The world's Largest

Startup

Startup

& investor

Connector Event

JOIN INVESTOR PROGRAMME

REUNITED WITH GITEX GLOBAL.
NOW AT Expo CITY DUBAI.

THE BIGGEST AND MOST
GLOBAL TECH EVENT EVER

Reunited this December at Expo City Dubai, Expand North Star
and GITEX GLOBAL connect startups, investors, enterprises and
governments in one unmatched global ecosystem.

global
ecosystem GITEX GLOBAL

WHAT’S NEW IN 2026

NEW FEATURES NEW SCALE

ENS FOUNDERS ACADEMY

Learn from investors, operators and unicorn builders. From idea to exit.

GITEX HEALTHTECH

Advancing healthcare through AI, breakthrough science and connected care.

SCALE.iT

Discover the UAE ecosystem powering your next stage of growth.

APOLLO100

100 cities. New markets. Your next growth destination.

ENS26 BACKERS PITCH

Investors take the stage. Their startups take the spotlight.

ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE ONE DAY. ONE POD. GLOBAL EXPOSURE

THE FOUNDER’S
PASS

APPLY NOW
A limited-edition pass designed for founders ready to show up, be seen, and connect without the commitment of a full stand.

Launch your presence at Expand North Star with a dedicated startup pod for one day on the show floor. Meet investors, pitch your solution, generate leads and become part of a curated community of founders shaping the future. It’s the easiest way to step onto a global stage, fast, focused and founder-friendly.

SUPERNOVA 0X

No Noise. Just Deals.

Supernova 0X is the next evolution of the global pitch competition, redesigned to
reflect how startups actually scale and how investors deploy capital.

60 STARTUPS

pitching live

STAGE-BASED
COMPETITION

for better investor
alignment

 
Women In Tech Challenge

NO FINALS

winners selected directly
from semi-finals

BUILT TO DRIVE
REAL FUNDING

partnerships and
market access

READ MORE

( THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL
STARTUP-INVESTOR DEAL DEAL ENGINE)

Connecting the world’s most ambitious founders with investors shaping the
future through concierge-led matchmaking and curated dealmaking.

LEARN MORE

NORTH STAR Built to scale PROVEN OUTCOMES FROM THE WORLD’S
LEADING STARTUP ECOSYSTEM

MIstikist

From Expand North Star to $5M Raised!

What started with a conversation at Expand North Star has grown into a major milestone for UAE proptech startup Smart Bricks.

NovaPilot

They came to test an idea and left with a global playbook.

Expand North Star helped NovaPilot turn market validation into global growth, setting up business in Dubai, growing its AI team, and scaling enterprise deployments.

Lunar Limited

Every startup wants a breakthrough. Few get an ignition point

LUNAR secured a partnership with Dubai Municipality, expanding across the UAE.

Save Your Wardrobe

A ‘turning point’ at ENS

Investment secured. First client signed. UAE expansion unlocked. Save Your Wardrobe turned Expand North Star into a regional growth milestone.

BYTRIX Technologies

How BYTRIX turned conversations into six-figure deals

$250K in deals secured through ENS. BYTRIX Technologies turned event connections into long-term partnerships and regional growth.

Laplace

From Pitch to $900M+ in Tokenisation Deals

Laplace turned the visibility at Supernova into $900M+ in Tokenisation deals.

SatLeo Labs

What happened in just 10 minutes?

A 10-minute meeting at ENS led to a $2.2M investment, connecting Unicorn India Ventures with SatLeo Labs and accelerating the startup’s funding, partnerships, and rapid growth.

NORTH STAR
BY NIGHT

HOST THE CONVERSATION OWN THE NIGHT

Take your brand beyond the show floor with your own North Star by Night activation. Book a slot to host an exclusive gathering, connect with the people who matter to your business, and create meaningful relationships in a setting built for networking.

GITEX TECHCATION

Experience the world's fastest race weekend, then the world's largest tech & AI event.

The world's biggest technology event deserves the world's most exciting destination. This December, transform your business trip into a TechCation – where 5 days of breakthrough technology meet Dubai's world-class hospitality, culture, entertainment and adventure.

From 7–11 December 2026, GITEX GLOBAL and Expand North Star invites you to extend your stay and experience more than an exhibition. Explore the future of AI by day and discover one of the world's most dynamic cities by night.

THE GITEX Summit

Converging tech leaders to shape AI’s trajectory from governance & data sovereignty to industrial AI across manufacturing & health, alongside capital flows & investment strategies shaping the next wave of global tech.

LEARN MORE

TECH LEADERS

Who took the stage

ILHAM SEYIDNUROV

Director of IT Department

AZERCELL

ILHAM SEYIDNUROV

Director of IT Department

AZERCELL

ILHAM SEYIDNUROV

Director of IT Department

AZERCELL

ILHAM SEYIDNUROV

Director of IT Department

AZERCELL

ILHAM SEYIDNUROV

Director of IT Department

AZERCELL

NORTH STAR EXPERIENCE

In their words

This win is just the start for us. We are here to raise geographical borders for healthcare research and scale up, especially in the Gulf region, which we see as a focal point for healthcare innovations. It is all about unlocking the hidden value of data. By engaging broader populations and bringing them into the data conversation, we can help therapies reach those in need faster.

EMIL SYUNDYUKOV

CEO, Longenesis

Latvia

An impactful global event organized to meet leaders in tech, product and marketing. The best part was hearing about journeys of folks from different industries, where everyone wanted to help each other. I’m looking forward to being back in Dubai and inspire and grow the product community in the Middle East.

MAYANK YADAV

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT, REDDIT

Reddit · USA

It’s been amazing to be at NorthStar. In the past few years, it’s really amazing to see the changes in the quality of the startups, the creators, seeing more women creating the startups and what an incredibly well-run event.

DAVID COHEN

Founder, Techstars

USA

It was amazing, so many startups and investors from around the world came together. Dubai is buzzing and this place is out of the world!

ZHONG XU

Founder

Deliverect · USA

We had an incredible experience meeting a large audience of investors. We’re thrilled that we secured funding with investors we met at the event.

NAKUL GARG

Co-Founder

Crowdinvest · USA

I met a Founder at the GITEX event that is building a business that represented a gap in our portfolio. Since then, my fund has added a lot of post-investment value to the startup. We concluded the investment in December.

JANADE DU PLESSIS

Managing Partner

Launch Africa Ventures · South Africa

Our participation in North Star resulted in us signing new business and partnerships with GITEX GLOBAL exhibitors across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and even as far afield as the Maldives. We realized how important the Middle East and Africa are, and look forward to setting up our regional office in the UAE.

GEOFFREY COSTILHES

Co-Founder

Popmii · France

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