World Summit AI Qatar returns on 9-10 December 2025, organised with Qatar’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT, bringing 100+ speakers across 10 tracks to advance responsible AI in MENA.
Now in its second Qatar edition, the summit convenes enterprise leaders, startups, academics, policymakers, and investors to tackle the most urgent questions around responsible AI development and deployment. The summit will be held at the Doha Exhibition & Convention Center (DECC)
A flagship platform aligned with Qatar’s Digital Agenda 2030
Positioned as a regional hub for ethical, inclusive, and transformative AI, the event reflects Qatar’s Digital Agenda 2030 and the country’s push to embed trustworthy AI across sectors.
“The State of Qatar is shaping a regional model for responsible and inclusive AI adoption… building a future where technology empowers every individual and sector across society,” said Duha Al Buhendi, Digital Society and Digital Competencies Director, MCIT.
Theme for 2025: “A Brave New World: Building the Future with AI”
The two-day programme spans 10 tracks across 4 stages, featuring 100+ speakers from leading global and regional institutions. Confirmed speakers include:
- H.E. Deemah AlYahya, Secretary-General, Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO)
- Simon See, Global Head, NVIDIA AI Technology Centre, NVIDIA
- Chris Stephens, VP & Field CTO, Groq
- Lucia Velasco, Head of AI Policy, United Nations
- James Sayles, Chief AI Officer & Director of Global GRC, Halliburton
- Mohamed Shaaban, Director of AI Product, Scale AI
- Nour Al Hassan, Founder & CEO, Tarjama / Arabic.AI
- Santiago Bañales Lopez, Managing Director & CEO, Iberdrola Innovation Middle East
- Cobus Greyling, Chief Evangelist, Kore.ai
- Jesper Schleimann, AI Officer – EMEA, SAP
- Nikita Gordeev, CTO, Snoonu
- Rajarshi Gupta, Former Head of AI, Coinbase
- Jean-Marc Rickli, Head of Global & Emerging Risks, Geneva Centre for Security Policy
- Nizar Hneini, Managing Director & Head of Digital & Services Middle East, Roland Berger
- Lars Gehrmann, Group Chief Digital & AI Officer, Qatar Insurance Group
- Tee Ganbold, Co-Founder & CEO, FrontierOne
- Katherine Munro, AI Transformation Manager, Swisscom
- Amjad Al Sabbah, Group VP, MEA, Sprinklr
- Rohini S. Swaminathan, Climate & Environment Data Lead, UNICEF
- Alice Leng, CEO, Fina.ai
- Leah Perry, Esq., Vice Chair, Board of Directors, AI Trust Foundation (US)
- Loubna Bouarfa, Founder, OKRA.ai
“Returning to Doha alongside MCIT underscores our shared commitment to shaping an AI future that is strategic, ethical and globally competitive,” said Maisie Holder, Managing Director of World Summit AI and InspiredMinds!.
2025 key themes
- Frontier AI: AGI progress, robotics, encrypted learning, multimodal systems
- Next-Gen Infrastructure: Compute supply, data centres, and regional AI infrastructure
- Accelerating AI Adoption: Playbooks for enterprise and government ROI at pace
- Future Energy: Sustainability, grid optimisation, and decarbonisation with AI
- Responsible AI: Governance models rooted in transparency and cultural context
- The Global AI Edge: Positioning the Gulf as a bridge across Africa, Asia, and Europe
Why it matters for MENA
The summit lands as MENA’s AI market accelerates toward the US$166.3 billion mark by 2030 (industry estimate). Through MCIT, Qatar continues to expand digital infrastructure, talent programmes, and cross-sector knowledge exchange, aiming to convert AI pilots into scaled, resilient systems that power new economies, inclusive education, and solutions for challenges from water security to urban mobility.
What attendees can expect
- Executive-level playbooks for scaling trustworthy AI
- Technical deep dives on compute, platforms, and deployment patterns
- Policy and governance sessions tailored to regional contexts
- Startup and investor networking to catalyse partnerships
- Sector spotlights across energy, finance, health, public services, and mobility
Registration is open via the event’s official website. World Summit AI Qatar 2025 aims to turn bold ideas into cross-border collaborations with tangible outcomes for the region.
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Last Updated on November 15, 2025 by Safiya K
