Dubai AI Week 2025 to Host World’s Largest Generative AI Championship with $272K Prize

Vehicles drive on Sheikh Zayed road after it was cleaned from flood water, backdropped by the world's tallest building of Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 19 April 2024. (EPA)
Vehicles drive on Sheikh Zayed road after it was cleaned from flood water, backdropped by the world's tallest building of Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 19 April 2024. (EPA)
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Dubai AI Week 2025 to Host World’s Largest Generative AI Championship with $272K Prize

Vehicles drive on Sheikh Zayed road after it was cleaned from flood water, backdropped by the world's tallest building of Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 19 April 2024. (EPA)
Vehicles drive on Sheikh Zayed road after it was cleaned from flood water, backdropped by the world's tallest building of Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 19 April 2024. (EPA)

Dubai is set to unite the global AI ecosystem and advance its future-readiness during a bold exploration of how artificial intelligence is reshaping our world at Dubai AI Week, taking place April 21 to 25.

The inaugural event will bring together over 10,000 participants, AI pioneers and policymakers from 100 countries to explore AI’s transformative role in business, governance, and society.

Featuring global championships, high-level summits, hackathons and an expo zone, the Week will set the stage for the future of global AI innovation.

With collaboration being integral to the success of the global AI landscape, the event joins forces with key government entities, global tech organisations and industry pioneers including Meta, IBM, Google, Microsoft, Gartner, OpenAI, Swift, Nvidia, Palantir, Cohere, and ElevenLabs.

The week opens with the AI Retreat on April 21, a closed-door gathering of global AI leaders, policymakers, and industry experts focusing on shaping AI strategies and governance frameworks.

The Dubai Assembly for AI takes place on April 21–24, where global policymakers, CEOs, and academics will shape AI’s evolving role in economies and societies.

The Global Prompt Engineering Championship will bring together leading AI practitioners to compete for a $272,000 prize pool during two days of challenges on April 22–23. Finalists will go head-to-head in four categories: Art, Video, Gaming, and Coding, showcasing their expertise in AI-driven content creation.

Advancing AI policy and governance, the Machines Can See Summit on April 23–24 will convene over 1000 participants, 20 keynotes, and expert-led discussions under the theme ‘Good AI: Making the World a Safer Place’. It will be one of the region’s most influential AI policy and ethics forums.

The Dubai AI Festival 2025 on April 23–24 will bring together 5,000 attendees, 500 investors, and 100 exhibitors under the theme ‘Enabling Digital Economies’. The festival will connect AI leaders, investors, and decision-makers to drive AI-powered transformations across industries, fostering collaboration, investment, and the unveiling of pioneering AI projects that will redefine the digital economy.

Beyond industry discussions and competitions, the Week will also focus on advancing AI literacy among students and educators through the AI Week in Schools, running April 21–25. The initiative, taking place across schools in Dubai, aims to equip future generations with fundamental AI skills.



OpenAI to Open First Permanent London Office in 2027

FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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OpenAI to Open First Permanent London Office in 2027

FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

OpenAI said on Monday it has secured its first permanent office in London, expanding capacity to meet growing demand in the UK and building on the ChatGPT maker's plans to make the city its largest research hub outside the United States.

Here are some details ⁠on the new ⁠London office:

The office is expected to open in 2027, with capacity for 544 team members, Microsoft-backed OpenAI said.

The ⁠space is located at Regent Quarter, spanning Jahn Court and the Brassworks Building in the King's Cross area.

OpenAI currently employs around 200 people in London across research, engineering, customer support, policy, and sales.

Last week, OpenAI said it was ⁠pausing ⁠its main data center project in Britain due to an unfavorable regulatory environment and high energy costs, a move that dealt a blow to the UK government's push to position the country as a global AI hub.


Canada's Cohere, Germany's Aleph Alpha Reportedly in Merger Talks

FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Canada's Cohere, Germany's Aleph Alpha Reportedly in Merger Talks

FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Artificial intelligence companies Cohere of Canada and Aleph Alpha of Germany are in talks to merge and have Berlin's support for a potential deal, newspaper Handelsblatt reported late on Thursday.

Citing government and industry sources, the paper said the German government would be willing to become a key customer of a combined company, part of a push to provide digital public services.

"If leading AI companies from Canada and Germany were to join forces that would send a very strong signal," German Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger told the ⁠paper.

Germany and Canada ⁠were already collaborating closely in the field, he was also quoted as saying.

Aleph Alpha told Reuters that regular discussions over strategic partnerships were standard practice in the AI industry and that Aleph Alpha had its own independent strategy, declining to comment further.

Cohere said it meets "with companies and institutions ⁠across Germany and Europe and continually evaluates strategic opportunities that support our global growth."

It also pointed Reuters to its international expansion efforts as well as to the Canadian-German Sovereign Technology Alliance agreed this year, but would not comment further.

Germany's research and digital ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Handelsblatt said merger talks started early this year and had reached an advanced stage, with plans for the new entity to be headquartered in both countries.

Germany has been eager to catch ⁠up with ⁠dominant AI players the US and China in a global race to master a transformational technology and attract high-income jobs. India has also emerged as a contender.

Last month, Berlin unveiled plans to encourage investments to boost AI data processing capacity at least fourfold by 2030.

Microsoft, which is collaborating with Cohere, unveiled $23 billion in AI investments in December, with the bulk earmarked for India and parts for Canada.

That was after Alphabet's Google said it would spend $15 billion over five years on an AI data center in India.


Apple Reportedly Leads Global Smartphone Shipments in 1st Quarter

FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is seen during the preview of the redesigned and reimagined Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York, US, September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is seen during the preview of the redesigned and reimagined Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York, US, September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
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Apple Reportedly Leads Global Smartphone Shipments in 1st Quarter

FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is seen during the preview of the redesigned and reimagined Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York, US, September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is seen during the preview of the redesigned and reimagined Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York, US, September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

iPhone-maker Apple led smartphone shipments in the first quarter, growing 5% year-on-year, ⁠even as overall ⁠global shipments remained ⁠under pressure due to a shortage of memory components and weak consumer sentiment, Counterpoint Research ⁠said ⁠on Friday.

Apple said on Thursday that it will shut down its retail store in Towson, Maryland, the first of its US locations where retail employees successfully unionized in 2022.

It described the decision as "difficult", citing the departure of several retailers and worsening conditions at the Towson Town Center mall as key reasons for the closure.

Apple said Towson employees will ⁠be eligible to ⁠apply for open roles at the company.

In 2022, more than 100 Apple workers in Towson voted to join the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM) union, marking a milestone ⁠for unionization at major US corporations such as Amazon.com and Starbucks.

Around the same time, a similar union drive in Atlanta was withdrawn, with Apple workers alleging intimidation.