Akamai Championing AI and Cybersecurity for the Middle East

Akamai World Tour Dubai Concludes as a Landmark Event, Championing AI and Cybersecurity for the Middle East

• Head of Cybersecurity at the UAE Cybersecurity Council, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, delivered an impactful special message to open the event, on cybersecurity’s central role in ensuring successful national digital economic growth
• Co-founder and CEO of Akamai Technologies, Dr. Tom Leighton, highlighted the UAE’s significant role in driving the region’s digital future during his presentation ‘Building Tomorrow: Secure Foundations to Accelerate Growth’
• Husam Osman, Director ICT Technical Solution at Du, shared insights on ‘Accelerating Innovation with Cloud & AI Sovereignty in the Digital World’.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 03, 2025: Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business online, organized the Akamai World Tour hosted in Dubai, an insightful one-day event held on October 1, 2025, at the stunning TODA, The Theatre of Digital Art. The event was the flagship Middle East stop for the global tour, bringing together top technology leaders, government stakeholders, and industry experts from across the region.

The event explored the critical convergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and cloud computing, providing a platform for bold ideas and practical strategies for accelerating digital transformation in the Middle East. A dynamic agenda covered pressing topics from real-time threat protection and edge scalability to AI governance and data sovereignty. Regional case studies provided actionable insights, helping IT leaders implement best practices for protecting AI applications and ensuring compliance with local regulations.

During the opening speech at the event, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Al-Kuwaiti, Head of the UAE Cybersecurity, emphasized the fundamental role of cybersecurity in ensuring continuity and safety in an era of rapid digital transformation. H.E noted: “In our interconnected and networked world, cybersecurity is no longer merely a technical option but a vital necessity, as protecting information, infrastructure, and digital trust has become a decisive factor in maintaining stability and economic progress.” H.E further stressed that cooperation among all relevant local and international stakeholders, as well as between the public and private sectors, is the only way to strengthen resilience against escalating threats and to foster innovation and digital advancement.

Dr. Tom Leighton, CEO of Akamai, delivered the address at the event, where he highlighted the immense potential cybersecurity and cloud computing have to help bring about the UAE’s 2031 vision for economic development. “Digital technology holds incredible promise for improving the social and economic life of the UAE and wider Middle East region. However, there are many challenges that come alongside, from harnessing the true potential of agentic AI, to fighting back against AI-empowered cybercriminals. Akamai is uniquely placed to help organizations in the Middle East tackle these issues and reach their true potential.” he said.

Other speakers included Husam Osman, Director ICT Technical Solution at Du, who discussed how the company is supporting digital infrastructure for AI innovation, and Dayle Carden, Senior Advisor at UAE-US Business Council, who shared how public-private partnerships are driving cyber innovation.

The event also featured several engaging panel discussions and networking sessions. ARADA, Equiti Group, Network International, and Kerzner representatives discussed how organizations can scale AI securely with trusted digital infrastructure. In another session featuring cybersecurity company CPX, generative AI platform AIREV and Core42 (a G42 company), a leading provider of sovereign cloud, AI infrastructure, and Cloud & AI Managed Services, the companies discussed how they are working to unleash limitless possibilities using AI.

“At Core42, we believe the future of AI transformation depends on building secure, sovereign, and scalable foundations. Events like Akamai’s gathering in Dubai are essential for bringing together leaders to discuss how cybersecurity and cloud innovation can enable AI’s next frontier,” said Rajeev Nair, Chief Delivery Officer, at core42. “As part of the G42 ecosystem, we are committed to empowering enterprises and nations with Sovereign AI infrastructure and managed services, enabling them to accelerate their ambitions while safeguarding their data assets.”

As the Middle East accelerates toward its digital future, Dubai is cementing its role as a global hub for AI, cybersecurity, and cloud innovation. By bringing together visionaries, policymakers, and technology leaders, the Akamai World Tour – Dubai Edition underscored how the UAE’s security-first infrastructure and forward-looking strategies are shaping the next era of the digital economy.

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About Akamai

Akamai is a cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business online. Our market-leading security solutions, superior threat intelligence, and global operations team provide defense in depth to safeguard enterprise data and applications everywhere. Akamai’s full-stack cloud computing solutions deliver performance and affordability on the world’s most distributed platform. Global enterprises trust Akamai to provide the industry-leading reliability, scale, and expertise they need to grow their business with confidence.