GEC NEWS WIREThe worlds’ most global and disruptive technology events, Gitex Technology Week and Gitex Future Stars, will bring together world-class industry innovators, government leaders, technology creators and forward thinkers beginning tomorrow, 6th October, until 10th October at Dubai World Trade Centre.
With a spotlight on next-generation technology and innovations that will evolve promising startups into transformative enterprises, visitors to the 39th Gitex Technology week will experience the region’s biggest ever 5G showcase and the definitive platform for knowledge sharing around Artificial Intelligence and the impact of generation Z, along with all-new Future Mobility and Gitex Lifestyle Tech sections, all hosted under Gitex’s Synergising the Mind and Technology Economy movement.
Gitex and Gitex Future Stars will let visitors be the first to experience ground-breaking ideas, from debut exhibitors such as 1,200 km/h travel pioneer Virgin Hyperloop One; an unprecedented lineup of technology industry trailblazers, including Silicon Valley mavericks such as Theranos whistleblower Tyler Shultz; Gen-Z entrepreneurs such as Connor Blakley and Iddris Sandu; rock-star CMOs such as Bozoma Saint John; artificial intelligence pioneers like Dr Ben Goertzel; digital transformation leaders such as Souq.com Founder Ronaldo Mouchawar and young change-makers rallying the world to take action.
Future mobility
The latest in high-tech transport solutions will be featured in the Future Mobility segment of Gitex, with companies such as Virgin Hyperloop One, General Motors, Intel and Rolls Royce showcasing how the latest advances in Hyperloop technology, IoT and 5G will reinvent the transport paradigm.
Exhibiting for the first time at Gitex, Virgin Hyperloop One is set to revolutionise long distance travel, with its electromagnetically levitated pods travelling through low-pressure tubes at speeds up to 1,223 kmh. The silent, low turbulence means of travel will cut travel times from Dubai to Abu Dhabi to an astonishing 12 minutes. The system is expected to be entirely autonomous, direct-to-destination and on-demand.
Gitex conferences
Gitex’s conferences will feature over 290 hours of content – 150 of which are free-to-attend – and experts from key industry verticals featuring experts from Energy, Healthcare, Smart Cities, and Digital Marketing and will feature speakers from around the world.
Gitex’s conference agenda will feature world-renowned whistleblower Tyler Shultz, who played a huge role in forcing the closure of blood-testing startup Theranos, once valued at $10 billion. Shultz will discuss the increasing importance of digital ethics, and how to establish boundaries for business founders and entrepreneurs.
Also speaking is Bozoma Saint John, CMO of Endeavor and former Head of Global Marketing at iTunes and Apple Music, CBO at Uber and VP of Marketing at Pepsi. Gitex will hear from the world’s best-known and number one ranked Gen Z influencer and youth marketer Connor Blakley, Chief Marketing Officer, Campus Agency, who will discuss the ways that organisations can blend media with creativity, new technology and psychology to target a generation obsessed with technology.
Gitex visitors will hear from a selection of global change agents across the retail, startup, energy and digital marketing spaces, including the man responsible for reimagining Toys R Us stores, in partnership with Silicon Valley retail-as-a-service pioneer B8ta, Phillip Raub, Co-Founder and President, B8ta & Co-CEO, Toys R Us; as well as Vish Sankaran, Chief Innovation Officer, Walgreens Boots Alliance, the executive recognised for reinventing the modern organisation through digital transformation; Hans-Holger Albrecht, CEO, Deezer, the music-tech startup that is available in more than 180 countries and attracts 12 million active users and Zak Normandin, Founder & CEO, Iris Nova, the multi-award winning entrepreneur who created the cult that drink celebrities like Kate Hudson and Sophie Bush follow.
