# Startup & founder events in Dubai Curated by [foundercal.com](https://foundercal.com/). Only events worth a founder's time: conferences, demo days, founder dinners, meetups and workshops. Generic networking filler is filtered out. Updated daily. - City page (HTML): https://foundercal.com/cities/dubai - Calendar feed (ICS): https://foundercal.com/cities/dubai.ics - All cities + usage guide for AI agents: https://foundercal.com/llms.txt 18 upcoming events as of 31 August 2026. ## Daos Founders Connect: The GCC Scaling Playbook - Date: Thursday 3 September 2026, 18:30 (Asia/Dubai) - Type: Meetup - Venue: Daos Hub Dubai, 51st & 52nd floor, Business Central Tower, Tower – B - الصفوح - مدينة دبي للإنترنت - دبي - United Arab Emirates - Organizer: [Daos Hub](https://foundercal.com/organizers/daos-hub) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/daos-founders-connect-the-gcc-scaling-playbook-OLFSeb5JFkCRBo8 - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/9692?p=md About This Event Hitting your Q4 scaling goals in the GCC requires real tactical execution, not generic advice. Join us at Daos Hub for an exclusive, high-impact evening designed for Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A to B founders building in Web3, AI, and emerging tech. We’re bringing together 3 active… ## The AI Collective | Building Together: From Connections to Collaboration - Date: Friday 4 September 2026, 16:30 (Asia/Dubai) - Type: Meetup - Organizer: [The AI Collective](https://foundercal.com/organizers/the-ai-collective) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/the-ai-collective-building-together-from-connections-to-collaboration-LROObZqPACQQmKp - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/9768?p=md The UAE’s AI ecosystem is growing quickly, but strong ecosystems are not built through introductions alone. They are built when people openly share what they are working on, what they need and where they can contribute. Join AI Collective Dubai for an evening bringing together founders, builders,… ## 24six9 Dxb Chapter: Founders Unfiltered, The Floor is Yours - Date: Friday 4 September 2026, 18:00 (Asia/Dubai) - Type: Meetup - Venue: in5 Tech, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Street, near Tram Station and Cordoba Residence - الصفوح - قرية المعرفة - دبي - United Arab Emirates - Organizer: [24six9 Founder's Community](https://foundercal.com/organizers/24six9-founders-community) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/24six9-dxb-chapter-founders-unfiltered-the-floor-is-yours-lAmnUpXbK87emO7 - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/9693?p=md 24six9 Dubai Chapter presents an opportunity to be unfiltered, come-as-you-are, peer-to-peer evening meet-up. You know that conversation you've been meaning to have? The one about where you're stuck, what's not working, or the decision you keep going back and forth on? The moment you finally found… ## Founders Running Club :: Dubai - Date: Saturday 5 September 2026, 06:00 (Asia/Dubai) - Type: Meetup - Venue: 95 Degrees Speciality Coffee Caravan, Kite beach - Umm Suqeim First - Jumeirah 3 - Dubai - United Arab Emirates - Organizer: [Founders Running Club](https://foundercal.com/organizers/founders-running-club) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/founders-running-club-dubai-SkFo9JVWzpMIk4J - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/2773?p=md Founders Running Club (FRC) brings founders, investors, tech, creative people and startup enthusiasts together for weekly easy runs and networking. We like to be comfortable when we run and finish with coffee and conversations. Choose your pace or follow a pacer, pets, friends, family, are welcome.… ## Breakfast Social - Date: Wednesday 9 September 2026, 09:00 (Asia/Dubai) - Type: Dinner - Venue: AstroLabs - Coworking Space in Dubai, Parkside Retail Level - 34HW+5J5 - Cluster R - Al Thanyah Fifth - Jumeirah Lakes Towers - Dubai - United Arab Emirates - Organizer: [AstroLabs](https://foundercal.com/organizers/astrolabs) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/breakfast-social-BhA9DQz0Dd6YNOR - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/7964?p=md Rise, Shine & Mingle! ☕🥐 Join your fellow AstroLabs Community members at Parkside Café for our famous Breakfast Social! It’s the perfect way to fuel up, catch up, and kickstart your day. Don’t miss out on the food, fun, and friendly faces! ## AI Tinkerers Dubai: Agents Everywhere Hackathon - Date: Saturday 12 September 2026, 10:00 (Asia/Dubai) - Type: Hackathon - Price: Free - Venue: Dubai - Organizer: [AI Tinkerers