GITEX Ai Türkiye opens in Istanbul as country pushes AI ambitions

GITEX Ai Türkiye 2026 opened in Istanbul on Sept. 9, bringing together more than 350 exhibitors, 100 speakers and 150 investors as Türkiye pushes its 2026-2030 AI Action Plan. The event is meant to showcase the country’s bid for global AI leadership, new data-center buildout and cross-border tech investment.

Why it matters: - Türkiye is using GITEX Ai Türkiye to signal that its AI push is moving from policy to infrastructure, capital and global partnerships. - The event lands as Türkiye fast-tracks its 2026-2030 AI Action Plan, which targets 1GW of data center capacity, US$10 billion in private-sector AI infrastructure investment and five million AI-literate citizens in the next two years. - The gathering also highlights Türkiye’s effort to position Istanbul as a Eurasian tech hub that can connect startups, investors and global technology firms.

What happened: - GITEX Ai Türkiye 2026 opened Sept. 9 at Istanbul Expo Center and runs through Sept. 10. - The event brings together 350-plus exhibitors, 100 speakers, 150 investors with more than US$75 billion in assets and thousands of tech executives from 70 countries. - Hosted by the Investment and Finance Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, also known as Invest in Türkiye, the event is held in strategic partnership with the Ministry of Industry and Technology and organized by inD. - Opening-day attendees included tech leaders, investors, entrepreneurs and policymakers.

The details: - The exhibition spans AI, cloud and data centers, cybersecurity, fintech and intelligent infrastructure. - Participating global companies include Google Cloud, HPE, NVIDIA, AWS, Huawei, Dell Technologies, SAP and TrendAI. - Turkish participants include Trendyol, Andevos and Halkbank, alongside accelerators such as Antalya Teknokent, İTÜ ARI Teknokent and Giresun Teknopark. - Gokhan Yucel of Invest in Türkiye said Türkiye’s AI ecosystem has around 1,500 active AI companies and gives businesses access to 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of US$35 trillion within a four-hour flight radius. - Bilal Alrais, vice president of digital growth at inD, said the event is intended to help Turkish companies grow internationally, attract investment and build partnerships that lead to business opportunities. - Dell Technologies said hybrid and multi-cloud architectures are central to business continuity and competitiveness, and highlighted examples of AI-driven transformation. - Huawei said it has operated local cloud infrastructure in Türkiye since 2023 and was the first hyperscaler with local infrastructure on a three-availability-zone architecture, plus a disaster recovery center in Ankara opened in 2024. - Safder Baydur of Huawei Cloud Türkiye said data center capacity worldwide was about 60 gigawatts in 2020, 97 in 2024 and is projected to reach 226 by 2030. - GITEX and Terminal Istanbul signed a memorandum of understanding that will give Terminal Istanbul a presence across GITEX events globally. - Terminal Istanbul is converting the former Atatürk Airport terminals into what is planned to become the world’s largest innovation and entrepreneurship hub, with about 500,000 square meters of space for offices, incubation centers, co-working areas and startup, investor and accelerator facilities. - Türkiye Wealth Fund said sovereign capital can help attract additional institutional and international capital into the technology ecosystem. - Halkbank said it is investing in AI, digital banking and next-generation technologies. - Andevos is showing payment automation tools, its Paynova open banking platform and AI Assistant initiatives.

Between the lines: - The event is not just a showcase. It is also a pitch to international capital that Türkiye can supply talent, infrastructure and market access at the same time. - The mix of cloud, data center, fintech and sovereignty messaging suggests Türkiye wants to frame AI as a national competitiveness issue, not only an enterprise technology trend. - The Terminal Istanbul deal extends that strategy beyond the conference floor by linking Türkiye’s startup ecosystem to GITEX’s global network.

What's next: - GITEX Ai Türkiye continues on Sept. 10 with a ministerial address and sessions on AI, data centers, intelligent infrastructure, fintech, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing and enterprise digital transformation. - Türkiye’s broader AI plan now moves back into execution, with attention on infrastructure buildout, skills training and capital formation. - The GITEX and Terminal Istanbul partnership is expected to create more international exposure for Turkish startups across future GITEX events.

The bottom line: - Türkiye is trying to turn AI ambition into a durable ecosystem by pairing policy, infrastructure, capital and global visibility in one event.