Expand North Star 2026
Expand North Star 2026 takes place on 8–10 December 2026 at Dubai Exhibition Centre, Dubai. It is organised by DWTC, and B2DB lists 32 speakers and 34 sessions announced so far.
Expand North Star brings together startups, investors, corporates, governments and innovators from around the world to accelerate funding, partnerships, market expansion and business growth in Dubai. The 2026 edition runs 8–10 December at Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo City Dubai, alongside The GITEX Summit on 7 December at Dubai World Trade Centre.
Key facts
| Dates | 8–10 December 2026 (upcoming) |
|---|---|
| Venue | Dubai Exhibition Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| Organiser | DWTC |
| Series | Expand North Star |
| Speakers | 32 |
| Sessions | 34 |
| Stages | Physical, AI, Hardware & New Capital, LIVX, Quantum, Dual-Use & Frontier Funds |
| Sponsors | 12 |
| Official site | expandnorthstar.com/agenda |
Speakers (32)
Compiled from the published agenda; speakers can claim and verify their own entry.
- Fadi Ghandour Executive Chairman, Wamda Capital
- Tariq Bin Hendi Astra Tech
- Saeed Amidi Chief Executive Officer, Plug and Play
- Federico Menna Chief Executive Officer, 28DIGITAL
- Fernando Morillo Global Head of Retail Banking, Mashreq Bank
- Dr. Eric Verdin President and CEO, Buck Institute for Research on Aging
- JF Gauthier CEO & Founder, Startup Genome
- John Renkema Partner & Head of Private Markets, Avida International
- Rocky Yu Founder & CEO, AGI House
- Sherry Hu Managing Director, Hony Capital
- Tenry Fu Co-founder & CEO, Spectro Cloud
- Tim Shi Cofounder & Board Member Cresta AI, Recursive Superintelligence
- Yitz Applbaum Chairman, Kinetica Ventures
- Alex Mashrabov CEO & Co-Founder, Higgsfield AI
- Fabrizio Del Maffeo Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Axelera AI
- Markus Pflitsch Founder, CEO & Chairman, Terra Quantum AG
- Roman Axelrod Founder, XPANCEO
- Yuri Misnik Chief Technology Officer, inDrive
- Wen Sang Co-Founder & COO, Genspark
- Pranav Sood Chief Financial Officer, Airwallex
- Saemin Ahn Managing Partner, Rakuten Capital
- Alex Aliper President, Insilico Medicine
- Connor Leahy US Director, ControlAI
- Tony Han CEO and CoFounder, WeRide
- Nikolay Seleznev Co-founder, Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer, Uzum
- Charlie Stephens SVP, VC and ecosystem, Fidelity Investments
- Deepak Jayaraman Founding Partner IBEX, Partner, Antler
- Franck Mouriaux Acting CEO, FADA
- Gilles Backhus Founder & CSO, Tensordyne
- Prof. Ganesh Ramakrishnan Institute Chair Professor, Dept of CSE IIT Bombay & Founding Director, BharatGen Technology Foundation
- Sudip Roy Co-Founder & CTO, Adaption Labs
- Trevor Martin Co-Founder & CEO, Mammoth Biosciences
Agenda (34 sessions)
Day 1 — Tuesday 8 December 2026
- Do Geopolitical Shifts Create Million-Dollar Ventures in Emerging Markets? 11:50–12:10 · Physical, AI, Hardware & New Capital — Fadi Ghandour
- The Real Moat Has a Motherboard 12:10–12:35 · Physical, AI, Hardware & New Capital — Saeed Amidi
- Meet the New Hire. It’s Made of Metal 12:35–13:00 · Physical, AI, Hardware & New Capital
- The Superintelligence Dilemma 13:00–13:20 · Physical, AI, Hardware & New Capital — Rocky Yu
- Sovereign AI Has a Front Door. Who Gets Through? 13:20–14:00 · Physical, AI, Hardware & New Capital — Federico Menna, JF Gauthier
- From Utility to Outcomes: Where Does Artificial Intelligence Value Really Land? 14:00–14:30 · Physical, AI, Hardware & New Capital
- Next Capital Mix - How Digital Assets are Reshaping Institutional Portfolios 14:30–14:50 · Physical, AI, Hardware & New Capital
- Why Dubai? 14:50–15:00 · Physical, AI, Hardware & New Capital
