Expand North Star at Expo City Dubai 2026

2026-12-08 · Dubai

Dubai Exhibition Centre

Expo City Dubai, Expo Road, Dubai South

Expand North Star brings global startup founders, investors, and technology innovators to the Dubai Exhibition Centre for three days of business opportunities, exhibition showcases, and specialised programming.

Expand North Star 2026 will bring the world's startup founders, investors and technology innovators to Dubai Exhibition Centre from 8 to 10 December 2026, creating three days of networking, investment and global business opportunities.

Founder brief

Who should attend

Founders operating across artificial intelligence, fintech, healthtech, biotechnology, and climate energy will find relevant tracks here. It is particularly suitable for entrepreneurs seeking international investor meetings, stage expansion, or hands-on exposure to creator economy tools and immersive tech applications.

What happens

The schedule spans exhibition pods alongside targeted tracks. Founders can navigate Startup X Labs for lifecycle guidance from ideation to exit, explore creator platforms at Content Nation X, see immersive lifestyle tech at NS Play, and join DigiHealth-Biotech for health-focused breakthroughs.

Who's in the room

Thousands of international entrepreneurs gather alongside investors and technology executives. Confirmed speakers include Nyx Ventures general partner Alvin Xiao, Cerebras Systems CEO Andrew Feldman, CoinSwitch co-founder Ashish Singhal, ZigChain co-founder Abdul Rafay, and Kerala Startup Mission CEO Anoop Ambika.

How to prepare

Founders utilising the single-day exhibition pod via the Founder's Pass should prepare clear collateral and concise product demos tailored to rapid booth conversations. Review the specialized tracks beforehand to schedule targeted partner discussions that align directly with your growth stage.

Organizer: Dubai World Trade Centre

Register

At a glance

Format
Three-day exhibition featuring exhibition pods for startups, investor meetings, educational sessions, and specialised programmes including Startup X Labs, Content Nation X, NS Play, and DigiHealth-Biotech. A new Founder's Pass allows selected startups to secure a dedicated exhibition pod for one day
Attendance
Thousands of entrepreneurs from dozens of countries
Sectors
Ai ml, Fintech, Healthtech, Biotech, Climate energy

Agenda

  1. Startup X Labs — Guides founders from idea development to business expansion and successful exits.
  2. Content Nation X — Focusing on AI-powered creator economy innovation.
  3. NS Play — For immersive technology and lifestyle innovation.
  4. DigiHealth-Biotech — Dedicated to healthcare and biotechnology solutions.