Dubai](https://foundercal.com/organizers/ai-tinkerers-dubai) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/ai-tinkerers-dubai-agents-everywhere-hackathon-2026-09-12 - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/9126?p=md AI Tinkerers runs one shared build day across its city chapters and Dubai gets its own room for it. You have seven hours to ship a working agent inside a tool people already use, a chat channel, a device, a workflow, then submit a public repo and a two minute video. OpenAI, CopilotKit and… ## GISEC Global 2026 - Date: 16 September 2026 – 18 September 2026 - Type: Conference - Venue: Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo City Dubai, Dubai - Organizer: [GISEC Global / Dubai World Trade Centre](https://foundercal.com/organizers/gisec-global-dubai-world-trade-centre) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/gisec-global-2026-2026-09-16 - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/9125?p=md The Arab world's largest cybersecurity event: 25,000 attendees from 180+ countries, with CISOs from regional banks, telcos and government departments on the buying side. There is a dedicated startup track and investor programme, which is the reason a security founder goes rather than for the expo… ## Seamless Digital Commerce Middle East 2026 - Date: 22 September 2026 – 24 September 2026 - Type: Conference - Price: Free - Venue: Dubai World Trade Centre, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai - Organizer: [Terrapinn](https://foundercal.com/organizers/terrapinn) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/seamless-digital-commerce-middle-east-2026-2026-09-22 - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/9127?p=md Three days at Dubai World Trade Centre where the region's retailers, marketplaces, payment providers and delivery operators are all in one hall. Around 20,000 attendees, free visitor registration, a Startup Village and a co-located fintech track. Go if you are building commerce, payments or… ## AI Tinkerers Dubai October Demo Day - Date: Saturday 10 October 2026, 11:30 (Asia/Dubai) - Type: Demo Day - Price: Free - Venue: Dubai - Organizer: [AI Tinkerers Dubai](https://foundercal.com/organizers/ai-tinkerers-dubai) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/ai-tinkerers-dubai-october-demo-day-2026-10-10 - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/9130?p=md The Dubai chapter's roughly monthly demo day: builders show live code and working projects, then take questions from the room. No vendor decks and no recruiting pitches, which is the whole point of the format. You need a GitHub profile with recent public activity to get a seat, so the crowd is… ## AI Builders and Databases Dubai - Date: Thursday 22 October 2026, 18:30 (Asia/Dubai) - Type: Meetup - Venue: Media One Hotel, Al Falak St - Media 1 Tower - Exit 32 - Al Safouh Second - Dubai Media City - دبي - United Arab Emirates - Organizer: [ClickHouse Events](https://foundercal.com/organizers/clickhouse-events) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/ai-builders-and-databases-dubai-PKUu0DtpHBCIAEC - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/9448?p=md Join us in Dubai for an evening dedicated to real-time analytics at scale. Connect with fellow data enthusiasts, hear insights from speakers in the field, and dive into what's new in the world of ClickHouse. Speakers will be announced soon, so watch this space!Current Agenda: • 6:30 PM:… ## Dubai AI Festival 2026 - Date: 26 October 2026 – 27 October 2026 - Type: Conference - Venue: Hall 1 & Za'abeel Hall 3, Dubai World Trade Centre, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai - Organizer: [Dubai AI Campus & DIFC](https://foundercal.com/organizers/dubai-ai-campus-and-difc) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/dubai-ai-festival-2026-2026-10-26 - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/2635?p=md The third edition of Dubai's flagship AI conference, organised by Dubai AI Campus and DIFC under Sheikh Hamdan's patronage: 20,000+ attendees, 500+ investors, 200+ exhibitors from 120 countries, with 150+ sessions and 50+ workshops/roundtables over two days at Dubai World Trade Centre. Built for… ## Dubai FinTech Summit 2026 - Date: 2 November 2026 – 3 November 2026 - Type: Conference - Venue: Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai - Organizer: [DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre)](https://foundercal.com/organizers/difc-dubai-international-financial-centre) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/dubai-fintech-summit-2026-2026-11-02 - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/2632?p=md