- Capital, Ecosystem, and Regulatory Freedom: Building Unicorns at Unprecedented Speed in the UAE 15:00–15:30 · Physical, AI, Hardware & New Capital — Tariq Bin Hendi, Fernando Morillo
- What Will Actually Build the Next Generation of Technology Companies? 15:30–15:45 · Physical, AI, Hardware & New Capital
- From Lab Bench to Ticker Symbol 15:45–16:00 · Physical, AI, Hardware & New Capital
Day 2 — Wednesday 9 December 2026
- Welcome to LIVX 11:00–11:10 · LIVX
- Opening Panel: AI, Drug Discovery and the Future of Precision Medicine 11:10–11:30 · LIVX
- The UAE’s Genetic Mission 11:30–11:45 · LIVX
- From Lab to Market: What’s to Come 11:45–12:15 · LIVX
- Healthspan at Scale: The Future of Population Health 12:15–12:45 · LIVX
- Expert Exchange: The Capital Behind the Cure 12:45–13:10 · LIVX
- The longevity gold rush: Who profits from keeping us young? 13:10–13:30 · LIVX
- Global Biotech Outlook: India and Asia 13:30–13:55 · LIVX
- Setting the Standard for Evidence-based Longevity Medicine 13:55–14:15 · LIVX
- Spotlight Dialogue: Designing the world’s first future-proof longevity city 14:15–14:30 · LIVX
- Turning Back the Clock: Biological Age & Cellular Repair 14:30–14:50 · LIVX
- Care that never clocks off: AI companions for an ageing world 14:55–15:15 · LIVX
- Roundtable of Longevity Clinics Exclusive 15:15–16:15 · LIVX — Dr. Eric Verdin
- School of Health - Catalyst Conversation Panel: Peak at Any Age 16:15–16:30 · LIVX
- Closing Statements: “Treat the Disease or Treat Ageing Itself” 16:30–16:45 · LIVX
Day 3 — Thursday 10 December 2026
- How Institutional Capital is Navigating Today's Market 11:35–12:00 · Quantum, Dual-Use & Frontier Funds — John Renkema, Sherry Hu, Yitz Applbaum
- Presight Future Forum Panel 12:00–12:20 · Quantum, Dual-Use & Frontier Funds
- Who Gets Sued When the Agent Gets It Wrong 12:20–12:45 · Quantum, Dual-Use & Frontier Funds
- Robotic Demo by Booster Robotics 12:45–12:55 · Quantum, Dual-Use & Frontier Funds
- Dual-Use Gold Rush 12:55–13:25 · Quantum, Dual-Use & Frontier Funds
- The Compute Bill Is in the Gross Margin 13:25–13:45 · Quantum, Dual-Use & Frontier Funds — Tenry Fu, Tim Shi
- Strategy First, Rulebook Later: What Azerbaijan Is Building for AI 13:45–14:00 · Quantum, Dual-Use & Frontier Funds
- SUPERNOVA FINALS 14:30–17:00 · Quantum, Dual-Use & Frontier Funds
Organisers, sponsors and partners
Organiser (1)
Sponsors (12)
Mashreq · Google Cloud · Dtec (Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus) · GITEX Europe · SAP · Snowflake · Amazon Web Services · Oraseya Capital · Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation · Dealroom · Jetro - Japan External Trade Organization · ProChile
Media Partners (22)
Bonjour Idee · Gulf Business · Moniify · Robot Magazine · Whats ON Dubai · The Fintech Times · Startup Info · SmartVille · TahawulTech · Facemark · Lucidity Insights · Arab Times News · Karo Startup · entARABI · 971life · Arab Founders · TechItUp ME · StartupNews.fyi · Startups and the city · Inc. Arabia · Pathfounders · Integrator Media
Exhibitors (9)
ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA · Bulgarian SME Promotion Agency · Kerala Startup Mission · Italian Trade Agency (ICE) · The Department of International Trade Promotion - Thailand · Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia · RAK Innovation City · Mobile and Electronic Devices Export Promotion Council (MEDEPC) · Innovative Private Sector Development Project II (IPSD II)
Supporting Partners (22)
AICRA · Seedicon · Zentral · EDC India · Startup Syndicate · 24six9 · Start Up Energy Transition (SET) · Danish Startup Group · Ai Salon · INSME · Founder Institute · Vestbee · InnovUp · Morse Bridge · APCO worldwide · WORSO · Xclub · France Digitale · All About Startups · WTITC · Cybersecurity Advisors Network (CyAN) · Tech Nordic Advocates
Source: the published agenda. See how B2DB compiles its records.