10 Takeaways From Inc. Arabia’s NextGen AI Summit 2025

Staged with the support of Technology Partner Ombori and AI-Powered Customer Experience Partner Lucidya, Inc. Arabia’s NextGen AI Summit 2025 brought together a cross-section of voices from the region’s artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, which ran the gamut from policymakers and technologists, to investors and entrepreneurs. Across three panel discussions, the speakers shared clear-eyed perspectives on where AI is headed and what it means for business leaders today. Here are the most compelling insights from the conversations that defined the NextGen AI Summit 2025: 

1. Leading With AI Means Leading With Vision 

Mohammad Almansoori, Chief AI Officer at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In the UAE, AI is being seen not just as a tool for innovation, but as a means of shaping how the country presents itself to the world. This is how Mohammad Almansoori, Chief AI Officer at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, described the philosophy guiding the technology’s integration into his entity’s operations. “At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we don't see AI to replace diplomacy,” he explained. “But we do see it as a very crucial part in terms of how we can enhance our human interaction with intelligence, with foresight, with speed.” That philosophy underpins the Ministry’s first Smart Mission, launched last year in Seoul, South Korea, which aims to provide full consular services around the clock using ultra-modern technologies, including AI. And while this innovation is noteworthy on its own, Almansoori also points out that efforts like these reflect how the UAE is positioning itself on the global AI stage. “The soft power of AI in the UAE is getting there,” he said. “People are understanding that the UAE can become a leader in this, and it can export the technologies as well—we're not just importing at this point. We are there to export those technologies, and to be at the forefront when it comes to putting AI out there.” 

2. AI Is Here To Empower, Not Replace 

Mahaba Al Saleh, Head of the Technology Development Section at the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology.

Mahaba Al Saleh, Head of the Technology Development Section at the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, laid out how the country is embedding AI into its industrial transformation not just through national policy, but by activating an entire ecosystem. She cited Operation 300 Billion, the UAE’s strategy to raise the industrial sector’s contribution to its gross domestic product from AED133 billion to AED300 billion (i.e. US$36 billion to $81.6 billion) by 2031, for which the Ministry has been encouraging manufacturers to use AI to improve productivity and efficiency. As Al Saleh put it, “At the end of the day, we want these industries to elevate and use AI as a way to enhance their processes and ensure that it is sustainably incorporated.” But for that transformation to take hold, she noted, it needs to start at the top. “When the leadership understands the importance of leveraging these technologies to advance the manufacturing sector, then it goes to the people within the company too,” she explained. “So, eventually, it's not for the purpose of replacing them, but using AI as a way to help the company be more efficient.” 

3. The Future Of AI Is Human-Centric—And Region-Led 

Ziyad Binsulaiman, Business Development Director at Lucidya.

Ziyad Binsulaiman, Business Development Director at Lucidya, an AI-powered, fully compliant unified customer experience platform (CXM) designed to support CX and marketing leaders in large enterprises, governments, and SMEs across the Arab world, argued that AI in the Middle East must be shaped by culture and context, not just code. “Artificial intelligence should be human-centric—every solution, every use of artificial intelligence, every adoption of artificial intelligence should be human-centric, not replacing the humans,” he said. And in the Arab world, Binsulaiman pointed out, for AI to be truly human-centric, it must be shaped within the region, not imported into it. Otherwise, he warned, the region risks adopting tools that reflect other realities—not its own. “It is vital that we take a leadership position in artificial intelligence, and that we shape our own solutions that satisfy our culture and our needs, and solve our problems,” he said. 

4. Arabic Needs Its Own AI—Not A Retrofit 

Dina Tawfik, VP of Growth at Tarjama&.

Dina Tawfik, VP of Growth at Tarjama&, the MENA region’s leading language technology company, and its sister enterprise Arabic.AI—which, notably, is behind the region’s first agentic Arabic AI platform—highlighted the unique complexities of developing AI in Arabic. Unlike English or other well-resourced languages, she pointed out that Arabic presents challenges that go far beyond translation. “Building Arabic for AI is fundamentally different than English or any other widely resourced language,” Tawfik said. “Arabic is a complex language, it has complex structures, it has a diversity of dialects and a lot of cultural nuances, and so, it really requires specialized models.” And while the technical demands are significant, Tawfik framed the issue as one with broader implications for the region’s digital future. “Language is at the heart of digital transformation,” Tawfik explained. “If AI does not understand the Arabic language natively, culturally, it doesn't create the impact that we need.” 

5. Don’t Just Say You’re AI-Powered—Prove It 

Andreas Hassellöf, founder and CEO of Ombori.

According to Andreas Hassellöf, founder and CEO of Ombori, a global technology group of companies specializing in digital transformation solutions for businesses in a range of industries, including retail, hospitality, transportation, and public services, saying that a business is "AI-powered" means very little in today’s landscape. “I think AI is not an optional technology,” he pointed out. “I think it is a foundational technology.” Indeed, Hassellöf went on to say that just as no one today asks if a business uses the internet, AI should now be a given, not a selling point. The real differentiator, he pointed out, will lie in how this cutting-edge technology is leveraged to solve problems and enhance operations. But Hassellöf also noted that the success of a company in this domain currently hinges on not just the strength of its offering, but also in its ability to move quickly. “You need to move fast, because otherwise you will not be competitive,” Hassellöf explained. “At the same time, you need to have control of what you're doing, because there have been several examples of companies deploying models that they don't truly understand.” 

