European Tech Takes Global Centerstage as GITEX EUROPE x Ai Everything Opens to Record Participation

More than 1,400 exhibitors and 600 investors converge in Berlin for a three-day showcase of frontier technologies, policy dialogue, and cross-border digital scale

  Berlin, Germany - 21 May 2025: Europe’s bold vision for open innovation and accelerated AI adoption took tangible form today as GITEX EUROPE x Ai Everything 2025 opened in Berlin to a surge of global tech leaders, investors, and policymakers. A continent-wide call for stronger digital competitiveness and deeper tech integration was met with packed exhibition halls, standing-room-only sessions, and an energy of high-impact tech business synergies echoing across the show floor.

Senior government leaders from Europe, Germany and the UAE inaugurated the show, now billed as the continent’s largest inaugural tech, startup and digital investment event. Opening welcome addresses were led by Kai Wegner, Governing Mayor of Berlin; H.E. Alia Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of State for Entrepreneurship; Clara Chappaz, the Minister of AI and Digital of France; Thomas Jarzombek, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Minister for Digital and State Modernization, Germany; Jan Kavalírek, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Czech Republic; Franziska Giffey, Mayor of Berlin & Senator for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises; and Trixie LohMirmand, EVP of Dubai World Trade Centre, the global organiser of GITEX. 

GITEX EUROPE x Ai Everything runs until 23 May at Messe Berlin, uniting over 1,400 exhibiting companies, SMEs, and startups, 600 influential investors, and 500 expert speakers from over 100 countries. The event serves as a powerful platform for public-private collaboration, cross-border investments, and the advancement of AI-enabled economies – with exclusive focus on tech sectors spanning cybersecurity, quantum computing, green tech, digital cities, SMEs, startups, scaleups and investments.

AI Front and Centre as Geoffrey Hinton Headlines Global Leaders Programme

  Among the headlining leaders speaking on opening day, Nobel Physics Laureate and ‘Godfather of AI’ Geoffrey Hinton delivered riveting insights on ‘AI for Humanity’s Greatest Challenges’, sharply reflecting on the potential and paradox of AI.

On the frenzy surrounding ‘2025 being the year of AI Agents’, he agrees to its revolutionary power, "I assume agents will pretty soon have your credit card number and be able to buy things for you. Agents can interact with other agents to do quite sophisticated planning. So we are getting agents, it's not hype. If anything AI has been underhyped because of the way it is going up now."

Yet his optimism carried an air of caution as he pointed out, “These digital sisters (AI) are actually a better form of intelligence than people, because they can share what they learn." Highlighting how for the first time we are moving into an uncharted territory where we encounter things possibly more intelligent than us.

Global Tech Enterprises and Startups Anchor New Industry Transformations

  On the floor, the energy was electric. Global tech leaders including IBM, AWS, Cisco, CrowdStrike, Dell, ManageEngine, SAP, Lenovo, NVIDIA, showcase never-before-seen technologies designed to fast-track AI scaling, enterprise transformations and robust digital infrastructures.

IBM brought the future of large-scale computing to life with an exclusive interactive Quantum showcase, where they presented the internal componentry of the IBM Quantum System Two and a scaled replica of the actual cryostat - offering hands-on insight into the building blocks of quantum-centric supercomputing.

Christian Geckeis, Vice President & Head of Sales IBM Technology DACH, shared, “There are two sides of the equation when it comes to the integration of quantum and AI. One is exploring how the transformative power of quantum computing could accelerate AI, such as new machine learning algorithms, re-imagined neural networks, and interactions with LLMs. The other important side is how we can apply advanced AI models, such as generative AI, to accelerate the development of quantum code. This will catalyze the creation of quantum algorithms.”

Over in the startup arena, North Star Europe buzzed with the largest-ever cohort of European scaleups hosted by the European Innovation Council. Among them, Black Semiconductor, fresh off a €254.4M Series A, unveiled graphene-based microchips, while Transmetrics AI offered a precision-driven solution for Europe’s logistics network through predictive analytics and machine learning and PowerUp Fuel Cells introduced smart hydrogen energy solutions for next-gen mobility and microgrid infrastructure.

Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy joins as partner of the event featuring a power-packed lineup of startups and tech hubs transforming AI, finance, healthcare, and more.

Saeed Al Gergawi, Vice President of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, commented, "Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy (DCDE) is proud to be GITEX EUROPE’s Digital Ecosystem Partner, showcasing Dubai’s dynamic digital landscape. Our participation underscores our commitment to fostering innovation, supporting startups, and attracting global talent. We look forward to strengthening connections with Europe’s tech ecosystem and welcoming businesses from around the world to Dubai for Expand North Star in October as we drive the future of the digital economy."

Landmark Global Tech Ecosystem Index 2025 Launched by Dealroom

The world’s most trusted global intelligence platform for tech and startups, Dealroom unveiled their Tech Ecosystem Index 2025 on the opening day. The index ranks ecosystems through a comprehensive study, benchmarking 288 cities in 69 countries, to reveal the most mature and fastest-growing global tech hubs.

Lagos was named the world’s ‘Top Rising Tech Ecosystem’ following a $158 million raised in funding last year, while Bay Area remains number one ‘Global Champion’ in the world. Europe remains formidable, with Paris named Europe’s leading tech ecosystem ahead of London for the first time and the only European city in the top five 'Global Champions’. Cambridge in the UK, and Munich made it into the top five for ‘Density Leaders’, showcasing high output relative to their size.

Record International Participation Underlines Global Interest in Europe

  With a mission to open new access to markets, capital, and talent, GITEX EUROPE x Ai Everything features record participation from 35 European nations and international pavilions from Italy, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, South Korea, UK, UAE, and beyond. Together, they form the most global tech showcase seen in Europe.

Among the standout international pavilions, the Dubai Pavilion organised by Digital Dubai spotlights the city’s benchmark-setting digital achievements with participation from 12 key government and private entities, including Dubai Police, the Dubai Electronic Security Center, Department of Economy and Tourism, Dubai Future Foundation, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, e& and Emaratech, among more. Key showcases on the pavilion include, the Dubai Dashboard, a unified city-wide platform offering a 360-degree real-time view of data and indicators across various public sector services, while the DubaiNow application gives users digital access to over 320 public services from over 50 government and private entities. A fully integrated advanced digital city model, marking its Berlin debut.

H.E. Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, Director General of Digital Dubai, said: “Dubai is building a citywide ecosystem of AI agents that will proactively serve people across health, education, safety and daily government services. This transformation is not about humans adapting to machines, but about machines learning to understand us—our language, needs and behaviours. At Digital Dubai, we are embedding AI ethics, privacy by design, and agile regulation into this journey. Through collaborative governance and trusted innovation, we are not only creating a more human-centric digital city, but also setting a policy blueprint for AI-first nations.”

GITEX EUROPE x Ai Everything is organised by KAOUN International, in partnership with the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises, Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Berlin Partner for Business and Technology, and the European Innovation Council (EIC), Europe’s largest deep tech investor. The European edition is part of the GITEX global network of tech and startup events, taking place in Germany, Morocco, Nigeria, Singapore, Thailand, UAE, and Vietnam.

For more information, visit: www.gitex-europe.com.

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