Other technology and entrepreneurship experts speaking at Gitex include Dakota Semler, Co-Founder and CEO, XOS Trucks, the 28-year-old building an electric truck to beat Tesla to market; Benjamin Stern, CEO, Nohbo, who created waste-free shampoo tablets and went on to secure investment from Mark Cuban on Shark Tank; Bernie Su, Interactive Storyteller, the three-time Emmy Award-winner and Josh Constine, Editor-at-Large, TechCrunch, who is ranked the number 1 most-cited technology journalist by news aggregator Techmeme and has interviewed Mark Zuckerberg and Edward Snowden.
The worlds’ most global and future-forward technology exhibition will hear from Mike Sutcliff, Global Chief Executive, Accenture Digital, who will give Gitex visitors c-level insight into how organisations can capitalise on their unique digital transformation opportunities.
Artificial intelligence
The Gitex Artificial Intelligence Zone will unleash five incredible days of non-stop free learning sessions, 10 Hours of INSEAD-powered artificial intelligence Workshops and will cover the paradigm-shifting ways that artificial intelligence is affecting agriculture, construction, procurement, marketing, factory automation and government.
World-leading artificial intelligence expert and Gitex keynote speaker Dr Ben Goertzel, Chairman and Chief Scientist of Singularity Studio, and CEO and Founder of SingularityNET Foundation, will reveal how artificial intelligence will merge with blockchain to create deep value for businesses and society, increase human life expectancy and support medical research.
Techchat with the CEO
In an exclusive on-stage interview, Ronaldo Mouchawar, CEO and co-founder of leading e-commerce site Souq.com, which was sold to technology giant Amazon for $580 million in 2017, will tell his story of the behind-the-scenes work that went into completing the biggest technology acquisition ever in the Middle East.
Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports, will discuss how technology is affecting and disrupting the operation and development of Dubai International DXB, the world’s busiest airport for international passengers.
Battleground for 5G
A star-studded 5G Countdown conference agenda will feature a panel discussion on what is at stake in the so-called battleground for 5G. The discussion will feature Fadi Pharaon, President, Middle East and Africa, Ericsson; Hatem Bamatraf, Chief Technology Officer, Etisalat International; Saleem Alblooshi, Chief Technology Officer, du and Du Yeqing, Vice President, 5G Product Line, Huawei.
Gitex Smart Citi Zens
Gitex visitors will hear from leaders that are building future cities for happier citizens and are speaking in the Middle East region for the first time, at the Gitex Smart Citi Zens conference, including Gary Brantley, CIO, City of Atlanta, and Eduard Lysenko, Minister, Head of the Department of IT, Government of Moscow, and Aik van Eemeren, CTO, Innovation and Lead of Public Tech, City of Amsterdam.
Gitex Future Stars
Following Uber’s $3.1 billion acquisition of Careem and Amazon’s $580 million acquisition of Souq.com, and, the Middle East has rightfully earned a reputation as a hotspot for tech startups and disruptive technologies.
Gitex Future Stars 2019 will reinforce its position as the fastest growing startup event in the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia by bringing together key stakeholders and global leaders of the ecosystem, including William Chappell, CFO and EVP, Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority, who has made significant contributions towards developing the startup ecosystem in the UAE; Ines Verschueren, Principal, Greyhound Capital, a growth equity investor with unicorns including Deliveroo, Revolut, and Careem in its portfolio; Chris Haley, an active deep tech investor for 01Ventures taking on global problems and Henry Wigan, Co-Founder of Mustard Seed Impact, a venture capital fund making seed and early-stage investments across various sectors focusing on social impact.
With over 750+ startups participating from 75 countries, including many award winners and also first-timers to the region including the e-sports startup meleap from Japan who will showcase HADO – the first-ever physical e-sport in the world to use Augmented Reality technology. Gitex Future Stars will feature investors and corporate buyers including the likes of SpeedInvest, 01, Brightly Ventures, 500 startups, the European Business Angels Network and Greyhound.
The most global Gitex Technology Week ever will attract over 4,500 exhibitors from over 100 countries. Companies from Algeria, Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Greece, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, and Morocco will make their debuts at Gitex this year, in a venue spread over 1.4 million square feet. This year’s events are expected to receive over 100,000 visitors from over 140 countries.
