Already an innovation and investment epicentre, the spotlight on the region as a world-leading startup and socio-economic development hub will be amplified at GITEX ASIA x Ai Everything Singapore, Asia’s largest inaugural tech, startup, and digital investments event.

Organised by Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) and KAOUN International in affiliation with GITEX GLOBAL, the world’s largest tech show, the first-ever Asian edition takes place at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, from 23-25 April, 2025. Under the theme ‘Advancing Bold Partnerships in Asia’, regional and international stakeholders are invited to explore collaborative opportunities, examine the latest cross-sector breakthroughs, enter new markets, and access new capital through one of the show’s most eagerly awaited events: North Star Asia.

The World’s Largest Startup and Investor Event Now in Asia

Reigning supreme as the biggest, most international showcase of global startups, North Star Asia debuts hosting over 350 innovative early-stage tech companies from 60-plus countries – including Series A+ startups from over 20 industry sectors – alongside 250-plus global investors with US$200 billion in assets under management (AUM).

Hosting the world’s most tailored investor programme with an exclusive matchmaking service, the event has already locked in over 2,500 pre-arranged meetings. As the largest startup, accelerator, and investor connector event, founders, venture capitalists, ecosystem enablers, and tech leaders join a dynamic platform specially curated to facilitate investments, showcase projects, achieve scale, and forge new partnerships.

Among the core programme gathering over 400+ global speakers, is a must-attend series of expert investor panels where experts reveal strategies to attract visibility, identify innovation champions, and ensure tech investments fulfil their potential and fuel regional growth. Discussions will revolve around the hottest trends and topics transcending the global startup and investor ecosystems, including M&As, IPOs, conditions for reaching unicorn status, and striking a balance between quick returns and long-term growth.

Yuki Shirato, Managing Director at Techstars Tokyo Accelerator, a sector-agnostic programme committed to advancing world-class startups focused on emerging technologies, said: “Singapore has a very strategic location where Western and Eastern companies can converge, connect, and collaborate on neutral ground - this is very exciting because it’s rare that so many advanced tech companies from around the world come together in one place. SEA is growing with increasing competition and a young population, and there is so much potential for startups to make their way through to unicorn and decacorn status.”

Global Tech Investment Elite Unite in Singapore

With AI boasting the potential to add $1 trillion to SEA GDP by 2030 (Kearney), a distinguished line-up of international investors betting big on AI’s regional acceleration are joining GITEX ASIA x Ai Everything Singapore. These include the Vietnamese GenAI Fund, SEA’s first dedicated GenAI venture fund; 500 Global, the US VC firm with US$2.3 billion AUM; and Singapore’s Vertex Holdings, managing assets exceeding US$6 billion.

Chua Kee Lock, CEO, Vertex Holdings, said: “SEA excels in applying AI technologies to solve regional challenges. This pragmatic approach allows companies to create immediate impact by implementing AI solutions, addressing specific market needs across sectors like fintech, healthcare, agriculture, and logistics. By bringing together startups and investors from across the region and beyond, GITEX ASIA can enable the exchange of ideas across markets with different regulatory environments, unlocking new possibilities for all. It’s heartening to see the expansion of the GITEX brand into Asia.”

The largest international startup and scaleup showcase anywhere in Asia

Taking place with GITEX ASIA x Ai Everything Singapore, North Star Asia features a series of exclusive country spotlights and showcases throughout its three-day duration, bridging innovation from over 50 nations where high-impact startups are accelerating digital transformation and attracting domestic and foreign investments. With over 40% exhibiting in SEA for the first time, the show also features a distinguished selection of Vietnam’s most game-changing startups.

These include Enfarm, the muti-award-winning Vietnamese agritech startup revolutionising sustainable farming with AI-powered, real-time soil diagnostics and IOT-enabled precision farming tools; ADT Global VN, a multi-award-winning digital innovation agency leading Vietnam’s AI-driven interactivity, immersive media, and virtual branding transformation; and MedCAT, transforming healthcare and insurance through intelligent document understanding and medical data automation.

Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam are among the countries taking part, as are the Netherlands, UK and the UAE. One of the most prominent UAE-based participants is XPANCEO. The deep tech specialist has raised over US$40 million in funding and is currently developing the next generation of computing through an invisible and weightless smart contact lens with wireless data transmission and augmented reality capabilities.

Roman Axelrod, XPANCEO Founder and Managing Director, revealed: “We're particularly curious about this inaugural edition in Singapore. Having participated in GITEX GLOBAL in Dubai twice, we’ve seen how powerful this platform is at bringing together the most ambitious innovations and industry pioneers. Both times, the experience was incredibly valuable, so naturally, we’re eager to see how the event will evolve in Asia. We’re looking forward to the energy of the first event in a region that’s shaping the future of global innovation.”

Showcasing the most award-winning regional and global startups

As detailed in Founders Forum Group’s Destination Southeast Asia Report 2024, the SEA tech startup ecosystem reached a combined market valuation of US$454 billion in H1 2024, the highest figure year on record. The driving forces behind this ascension are exhibiting in Singapore, where the region’s most award-winning startups showcase disruptive applications spanning 20-plus industry sectors, including biotech, cybersecurity, energy, green tech, healthcare, Industry 5.0, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and telecom.

The ‘AI 100 - Powered by Nebius’ features a curated selection of 100 award-winning AI startups from over 30 countries, while the ‘Singapore 100’, which debuts with SGTech and Ace.SG as its supporting partners, presents the top 100 most promising Singaporean ventures poised for global success. North Star Asia also presents the ‘Supernova Challenge’, the world’s ultimate pitch competition, welcoming aspirational founders to showcase projects, source investment deals, and win their share of a US$100,000 prize pool alongside additional prizes from Nebius and JTC.