NEWS FLASH: August’s Biggest Updates from Expand North Star!

Get ready for the ultimate convergence of global capital, unicorns, and tech innovation at Expand North Star 2025! ByteDance, Binance, Hedera Hashgraph, Cerebras Systems—are taking the stage to showcase the future of AI, blockchain, and fintech. 🌍 Global pavilions, headline sponsors, and a star-studded speaker lineup make this the event the one event in your calendar you do not want to miss!

NEW - Global Capital Titans Land at Expand North Star 2025 — Backers of Unicorns, Market Makers & Category Definers

SteelSky Ventures – $7B+ AUM Largest women’s health fund globally. Backs game-changers in telemedicine, SaaS health tools, MedTech & consumer health. Investor in Zipline, the unicorn redefining medical logistics.

White Star Capital – $1B+ AUM Multi-stage global VC with dedicated digital asset fund, leading early blockchain & crypto networks. Track record in market entry, scaling, and exits across 3 continents.

Siguler Guff & Company – $17B AUM Seasoned PE player in small business buyouts & emerging markets. Specialist in growth capital with a strong product-market fit focus. Strategic partner for scaling champions.

Lakestar – $2B+ AUM Backer of Europe’s biggest unicorns (Revolut, GetYourGuide, Isar Aerospace). Deep value-add approach: product, go-to-market, regulatory strategy. Operates across early & growth stages.

Earlybird Venture Capital – $2.5B+ AUM One of Europe’s most active early-stage VCs. From fintech to fusion energy, has built unicorns including N26, UiPath, Aiven, Payhawk. Focused on frontier and disruptive tech.

Truffle Capital– $700M AUM Pioneer in Life Sciences &DeepTech applied to Finance. 120+ companies backed, with 45 exits and 15 IPOs. Specializes in MedTech, BioTech, FinTech &InsurTech.

Don’t Miss the Unicorn Surge — These Unicorns Are Powering the Next Frontier

ByteDance: Globally respected pioneer in digital infrastructure, driving mission-critical data center projects and scaling AI-ready systems with unmatched resilience.

Binance: The world’s largest crypto exchange with 190M+ users, led by Jimmy, whose security division protects $100B+ in assets and won the Hong Kong Cybersecurity Professional Award — first crypto firm ever honored nationally.

Hedera: Surpassed $8.4B in market cap, first DLT platform to sign the U.S. government CISA “Secure by Design” pledge, redefining enterprise blockchain at global scale.

Cerebras Systems: Partner of the $500B Stargate, Forbes AI 50 and TIME 100 Most Influential, with the world’s fastest AI computer (CS-3) and Cerebras Inference enabling record-breaking performance.

Must-See Startups and Unicorns Lighting Up Expand North Star

Presight– Official AI Accelerator Partner UAE’s GenAI-driven big data powerhouse! Backed by G42 and listed on ADX, Presight leads the region’s first AI accelerator, holds a 51% stake in ADNOC’s AIQ, and posted a staggering 115% YoY revenue growth in Q1 2025.

The Firehood– Official Women in Tech Partner Empowering women in tech with a $100,000 pitch competition, a four-day program on their dedicated stage, and a vibrant lounge for networking, mentoring, and inspiration.

Snowflake: Leading the AI Data Cloud revolution, Snowflake unifies data, analytics, and AI—boasting 32% YoY growth, 6,100+ active accounts, and a $200M startup accelerator.

XPANCEO – The Future of WearablesFrom Dubai to the world, XPANCEO is turning sci-fi into reality with smart lenses featuring AR, night vision, and health tracking. A $1.35B unicorn aiming to make traditional wearables obsolete by 2027. Catch CEO Roman Axelrod live at Expand North Star!

Axelera AI – High-Performance AI Chips Dutch AI chip innovator raising $200M+ in just 3 years, joining the ScaleXProgramme. Their energy-efficient, high-performance chips are poised to power the next generation of AI applications.

Limula – Automating Life-Saving Treatments Swiss biotech startup revolutionizing cell & gene therapy with automated manufacturing. Fresh off a $6.8M oversubscribed seed round, Limula is fast-tracking the future of life-saving treatments.

planqc Quantum Computing Trailblazer German quantum computing startup joining ScaleX after raising $58M in Series A, pushing the boundaries of next-gen computation.

Fintech & Blockchain Titans Gear Up for Dubai’s Biggest Stage

Ruya Leads as Headline Sponsor at Fintech Surge: Backed by rapid growth across the region, ruya steps into the spotlight to shape the future of digital banking.

OKXGoes for Gold in Blockchain & Fintech: One of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, OKX brings global scale and next-gen trading tech to Dubai.

HAMILTON RESERVE BANKJoins Future Blockchain Summit Lineup: A rising name in fintech, Hamilton Bank brings its cutting-edge digital solutions to the global stage. First-timer at the show!

Korean Blockchain Pavilion Powers Innovation at North Star: Home to some of Asia’s boldest blockchain startups, the pavilion showcases Korea’s thriving Web3 ecosystem.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Pavilion Showcases Japan’s Best: Tokyo leads the charge with pioneering blockchain initiatives and startup champions from Japan’s capital.

SPEAKER SPOTLIGHT — Tech & Crypto Powerhouses Shaping the Global Digital Frontier

Lily Liu: Solana, 65M+ daily transactions; CoinMarketCap 2024 Crypto Project of the Year.

Jimmy Su: Binance CSO, protects $100B+ in assets; first crypto exec to win HK Cybersecurity Professional Award.

Helen Liu: Bybit CEO, rebuilt from $1.5B hack to become world’s #2 crypto exchange.

Oliver Stauber: KuCoin CEO, $10B+ exchange with 41M users.

Marcus Tan: Co-founder of Carousell, SEA’s top classifieds & re-commerce platform.

TaaviMadiberk: CEO of Skeleton Technologies, powering Europe’s largest supercapacitor factory.

Andrew Feldman: CEO of Cerebras Systems, maker of the 4T-transistor Wafer-Scale Engine; trains Llama2-70B in a day.

Justin Grooms: CEO of Bolt, leading e-commerce checkout platform for global brands.

Expand North Star Grows Even More International: New Countries & Expanded Footprints!

New Pavilions: Germany – Baden-Württemberg / Chile / Ecuador / Serbia / Syria

Expanded Pavilions: Austria / Brazil / Canada / France / Italy / Latvia / Netherlands

Don’t miss Expand North Star, the world’s largest startup and investor event, happening from 12–15 October 2025 at Dubai Harbour. Unicorns, soonicorns, and groundbreaking innovations await. Secure your free tickets and reserve the remaining pods now—spaces are filling fast, and the future won’t wait!