Dubai took a major step onto the global digital health stage by hosting the inaugural WHX Tech 2025 event.
From September 8 to 10, the city hosted the WHX Tech event—an ambitious new platform created by WHX Dubai (formerly Arab Health) in partnership with Informa Markets and HIMSS.
The event was officially inaugurated by H.E. Professor Alawi Alsheikh Ali, Director General of the Dubai Health Authority, and filled the Dubai World Trade Centre with three days of ideas, energy, and innovation.
The goal was to make WHX Tech the global meeting place for digital health. As Ross Williams, Commercial Director at Informa Markets, explained, the vision is clear:
“A global platform for doing business within the digital healthcare space.”
Judging by the launch, they’re already on their way. 200+ speakers, 300+ exhibitors, and thousands of conversations set the stage for what’s to come.
WHX Tech 2025: A global stage for breakthrough ideas
The agenda was cleverly split into three themed stages, each offering its own flavor:
World X:
This was the main stage for big-picture thinking, featuring what organisers called “digital health gurus from all over the world.”
It hosted sessions like “Building & Funding the Next Digital Health Unicorn,” which offered wisdom from British investor and TV personality Peter Jones (Dragons’ Den, Shark Tank) and best-selling author and CEO Heather Monahon.
Xcelerate:
Designed specifically for the startup ecosystem, this stage focuses on practical challenges and opportunities.
A standout session, “How Can Digital Health Help Displaced Populations?”, brought together experts like Dr. Waheed Arian of Arian Wellbeing and Dr. Sam Shah.
Future X:
True to its name, this stage was all about forward-looking, visionary ideas. Attendees explored “The Future of Global Health” with applied health futurist Zayna Khayat and delved into “Genomes, Cells & AI: Unlocking Medicine’s Toughest Questions” with Dr. Mohammed Uddin.
Pioneering minds and their visions
The event brought together an incredible mix of visionaries from major tech and healthcare names. The speaker lineup included figures like former NASA astronaut and OnwardAir founder Scott Parazynski, IBM’s Chief Health Officer Mark Davies, and Deep Look Medical CEO Marissa K. Fayer.
Guiding the event’s direction was an equally impressive advisory board with top voices such as Dr. David Rhew of Microsoft, Dr. Myriam Fernandez from Amazon Web Services, and Dr. James Mault of BioIntelliSense.
The future of healthcare felt tangible, both in the talks and on the exhibition floor.
H.E. Ms. Mubaraka Ibrahim provided a particularly forward-looking moment, sharing her vision that “Every citizen may one day have their digital twin…“—a concept that would allow for treatments to be tested on a digital model before reaching the patient.
This theme of innovation was something attendees could actively experience themselves at over 300 demo stations, which featured hands-on exhibits ranging from immersive VR health applications to the newest telemedicine technologies.
Innovation in women’s health and the funding gap
A standout panel featured an all-women lineup asking a tough question: if women’s health is a trillion-dollar opportunity, why is it still underfunded?
Reenita Das (Frost & Sullivan) pointed to history: “The world and healthcare were created in a patriarchal way for men.”
Priya Oberoi (Goddess Gaia Ventures) put it bluntly: “What’s missing is risk capital; the kind that scaled Revolut or Klarna.”
The panel identified immense opportunities beyond reproductive health, in areas like AI-driven diagnostics, mental health, and autoimmune diseases.
They concluded with a powerful consensus:
Investing in women’s health is not a niche but the backbone of a healthier economy and society for everyone.
Why data infrastructure is healthcare’s next frontier
While AI-dominated discussions, one theme kept coming back: data.
Dr. Anjum Khurshid (Harvard Medical School) summed it up best: “AI is as good as the data used to train it.” Flawed or biased data can be dangerous, and the real challenge is building a strong, trustworthy infrastructure.
Speakers like Dr. Kalthoom AlBlooshi (Emirates Health Services) argued for treating health data as civic infrastructure. That includes investing in secure data sharing, representative datasets, and governance that puts patients first.
Takeaway: The next big AI breakthrough won’t be an algorithm. It’ll be fixing the data foundation AI stands on.
The Xcelerate startup competition
A major highlight of the event was the Xcelerate Startup Competition, where 40+ promising startups pitched their innovations across three days.
The competition offered a $50,000 equity-free grand prize and gave founders global visibility and investor connections.
This year’s standout winners were:
Strolll: Xcelerate Champion of Innovation (1st Prize)
Eclateral: Xceptional Patient-Centric Innovation (2nd Prize)
Youth Health Tech: Xtraordinarily Early-Stage Startup Winner (3rd Prize)
Building connections and credibility
Beyond the presentations, the event was seriously focused on forging real-world connections.
An exclusive “Connections Programme” worked behind the scenes to set up personalised 1:1 meetings between digital health innovators and senior buyers, making it easier for attendees to secure deals and build valuable relationships.
Adding to the event’s credibility, WHX Tech was also honoured by RCSI Dubai, which placed its logo on the institution’s renowned Wall of Excellence. This new partnership kicks off a shared mission to enrich future event content with insights from top RCSI experts.
The bottom line
The launch of WHX Tech wasn’t just another conference—it was a statement. Dubai has positioned itself as a new hub for digital health. With strong turnout and overwhelmingly positive feedback, WHX Tech has given the industry a global platform for collaboration, deals, and ideas that matter.
As Ross Williams put it, this is just the beginning: a strong foundation to build on, with innovation and connections that could shape healthcare for years to come.
-By Alkama Sohail and the AHT Team
