Mediterranean’s AI momentum surges as GITEX launches in Italy’s US$92B digital economy
GITEX AI Mediterranean Italy April 2027 in Rome catalyses global tech ecosystem expansion across the Mediterranean’s ascending intelligence economy
Debut event to reinforce regional rise anchored by AI industrial transformation, cybersecurity and dual-use tech, life sciences, quantum, data centres, mobility and clean energy
Hosted in strategic partnership with the Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy; Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Regione Lazio; and Lazio Innova
Rome, Italy, 4 June 2026: At the Sala Degli Arazzi, the historic state rooms of Italy’s Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, GITEX, the world’s largest tech and AI event network, today announced its arrival in the Mediterranean, with the launch of GITEX AI Mediterranean Italy.
GITEX AI Mediterranean Italy was officially confirmed at a signing ceremony before an audience of hundreds of Italy’s and the region’s most influential tech executives, in strategic partnership with the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Regione Lazio, and Lazio Innova.
GITEX AI Mediterranean Italy will take place on 21-22 April 2027 at Roma Convention Center La Nuvola – Rome’s iconic contemporary venue and a celebrated stage for global events. Italy’s landmark debut tech and AI event is organised by inD, the newly formed joint venture between Dubai World Trade Centre and Informa, and the global organiser of GITEX.
The announcement lands at a moment of remarkable momentum. The Mediterranean has emerged as one of the world’s most significant AI regions, and at its heart sits Italy, Europe’s fourth largest economy with a tech market on course to surpass US$92 billion in 2026 (Mordor Intelligence). Italy’s AI adoption has doubled in a single year to reach the highest rates in the EU, with venture capital flowing in at volumes not seen in a decade.
Over 46 years, GITEX has become the single unifying platform connecting public and private sectors with global technology ecosystems from 195 countries. The Mediterranean is its next defining frontier.
Italy’s new renaissance moment led by AI
A nation that has set the global standard in future mobility, design, fashion, biosciences, food, and agritech is now redefining its edge in artificial intelligence. AI adoption among Italian enterprises doubled from 8.2% in 2024 to 16.4% in 2025, one of the sharpest accelerations recorded in the EU – backed by Italy’s National Recovery & Resilience Plan (PNRR), directing €50 billion into AI, cloud, cybersecurity, and smart industry.
GITEX AI Mediterranean Italy is built to drive these ambitions and serve as Italy’s global gateway – connecting international enterprises to commercial and investment opportunities across the Mediterranean, while giving regional innovators a platform to scale worldwide.
The inaugural edition will unite influential tech leaders, enterprises, scaleups, investors, and government and business leaders from over 120 nations, alongside 500-plus exhibitors featuring breakthroughs spanning intelligent cities, data centres, cybersecurity and dual-use tech, energy and cleantech, smart manufacturing, life sciences, aerospace and future mobility, and agritech.
Rome: an epicentre for Industry 4.0, Intelligent Cities, and Europe’s AI future
Rome has the highest concentration of public research in Italy and the largest access to European R&D funding. It is home to Leonardo, one of Europe’s foremost defence, aerospace, and cybersecurity enterprises; and Eni, Europe’s second-largest energy corporation, now spearheading supercomputing and quantum computing innovations for the energy transition.
Last year, Eni partnered with UAE-based hyperscale infrastructure company Khazna Data Centers to develop a 500MW AI Data Centre Campus in Italy — powered by low-carbon energy and designed to become a sovereign AI infrastructure node at the heart of Europe.
In Rome, even the most time-honoured institutions are shaping the intelligence era. Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, released in May 2026 as the first papal teaching in history dedicated to AI, drew the world’s foremost AI leaders to the Vatican, and placed this two-thousand-year-old city at the ethical frontier of the world’s most transformative technology.
A relationship that now comes home
Italian innovation has been consistently at the forefront of GITEX’s international editions for over a decade. More than 100 enterprises, startups, and institutions have taken centre-stage at GITEX events year after year, showcasing the depth and ambition of Italy’s technology community to the world. GITEX AI Mediterranean Italy marks a defining new chapter, bringing the world's most connected technology network to the country whose enterprises have helped build it.
For more information, visit: www.gitexitaly.com