DIFC's fourth-edition flagship gathering for MENA fintech, kicking off the wider Dubai Future Finance Week (Nov 2-6). The FinTech World Cup pitch finale and FinTech Launchpad are the founder-relevant pieces: startups battle live for capital in front of the regulators and banks who actually write… ## Dubai Future Forum 2026 - Date: 17 November 2026 – 18 November 2026 - Type: Conference - Price: Free - Venue: Dubai - Organizer: [Dubai Future Foundation](https://foundercal.com/organizers/dubai-future-foundation) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/dubai-future-forum-2026-2026-11-17 - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/9128?p=md The fifth edition of Dubai Future Foundation's forum, which bills itself as the world's largest gathering of futurists: roughly 2,500 people from 100 organisations across foresight, science, policy and deep tech. Registration is reviewed rather than open, and the programme is about how technology… ## GITEX Global 2026 - Date: 7 December 2026 – 11 December 2026 - Type: Conference - Venue: Dubai World Trade Centre / Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo City Dubai, Dubai - Organizer: [GITEX / Dubai World Trade Centre](https://foundercal.com/organizers/gitex-dubai-world-trade-centre) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/gitex-global-2026-2026-12-07 - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/2460?p=md The largest tech and AI show on the planet: 200,000+ attendees from 180+ countries, with its co-located North Star expo billed as the world's biggest startup-and-investor event. The gateway conference for founders targeting the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, where sovereign funds and… ## Solana Economic Zone Dubai 2026 - Date: 7 December 2026 – 11 December 2026 - Type: Conference - Price: Free - Venue: The Block, One Central, One Central, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai - Organizer: [Superteam UAE](https://foundercal.com/organizers/superteam-uae) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/solana-economic-zone-dubai-2026-2026-12-07 - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/2634?p=md Superteam UAE's twice-yearly five-day unconference for 400+ Solana founders, builders, regulators, and investors: an entire floor of One Central booked out across GITEX week as a Breakpoint launchpad. Capped, application-only, and notably not a vendor expo: the real Solana MENA crowd actually… ## Expand North Star 2026 - Date: 8 December 2026 – 10 December 2026 - Type: Conference - Venue: Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo City Dubai, Expo City Dubai, Dubai - Organizer: [Dubai World Trade Centre / Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy](https://foundercal.com/organizers/dubai-world-trade-centre-dubai-chamber-of-digital-economy) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/expand-north-star-2026-2026-12-08 - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/2636?p=md The startup half of GITEX week and arguably the real founder event: 2,000+ startups, 1,300+ investors with $1.1T AUM, and 5,000+ pre-booked meetings across three days at Expo City. Supernova 0X is the world's largest startup pitch competition (six-figure prize pool), Startup X Labs runs a 3-day… ## Step Dubai 2027 - Date: 3 February 2027 – 4 February 2027 - Type: Conference - Venue: Dubai Internet City, Dubai - Organizer: [Step Media and Events](https://foundercal.com/organizers/step-media-and-events) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/step-dubai-2027-2027-02-03 - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/2633?p=md The 15th edition of MENA's flagship founder/investor festival: 8,000+ attendees, 400+ startups across six tracks, and $9B of investor capital represented in a tight two-day format at Dubai Internet City. Pitch competitions, mentor sessions, pre-booked investor meetings, and a programme designed… ## TOKEN2049 Dubai 2027 - Date: 21 April 2027 – 22 April 2027 - Type: Conference - Venue: Madinat Jumeirah Conference & Events Centre, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai - Organizer: [TOKEN2049](https://foundercal.com/organizers/token2049) - Details: https://foundercal.com/events/token2049-dubai-2027-2027-04-21 - Register / official page: https://foundercal.com/out/2637?p=md Rescheduled from April 2026, TOKEN2049 Dubai returns in 2027 as the MENA leg of the world's biggest crypto conference: 15,000+ attendees, 4,000+ companies, 160+ countries, and a side-event week that fills every rooftop in Dubai with founder dinners, VC mixers, and protocol parties. If you're…