Abu Dhabi deepens AI drive with global summit

Global artificial intelligence leaders and investors are converging on Abu Dhabi next month for the AI Everything Abu Dhabi summit, set to take place on October 6-7 at the ADNEC Centre. Over 400 AI infrastructure builders, model makers, startups and unicorns will join more than 200 investors managing $91bn in assets.

Wesam Lootah, Director General of GovDigital, highlighted Abu Dhabi's ambition to become the world's first AI-native government, with the city already redefining public services for millions. The summit will feature over 180 speakers, including Arthur Mensch, co-founder and CEO of Mistral AI, and Marc Raibert, founder of Boston Dynamics, who will discuss sovereign AI, new alliances and industry applications.

As global AI spending surges to $2.59tn this year - up 47% from 2025, the summit aims to showcase Abu Dhabi's government-led strategy combining computing infrastructure, AI research and public-sector deployment. Over 50 UAE government entities are participating, led by the Department of Government Enablement, which has launched more than 40 government AI entities with 100 existing AI use cases.

Solutions+, a Mubadala company and the event's global partner, emphasizes turning AI ambition into operational delivery through sovereign infrastructure, enterprise platforms, trusted partners and expertise for embedding AI into services and workflows. G42, a major Abu Dhabi AI company, is pushing an "Intelligence Grid" combining computing infrastructure, platforms, AI agents and governance to support AI adoption across society.