News

GITEX 2025 Opens In Dubai With AI, Quantum And Biotech In Focus

The 45th edition takes place at the Dubai World Trade Centre and Dubai Harbour, and underscores the UAE’s position as a global tech and AI hub.

Published

4 weeks ago

October 13, 2025

Nour Nasir

gitex 2025 opens in dubai with ai quantum and biotech in focus

GITEX Global 2025 opened in Dubai today, drawing technology leaders, policymakers and investors to a city positioning itself at the center of the AI economy.

The 45th edition runs across the Dubai World Trade Centre and Dubai Harbour — the largest GITEX yet — and turns attention to how artificial intelligence, quantum computing and biotechnology are reshaping global industries.

Organizers say this year’s event moves past theory as AI is now well integrated into critical sectors such as healthcare, green data centers and semiconductor assembly lines. Governments and companies are expected to outline how they’ll handle AI governance, data sovereignty and ethics, alongside new pushes in chip manufacturing, cybersecurity and sustainable infrastructure.

The program includes tracks on quantum-powered computation, precision medicine and climate resilience — areas now defining the race for digital competitiveness. Exhibitors are expected to showcase advances in semiconductors, automation systems and energy-efficient data centers, technologies increasingly seen as the backbone of national AI strategies.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development estimates the AI market will approach $4.8 trillion by 2033, intensifying the race to secure computing power and data capacity.

Also Read: UAE Deploys First Fleet Of Driverless Electric Cargo Trucks

For the UAE, GITEX highlights its wider strategy to become a leading AI-driven economy under Vision 2030, anchored by investment in digital infrastructure, biotech and advanced manufacturing. The country’s universities and research centers are also deepening AI and quantum programs to feed a growing demand for skilled talent.

Across the region, governments are backing similar pushes as geopolitical and economic pressures make technological self-reliance a priority. Dubai’s role, through GITEX, is to keep that momentum visible — a meeting ground where global and regional ambitions align.

News

AltoVolo Opens Orders For Limited Edition Sigma eVTOLs

Early buyers can now reserve build slots for AltoVolo’s 500-mile hybrid aircraft through a new online configurator.

Published

1 week ago

November 1, 2025

Nour Nasir

AltoVolo

AltoVolo has started taking pre-orders for its first electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, the Sigma, moving the startup closer to commercial rollout. Customers can now secure a build slot with a £860 deposit and customize every detail online — from paintwork to seatbelt stitching. It’s the first configurator of its kind for a civilian eVTOL, mirroring how luxury car brands let clients tailor performance models before production.

The Sigma runs on a hybrid-electric tilting jet system built for long range and low noise. It can travel up to 500 miles at a 220-mph cruise, and is over 80% quieter than a helicopter. The three-seater weighs just 980kg and can maintain stable flight even if one jet fails. Safety systems include triple-redundant controls, thrust-vectoring stability and a ballistic parachute.

“We will be delivering an ultra-refined hybrid electric aircraft,” said founder and CEO Will Wood. “We believe there are thousands of customers for this type of cutting-edge technology”.

The first 100 units will come with exclusive materials and finishes. AltoVolo is also setting up a global service and maintenance network, with early planning for overhaul schedules already underway. The company’s focus on ownership experience echoes its ambition to anchor itself alongside established aviation brands rather than pure tech ventures.

To help new owners train, the company has built a full-scale simulator that replicates the Sigma cockpit in carbon fiber and leather. Pilots can log time toward a license using the system, aligned with the new US MOSAIC rules that ease certification for powered-lift aircraft. Certification work in Europe and the UK continues in parallel, signaling growing international alignment around light sport and eVTOL regulation.

Also Read: Snapchat Opens Qatar Office To Deepen Gulf Presence

Noise inside the cabin has become another design focus. Engineers are refining internal vibration levels and developing a responsive soundscape that shifts with each jet’s power load — part feedback, part theatre.

Urban air mobility projects across the Gulf and elsewhere are pushing regulators and manufacturers to meet in the middle. Dubai, Riyadh and Doha have each outlined plans for air taxi corridors this decade. AltoVolo’s hybrid Sigma, sitting between electric promise and aviation realism, looks built for that middle ground.