Speakers, judges and hosts

  • Abdulla Algergawi — Senior Sales Manager (Speaker)
  • Abdul Rafay — Co-Founder, ZigChain (Speaker)
  • Alona Shevtsova — CEO, Sends (Speaker)
  • Alvin Xiao — General Partner, Nyx Ventures (Speaker)
  • Andrew Feldman — CEO & Co-Founder, Cerebras Systems (Speaker)
  • Andrew Vranjes — Chief Revenue Officer (Speaker)
  • Anoop Ambika — CEO, Kerala Startup Mission (Speaker)
  • Antonio Zappulla — CEO (Speaker)
  • Ashish Singhal — Co-Founder, CoinSwitch (Speaker)
  • Ashwin Rajmohan — Senior Sales Manager (Speaker)
  • Christian Weedbrook — CEO & FounderጨማሪrolepièceunmatchedcompanyXanadu Quantum TechnologiesbioDEWA recently met him to discuss strategic cooperation in energy systems. The fourth industrial revolution unicorn, Xanadu has be (Speaker)
  • Christoph Koster — CEO, Ruya (Speaker)
  • Czhang Lin — Head of LBank Labs and LBank Partner, LBank (Speaker)
  • Dato' Abdul Radzeen — Founder & CEO, ThinkQuran (Speaker)
  • Dato’ Abdul Radzeen — Creator of NeoKhat, Founder & CEO, ThinkQ Tech LLC (NeoKhat) (Speaker)
  • Dr. Jörg Goschin — CEOጨማሪ, KfW Capital (Speaker)
  • Dr. Marwan AlZarouni — CEO of AI for Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) and CEO of Dubai Blockchain Center, DET (Speaker)
  • Dr. Valentyn S Volkov — Founder, XPANCEO (Speaker)
  • Dr. Zain Farooq — Co-Founder (MYTM) & MD (Barq PK), MyTM (Speaker)
  • Elias Abou Samra — CEO (Speaker)
  • Eric Piscini — CEO, Hashgraph (Speaker)
  • Fadi Ghandour — Executive Chairman, Wamda Capital (Speaker)
  • Faisal Mustafa A. Almonai — Chairman & Co-Founder (Speaker)
  • Farsh Fallah — COOchain or similar placeholder, wait, title is COO, company is S Technology (Serenity), bio is Farshid Fallah is a visionary leader... (Speaker)
  • Federico Menna — CEO, EIT Digital (Speaker)
  • Florence Bulté — Chief Sustainability Officer, Chalhoub Group (Speaker)
  • Gilberto Silva — Founder, StriverጨማሪrolepièceunmatchedcompanyStriverbioFormer Arsenal and Brazil national team football player, part of the 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning squad. He is also the founder of Striver, focusin (Speaker)
  • Giorgio Zinetti — Chief Technology Officer, Cardano Foundation (Speaker)
  • Greg Jackson — CEOጨማሪrolepièceunmatchedcompanyOctopus Energybio (Speaker)
  • Harrison Lung — Group Chief Strategy office, e& (Speaker)
  • Hasan Haider Hasan Ali — Founder & Managing Partner, Plus VC (Speaker)
  • H.E. Alia Abdulla Al Mazrouei — Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEsጨማሪrolepièceunmatchedcompanyUAE CabinetbioSupporting entrepreneurship and SMEs in the UAE (Speaker)
  • Heather Goldman — Independent Director & Trustee, Brookfield Public Securities Group Global Fund Complexes (Speaker)
  • H.E. Dr. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR) — Minister IT and DS, Information Technology and Digital Services Department (Speaker)
  • H.E. Omar Sultan Alolama — Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applicationsጨማሪ (Speaker)
  • Jack Hidary — CEOጨማሪ (Speaker)
  • Jason Derulo — Investor and Award-Winning Singer & SongwriterጨማሪrolepièceunmatchedcompanybioAward-winning American singer, songwriter, and dancer known for hits like "Whatcha Say" and "Talk Dirty." He is also an inv (Speaker)
  • Jawad Mahmood — Founder (MyTM) & CIBO (Barq PK), MyTM (Speaker)
  • Jimmy Zhigang Su — Chief Security Officer, Binance (Speaker)
  • Joseph Chee — Vice Chairman (Speaker)
  • Julian Anderson — Senior Sales Manager (Speaker)
  • Julien Fredonie — Global Head of Strategic Partnerships & Corporate Venturing Europe & Africa (Speaker)
  • Justin Grooms — President, Bolt (Speaker)
