crown Prince of Dubai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence. It aligns with the Dubai Universal Blueprint for Artificial Intelligence which aims to incorporate AI across strategic sectors to support the Dubai Economic Agenda D33. Government partners include the Ministry of AI and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce the DIFC statement noted.
A Microsoft report for the first quarter of 2026 found that the UAE leads the world in AI adoption with 70.1 percent of its working-age population using the technology. Reports Insights Consulting data places the UAE artificial intelligence market at 1.24 billion dollars in 2025 with a projection to reach 12.95 billion dollars by 2034 at a compound annual growth rate of 29.77 percent. Grand View Research separately forecast even faster expansion for the sector at 36.3 percent CAGR through 2033.
Speakers will include Peng Xiao Group Chief Executive Officer of G42 and Hussain Sajwani Founder and Chairman of DAMAC Properties along with executives from Scale AI ElevenLabs and Oxa. Participating organisations range from Amazon Web Services and Alibaba Cloud to Mubadala and the Roads and Transport Authority. The agenda also features product launches and sessions on building AI-powered government services.
Organisers have opened registration for delegates exhibitors and sponsors with options to showcase products directly to investors or enter the startup competition. The festival coincides with Dubai AI Week and forms part of broader efforts to position the emirate as a hub for digital economy growth. Further details on sessions and the full speaker list remain available on the official event website.
