AI Everything Abu Dhabi 2026 welcomes 400 exhibitors and 180 speakers to landmark summit
The world's largest AI-first expo opens at ADNEC Centre with government officials, enterprises and investors converging to shape the future of artificial intelligence and advance Abu Dhabi's vision of becoming the world's first AI-native government by 2027.
Abu Dhabi has welcomed the opening of AI Everything Abu Dhabi 2026, the world’s largest AI-first Expo and Summit, at ADNEC Centre. The prestigious two-day event brings together more than 400 AI exhibitors, over 180 speakers and more than 200 investors managing US$100 billion in assets, underscoring the emirate’s emergence as a rapidly advancing AI-driven economy.
Organised by inD and hosted by the Abu Dhabi Department of Government Enablement (DGE), with Solutions+, a Mubadala company, serving as Global Partner, the summit attracts governments, AI enterprises, frontier model organisations, investors and startups from across the globe. Opening remarks were delivered by Ahmed Tamim Hisham Al Kuttab, Chairman of DGE, who articulated Abu Dhabi’s commitment to becoming a defining force in the artificial intelligence era.
In his keynote address, Mr Al Kuttab emphasised the critical importance of establishing foundational infrastructure today, noting that “societies that start building the foundations today will pull ahead every year, and those that wait will find the gap harder to close.” He highlighted the three essential elements driving investment and entrepreneurship: computational capacity, capital availability and market access.
Complementing this vision, Faisal Abdulaziz Al Bannai, Advisor to President for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology Affairs and Secretary General of the Advanced Technology Research Council, positioned artificial intelligence as a core national capability. He stressed that nations maintaining sovereignty over their compute infrastructure, proprietary models and talent will shape the coming century, whilst those dependent on external resources will necessarily follow.
The summit showcases an impressive array of AI applications and operational deployments. Infrastructure providers including H3C are presenting integrated solutions spanning compute, networking, storage and security, designed to support organisations transitioning from experimental phases to production-scale deployment. Seagate Technology addresses the complementary challenge of data management, with research indicating that 99 per cent of organisations globally anticipate increased storage requirements over the coming three years as artificial intelligence proliferates.
Notably, locally-developed initiatives are advancing commercialisation efforts. Sharjah Research Technology & Innovation Park’s SPARK AI Hub is demonstrating practical adoption pathways across government and industry through solutions including AI concierge systems and intelligent service assistants. Meanwhile, Khalifa University Enterprises Company (KUEC) is launching new ventures from its development pipeline spanning healthcare, governance, industrial applications and environmental sustainability.
Source: WAM