6. AI Works Best When It’s Embedded—Not Sprinkled On 

Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Seez.

"Some companies just sprinkle a little bit of AI on top of the solution, and some embed it very, very deeply." That’s how Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Seez, a Dubai-based innovator in AI-powered automotive solutions, described the difference between surface-level AI adoption and true product innovation. According to Kabrit, building AI-native organizations starts with a mindset shift—one rooted in experimentation, not fixed playbooks. "There is no golden rule yet,” he pointed out. “There is no best practice yet for AI. People are just giving it a try, and then improving." In his view, success with AI today doesn’t come from following a set formula—it comes from iteration, flexibility, and learning by doing. As such, Kabrit emphasized the need for a culture where teams are encouraged to experiment—trying out new tools, testing different models, and adapting as they go. "You need a culture of being willing to change rapidly, and to try out different models to see how they can help in everyday life," he added. 

7. Start With The Business Case, Not The Buzzwords 

Vijay Velayutham, Principal Information Security Officer at the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure.

When it comes to figuring out use cases for AI within organizations, Vijay Velayutham, Principal Information Security Officer at the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, urged business leaders not to get swept up in AI hype without first identifying where the technology can drive meaningful results. Instead of applying AI across the board without a clear purpose, he advised focusing on core services and building a solid business case around real operational pain points. “I've seen organizations plugging in AI this and AI that, and ultimately it did not result in a tangible impact to the business,” he said. “Without a solid, well thought out business case, I think there's still a long way to go.” Velayutham also warned against relying on unvalidated AI systems for critical decision-making, and highlighted overlooked risks around regulatory compliance and the erosion of enterprise architecture oversight. “Things are happening at such a high pace that we can easily lose track of our enterprise architecture overview,” he pointed out. “And that can itself impact the organization in the long term.” 

8. It’s Not Only About AI—It’s Also About Who’s Behind It 

Omer Zabit, Principal at Shorooq.

Omer Zabit, Principal at Shorooq, one of MENA’s most active investment firms, told the NextGen AI Summit 2025 audience that while his firm has seen a clear uptick in pitches from AI startups, a company’s use of AI alone doesn’t make it investment-worthy—especially at the early stage. What matters more, he emphasized, are the business fundamentals: the founding team, their understanding of the problem space, and their ability to build a compelling, differentiated solution. “When it comes to early-stage ventures, the way we look at AI companies is roughly 85 percent in the same way as we would look at any other non-AI company,” Zabit explained. “Because in an early-stage venture, and this is true for most companies as well, AI is a tool to help you do whatever your company intends to do. It is a fantastic tool, it did not exist until fairly recently, but now that you have it, the focus is again on the founding team, their ability to understand the problem space, their ability to articulate why their solution is the right one, and why AI is the right tool to build it with.” Indeed, as Zabit pointed out, ultimately, it's not the tech that gets funded—it's the team that knows how to use it. 

9. The GCC’s AI Advantage Starts With Scale 

Tiffany Bain, Principal at Dubai Future District Fund.

According to Tiffany Bain, Principal at Dubai Future District Fund, AI founders in the region who start with a global vision are setting themselves up for success—but the scalability of their ventures will hinge on a few critical factors. “Firstly, repeatability,” Bain said. “How many customers is this use case relevant for? Then, we look at adoption ease. How easy is it to turn on this product overnight for customers to adopt it without extensive customization or onboarding? We also look at the tech itself. How capable is it of dealing with a 10x increase in user demand or data, for example, without affecting performance? And, lastly, from a compute perspective, given that that's such a large proportion of AI cost generally, are we seeing a model which is gonna see a flattening out of that compute curve, so that there isn't that correlation between demand and compute cost going forward?” Mastering these fundamentals, Bain suggested, puts founders in the GCC in a strong position—especially in a region poised to move past traditional growth paths and embrace AI at speed. “There's a leapfrog opportunity in the GCC at the moment, in the same way that we saw in Africa with the advent of smartphones or the leapfrogging into fintech,” Bain said. “We also see that here as an opportunity for the GCC to leapfrog from legacy systems, and adopt AI and really optimize for growth.” 

10. The Founder Factor Is More Important Than Ever 

Roba Olana, who leads Data and Investments at VentureSouq.

In today’s rapidly evolving tech landscape—especially within the AI space—what often sets a startup apart isn’t just the novelty of its product, but the caliber of the person building it. That’s a point Roba Olana, who leads Data and Investments at VentureSouq, a GCC-based venture capital firm focused on global early-stage technology businesses, emphasized during the NextGen AI Summit 2025. As AI technologies evolve at breakneck speed, Olana noted that a founder’s ability to adapt and stay ahead of the curve is something he, as an investor, is especially attuned to. “I think the founder profile matters a lot more now than ever,” Olana said. “If I get on a call with a founder and I'm impressed, borderline intimidated, by how much they know how things are changing, or what the current thing is, that convinces me that they will find their way into a larger total addressable market, different from what they started on.” In other words, technical chops and business acumen aren’t enough on their own—investors are increasingly looking for founders with a strong sense of foresight, relentless curiosity, and the intellectual range to navigate industries that may not even exist yet. For AI startups, that ability to pivot—and anticipate where the market is headed—can be the difference between scaling or stalling. 

Pictured in the lead image NextGen AI summit 2025 held by Inc. Arabia. All images courtesy of NextGen AI summit 2025.