Information Technology
GITEX GLOBAL: UAE Reinforces Global Leadership in Startup Growth and Funding with Landmark 10th Edition of Expand North Star
Organised by Dubai World Trade Centre and hosted by the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, the 2025 edition convened 2,000 startups and 1,200 investors with combined assets exceeding US $1.1 trillion , catalysing partnerships, venture creation, and capital flow on an unprecedented scale.
The international showcase - featuring ApexBrasil as Country Partner and the largest participation of Latin American startups - also saw the largest gathering of over 40 international unicorns, including PsiQuantum ( USA ), a US$68 billion unicorn architecting the first fault-tolerant quantum system, Carousell ( Singapore ), one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing e-commerce platforms and the newly-minted US$ 1.5bn AI unicorn - Decagon ( USA ).
The 2025 edition of the Supernova Challenge 2.0 pitch battle spotlighted the world's most promising founders vying for a total prize pool of US$300,000 , with finalists shortlisted from South Korea , Chile , Ecuador , Estonia , Pakistan , Singapore , and the UAE.
South Korea's AIM Intelligence was crowned the champion, claiming the US $100,000 top prize for its pioneering AI-safety platform recognised by Meta and Anthropic. Whilst Chucao Technology Consultants ( Chile ) and Aerialoop ( Ecuador ) earned runner-up honours for groundbreaking innovations in nanotechnology and drone logistics.
Speaking after their decisive win, , shared: "We are absolutely honoured and excited to receive the first-place award. As an AI security and safety company, we are solving a very frontier challenge. We have a lot of clients in Korea, but now we are expanding globally, and through the Supernova Challenge 2.0, we will be able to expand into the Middle Eastern region. That means we need the talent, and we need the resources, so this prize money is important."
also hosted a special session featuring six previous winners of the Supernova Challenge, sharing how the pitch competition propelled their growth trajectories. "For us, winning the Supernova Challenge 2.0 helped accelerate trust in the market and, because we primarily sell to public sector and enterprise organisations, trust is incredibly important. This takes a long time to build, but by winning Supernova Challenge 2.0, it accelerated this project and we've managed to secure clients in the region, and also here in Dubai with Dubai government, so it was critical for us," said – an innovative modular tech water desalination company that won the top prize in 2022.
At the event, Crescent Enterprises unveiled an AED 250 million investment programme to support home-grown ventures with global potential, reinforcing the UAE's appeal as a magnet for digital talent and capital. , commented during the launch "The UAE has become a launchpad for serious builders, and our collective vision is for the country to be known as the start-up capital of the world. With CE-Creates, our venture building platform, we're helping entrepreneurs convert purpose into performance – locally proven, globally competitive."
A wave of high-profile deals punctuated the event: Mobility Fintech Group (MFG) announced a US $2 million investment from AHOY Technology and new collaborations with Mawarid Finance, a leading Sharia compliant Finance company, and Mazeed, advancing AI-enabled mobility and fintech across the region.
The conference programme witnessed global investors, founders, and government leaders unpacking the next frontiers of innovation - from AI and digital assets to quantum computing and climate change.
At the newly launched GITEX Digital Assets Forum, thought leaders discussed tokenisation, institutional investment strategies, and the importance of democratising capital access. Val Malinovskiy , CEO of YPay, highlighted how digital assets are moving "from fringe experiment to financial foundation," while panels featuring experts from Nvidia, Samsung Ventures, and Honda delivered insights on the urgency to increase deep-tech investments, government-backed research excellence and collaborations for AI and quantum growth.
Amandeep Singh Gill , United Nations' Under-Secretary-General, urged startup founders from the Global South to target hard problems over easy wins, sharing: "
Reflecting on the UAE's status as the global launchpad for tech entrepreneurs to scale faster and further, Jayesh Patel , CEO of Wio, the UAE's leading digital bank, shared,
Presight, a G42 company and the region's largest big data analytics enterprise, shared the progress of its AI-Startup Accelerator launched at in 2024. The company reported 120 applications from AI startups worldwide, with , revealing, "
The 10th edition cemented Expand North Star as the world's most influential platform for startup innovation and investment. The journey now advances to Expo City Dubai in 2026, where GITEX GLOBAL and Expand North Star will reunite to shape the next decade of the intelligent economy, from 8-10 December 2026 .
For more information, please visit: expandnorthstar.com
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