DIFC Says Its AI and Fintech Firms Top 2,000 as Dubai Future Finance Week Closes

According to DIFC, the week-long event had 1,000 speakers across 85 events, 13 main forums and 16 stages at sites around Dubai. It was held under the patronage of Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and President of DIFC. The programme combined the Dubai FinTech Summit with forums on Islamic finance, sustainability, family wealth, asset tokenisation, private markets, investment and insurance.

The numbers are DIFC's case that Dubai can hold its own in the contest for the firms building financial technology and AI. The centre is the main vehicle for the D33 economic agenda's goal of placing Dubai among the world's top four financial centres. DIFC also said the number of wealth and asset management firms based there now exceeds 600.

Several international firms used the week to announce regional headquarters in Dubai, the centre said. They included Absa, J.P. Morgan Private Bank, LianLian and Robinhood. DIFC did not give details of the size or timing of those operations.

DIFC also said it plans to launch Dubai FinTech Stack, a package of services for start-ups covering customer onboarding, payments, risk management, financial security and AI integration. It did not give a launch date or pricing.

The partnerships announced include an agreement with Japan's Mizuho Financial Group to help 6,000 Japanese start-ups expand into the Middle East, Africa and South Asia through DIFC's Innovation Hub. DIFC's Ignyte platform signed partnerships with Al-Futtaim Finance, Circle and Wio covering AI, digital banking, payments, digital assets and Web3. The National Digital Talent Incubator, the Innovation Hub, Emirates NBD and Visa said they would set up an AI accelerator for mid-sized companies. DIFC also announced plans for an Islamic finance innovation centre with a group of financial institutions, intended to bring regulators, banks, technology firms, Sharia scholars and standard-setters together.

The week produced several research publications. A Digital Economy 2.0 report, produced by DIFC with Asia House, forecast that global technology spending will reach $5.6 trillion in 2026, that AI will contribute about $22.3 trillion to the global economy by 2030, and that the global fintech market will be worth $1.5 trillion by the same year. The Dubai Financial Services Authority published a report on moving asset tokenisation from pilots to production and the requirements for scaling it responsibly. DIFC Courts and partners released a paper proposing a global standard for resolving disputes over transactions recorded on blockchains.

On skills, DIFC said it will expand its academy tenfold to 370,000 square feet in Zabeel District, with room for 50,000 learners a year from 2030. The 29 founding partners of its One Million Learners initiative, launched in May 2025, have so far reached more than 130,000 people, the centre said. Its Family Wealth Centre announced a 2027 internship programme for the next generation of family business leaders.

Arif Amiri, chief executive of the DIFC Authority, said the event had brought fintech, banking, insurance, private markets, tokenisation, Islamic finance and family wealth together in one place, and that the initiatives announced showed how collaboration in finance can support Dubai's economic ambitions.

DIFC said the second edition of Dubai Future Finance Week will take place in May 2027, about six months after the first.