Expand North Star 2024, the world’s largest startup and investment event, saw an influx of visitors on its second day at Dubai Harbour. Attendees enjoyed an enlightening series of exhibitions highlighting brand-new AI-applied and emerging technology solutions, as well as various discussions surrounding the strategic partnerships behind transformative innovations. Seamlessly integrated with GITEX GLOBAL, Expand North Star continues until 16 October, presenting an extensive programme and immersive exhibition with over 1,800 exhibiting startups and more than 1,200 investors, with assets under management (AUM) exceeding $1 trillion.
Asia’s future tech giants in the spotlight
Making their debut was some of the most impactful startups from Taiwan. These included AISpeakin, powered by Ubestream, an AI Deep Tech company that offers a real-time translation service supporting over 16 languages. Its advanced features, including AI and speech/voice recognition, have drawn significant attention.
At a time where the space industry is booming, Japan’s DigitalBlast Inc. also appeared to expand its global visibility. The company is developing a small life science experiment device with an artificial gravity mechanism for use aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This project is the latest milestone in DigitalBlast’s journey towards launching the station’s first module by 2030.
Supporting the growth of Emirati companies
As part of the effort to fast-track the development of Emirati businesses in the ICT sector, the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (KFED) announced its support for four outstanding UAE companies, aiming to accelerate the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem growth.
Away from the exhibitions, many visitors engaged in insightful ecosystem discussions. The ‘UAE Hubs Panel – Building Impactful Ecosystems’ session examined the essential nature of creating integrated ecosystems and fostering a comprehensive journey for startups post-establishment. Dr. Asma Ibrahim Al Mannaei, Executive Director of Research and Innovation Centre, Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DoH), UAE, said: “We cannot and should not reinvent the wheel. Over the past few years, we have invested heavily in creating a thriving data informatics system. That is the starting point for many startups, especially in the digital domain. On top of that, we have built an additional set of data with the Emirati genome programs and have the phenotypic and genotypic data together. Are we stopping? No, we are building on top of that. Now, we need to partner with the brightest mind globally.”
Using AI for good
In Monday’s afternoon talk, “AI by the People, AI for the People: Democratising AI and Solving Grassroot Innovation,” Manu Chopra, Founder & CEO, Karya, USA, shared heartwarming insights about how Karya, in collaboration with Microsoft, developed a generative large language model to reflect India’s 125 languages. For this project, Karya employed regional language speakers, who were compensated 20 times the minimum wage by Microsoft. During his recent visit to India, Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, personally met one of these speakers.
Shaping the future of industries
Across its four-day run, Expand North Star continues to cast a spotlight on the future of money, blockchain, creativity, and the planet through industry-defining events, including GITEX Impact, Fintech Surge, Future Blockchain Summit, and Marketing Mania.
