Tech event GITEX sees Türkiye as perfect sandbox for global AI expansion

Türkiye stands out as an important destination for artificial intelligence (AI) with its strong engineering talent, government support and numerous technology parks, the vice president of major technology event GITEX said.

Bilal Alrais said the organizers were pleasantly surprised by the number of attendees from banks and manufacturing companies across Türkiye.

"The level of exposure we've been getting from across Türkiye and also from as far as South Africa and Kenya is actually very reassuring," Alrais told Anadolu.

Representatives from more than 70 countries attended the two-day event hosted by the country’s Investment and Finance Office alongside the Industry and Technology Ministry on Sept. 9-10. Anadolu was its global communications partner.

Türkiye serves as perfect sandbox

Alrais said the scale of the market, the quality of engineers, and the understanding of AI applications make Türkiye a strategic destination.

He emphasized that government support helps startups scale and allows small- and medium-sized enterprises to grow rapidly.

"It's a perfect sandbox for companies to be able to do well using AI and scale globally," Alrais said.

Global visitors flock to meet Turkish innovators

Alrais pointed out that the presence of 120 startups at the event tells only part of the story.

Türkiye is among the countries with a large number of technoparks, he said.

He stated that 10 or 11 different technology parks represented their innovators directly at the exhibition.

Alrais highlighted that international visitors came specifically to meet innovators from Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.

Because Türkiye has so many R&D centers, people are excited with new technologies coming from the country, he said.

AI accelerates demand for data centers

Looking ahead, Alrais said GITEX's Abu Dhabi edition will host the biggest AI event in the world in October.

He added that the organization will expand its global footprint with new events announced for Latin America, Italy and Serbia.

Alrais explained that the industry focus on AI accelerated after the COVID-19 pandemic and the launch of ChatGPT.

He noted that the technology sector now puts much more attention toward data centers.

“You can't have AI without a data center,” Alrais said, noting that the shift creates new challenges, including energy management that the industry must address.