H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, attended the opening of the third edition of the Dubai AI Festival at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
The event runs until October 27 under the theme “Where Intelligence Meets Opportunity”.
The festival has drawn more than 20,000 attendees from over 100 countries, along with more than 150 speakers, 500 investors and 200 exhibitors. It is organised by Dubai AI Campus, part of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), in collaboration with the Office of the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence.
Sheikh Hamdan said Dubai is focused on providing advanced infrastructure, a flexible regulatory environment and access to top talent so companies can turn AI technologies into sustainable economic value.
He was briefed by Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority, on the campus’s progress. Since its launch in May 2024, Dubai AI Campus has attracted more than 500 AI companies, which have secured over AED 1 billion in investment and helped create more than 2,000 specialised jobs. It passed its original target two years ahead of schedule. Sheikh Hamdan approved a new goal of more than 1,000 AI companies and over 5,000 skilled jobs by 2030.
He also reviewed plans for a new 100,000-square-foot Dubai AI Campus building in the DIFC Zabeel District expansion. The facility will include GPU-ready systems, secure AI development zones, digital twin environments, lab-ready floors for government and private sector pilots, conference spaces and an AI Experience Centre open to the public.
During his tour of the exhibition, Sheikh Hamdan visited the stands of Dubai Medical University, ElevenLabs, Amazon Web Services, Alibaba Cloud and Linkerbot.
Essa Kazim, Governor of DIFC, said the campus will further strengthen Dubai’s position as a global leader in AI. Discussions at the festival cover AI governance, ethics, the future of work, AI literacy, investment and infrastructure.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