  • Karim Chouman — Founder & CEO, Myne (Speaker)
  • Karl Naim — Chief Commercial Officer & SEO, XBTO (Speaker)
  • Kevin Lee — Chief Business Officer, Gate (Speaker)
  • Lily Liu — President, Solana Foundation (Speaker)
  • Lyle Wraxall — Chief Executive, Digital Isle of Man (Speaker)
  • Madhav Narayan — CEO, IIT Madras (IITM) Global (Speaker)
  • Magzhan Kenesbai — Chief Growth Officer, Presight (Speaker)
  • Marcus Tan — Co-Founder, Carousell (Speaker)
  • Marina Bzovîi — Director, Moldova Innovation Technology Park (MITP) (Speaker)
  • Mark Thompson — Co-Founder and Chief Technologist, PsiQuantum (Speaker)
  • Mohamed Aladdin — General Partner, DPI Venture Capital (Speaker)
  • Mohcen Hamrouche — Sales Executive (Speaker)
  • Nader Al Bastaki — Managing Director (Speaker)
  • Neeraj Makin — Group Head of Strategy, Analytics and Venture Capital, Emirates NBD (Speaker)
  • Neil Patel — Co-FounderጨማሪrolepièceunmatchedcompanyNP DigitalbioRenowned digital marketing expert (Speaker)
  • Nick Santonastasso — Global keynote speaker, entrepreneur, bestselling author, and resilience expert (Speaker)
  • Oliver Stauber — CEO, KuCoin Europe (Speaker)
  • Peng Xiao — CEOጨማሪrolepièceunmatchedcompanyG42bio (Speaker)
  • Prof. Dr. Naseem Naqvi MBE — Founder & President, The British Blockchain Association (BBA) (Speaker)
  • Rajesh Sawhney — Founder & General Partner, GFS Accelerator (Speaker)
  • Rajveer Singh — Senior Sales Manager (Speaker)
  • Ramana Kumar — CEO - Middle East, Paytm (Speaker)
  • Ran Neuner — Founder, Crypto Banter (Speaker)
  • Ravi Jain — Investment Director, TDK Ventures (Speaker)
  • Rhett Power — CEO, Accountability Inc. (Speaker)
  • Riaz Mehta — Founder & CEO, Cryptoknights & Ritestream (Speaker)
  • Romain Braud — Head of Digital Assets, Arab Bank Switzerland (Speaker)
  • Roman Axelrod — Founder, XPANCEO (Speaker)
  • Roman Cyganov — Founder & CEO (Speaker)
  • Ronaldo Cohin — CEO, Jade (Speaker)
  • Ruben Bombardi — General Counsel (Speaker)
  • Samantha Evans — Managing Director, MENA, Startup Genome (Speaker)
  • Sean o'Sullivan — Co-Founder & Managing General PartnerጨማሪrolepièceunmatchedcompanySOSVbioCo-founder and Managing General Partner, SOSV, a global venture capital firm with accelerator programs like IndieBio and HAX. (Speaker)
  • Sherif Tawfik — Chief Partnership Officer, G42 and Microsoft Global Alliance (Speaker)
  • Sir Martin Sorrell — Founder/Executive ChairmanጨማሪrolepièceunmatchedcompanyS4 CapitalbioFounder, WPP, the world's largest advertising and PR group, and founder/executive chairman of S4 Capital plc. (Speaker)
  • Stephen Richardson — Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Banking (Speaker)
  • Sung Sik — Head of EMEA, Samsung Ventures (Speaker)
  • Sunita Grote — Lead, Ventures, UNICEF Office of Innovation (Speaker)
  • Taavi Madiberk — CEO & Co-Founder, Skeleton Technologies (Speaker)
  • Tej Lalvani — CEO, Vitabiotics (Speaker)
  • Tomaso Rodriguez — CEO (Speaker)
  • Vanitha Venugopal — CEO, Tamil Nadu Technology Hub (Speaker)
  • Vincent Kadar — CEO, Polymath (Speaker)
  • Vinod Khosla — Co-Founder & Investment PartnerጨማሪrolepièceunmatchedcompanyKhosla VenturesbioCo-founder, Sun Microsystems and founder of Khosla Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in innovative technologies. (Speaker)
  • Wen Sang — Co-Founder & COO (Speaker)
  • Yannick Marin Isambert — Head of Airbus Central Innovation & Airbus Corporate Innovation, Airbus (Speaker)
  • Zarko Ackovik — Director - Commercial (Speaker)
  • Zarko Acokvik — Director - Commercialጨማሪrolepièceunmatchedcompanybio (Speaker)

Sponsors and partners

  • GITEX Global

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