Day 3 of Expand North Star Highlights AI, Social Impact, Big Fundings
Day three of the world’s largest startup and funding occasion explored the subsequent technology of AI fashions, the longer term of AI governance, and socially impactful startups at Dubai Harbour
14 October 2025: Expand North Star, the world’s largest startup and investor occasion, as half of GITEX GLOBAL, continued day three at Dubai Harbour. Attendees learnt concerning the significance of the UAE’s social influence tech ecosystem, how new knowledge centre {hardware} can scale back vitality use, and why AI governance can allow entrepreneurship in rising economies, amongst different highlights.
Running till 15 October, the tenth version of Expand North Star’s complete four-day programme has attracted 2,000 exhibiting startups and greater than 1,200 buyers, with property below administration (AUM) exceeding US$1.1 trillion.
Empowering Tomorrow’s Social Impact Entrepreneurs
Expand North Star welcomed His Excellency Salem Ali Al Shami, Executive Director of Social Incubation & Contracting on the Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an on Tuesday. Following his participation in a hearth chat, highlighting the position Ma’an performs in empowering the subsequent technology of social influence entrepreneurs, His Excellency awarded Nesma Amin and Ameen Abo Diak, the 2 winners of the joint competitors run by Ma’an and Expand North Star, which invited younger social entrepreneurs to unravel some of at this time’s most urgent social challenges.
“Today’s social entrepreneurs are developing with options that can assist the neighborhood. So, by uniting with new concepts, these new progressive options will create the long-lasting influence that we hope for,” stated His Excellency on stage as he congratulated the winners.
Sustainable AI Hardware and Beyond LLMs: the Next Generation of AI
Around 40 per cent of the vitality utilized in AI knowledge centres is burned off as waste. An Estonian entrepreneur, the CEO & Co-Founder of Skeleton Technologies, Taavi Madiberk has created an progressive graphene-based, two-layer battery {hardware} resolution that helps clean out energy demand peaks – a key supply of vitality wastage. In addition to elevated effectivity, the corporate’s eco-friendly ultracapacitors comprise no lithium, no cobalt, and no manganese, serving to to make world AI infrastructure extra sustainable. Having already partnered with main gamers within the US and Europe, he stated the Gulf states are additionally key markets: “Renewables listed here are going up on the quickest charges globally, and any tech firm severe about innovation have to be within the Gulf.”
During an AI Fireside session, ‘Beyond LLMs’ at Expand North Star, Jack Hidary, CEO of SandboxAQ, revealed what’s going to form the subsequent wave of AI tech after large-language fashions: massive quantitative fashions (LQMs). With a present valuation of US$5.7 billion, Hidary’s unicorn is exploring how this new IP-rich frontier will show key in unlocking options that can influence the worldwide financial system’s key sectors, together with vitality, biopharma and house, amongst others.
Building a extra inclusive framework for world AI Governance
Under-Secretary-General Amandeep Singh Gill was at Expand North Star to debate a key subject going through the AI ecosystem: how innovators and founders from totally different elements of the world, particularly the worldwide South, guarantee that their voices and realities are acknowledged. During the ‘Emerging Economies: AI Governance at a Tipping Point’ Fireside chat, Singh Gill stated essential inroads to show world AI governance extra inclusive are being made, however there may be nonetheless progress to be seen.
He believes knowledge collaboration and a extra knowledge commons method would profit the entire AI ecosystem, making entry simpler and faster for all. Another distinction will be made by the founders themselves, and he urged them to withstand big-picture challenges. “I might say, remedy laborious issues, don’t go for the simple stuff that we’ve seen throughout the earlier two generations of digital applied sciences. Go for tougher challenges, societal challenges, equivalent to enhancing productiveness in agriculture and meals manufacturing techniques, or extra local weather change resilience – get to the guts of these sorts of issues and keep away from the low-hanging fruit,” he stated.
All-New Agreements Forged at Expand North Star
Day three of Expand North Star noticed a raft of partnership agreements signed by Mobility Fintech Group (MFG) – a premier AI-enabled fintech resolution powering the automotive sector. During a high-profile signing, AHOY Technology introduced its funding of US$2 million into MFG, underscoring its dedication to fostering innovation and advancing digital infrastructure within the area. This partnership unites AHOY’s cutting-edge deep-tech capabilities with MFG’s seamless, AI-driven mobility fintech options, embedded as a multi-stakeholder 360 platform for sellers, automobile leases, banks, insurance coverage and shoppers.
Another partnership with Mawarid Finance, a number one Sharia-compliant Finance firm licensed by the UAE Central Bank, whereby a novel credit score facility for automotive rental and fleet firms will likely be built-in into the MFG platform, thus empowering SME finance entry throughout this vital ecosystem within the UAE. The firm additionally partnered with Mazeed to leverage their AI accounting suite and e-Invoicing readiness platform to assist the ecosystem of SMEs within the mobility sector within the UAE to simplify monetary administration and operations.Expand North Star 2025 continues on Wednesday. For extra info, please go to: expandnorthstar.com.
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