Since its inception in November 2018, the AIBC summit has been a bi-annual expo covering topics relating to the global sectors for blockchain, AI, big data, IoT, and quantum technologies. The summit was born as a horizontally-aligned vertical to SiGMA's premiere iGaming, and very much hit the ground running from its very first show.
Three editions later, and the AIBC Summit has grown leaps and bounds since its humble beginnings with a diverse and world-class group of disruptors, innovators, start-ups, established companies, and investors having graced the stages organised on The Blockchain Island of Malta. Some have even battled it out to impress a selection of judges during the AI and EmergingTech Start-Up Pitches. Attendees have ultimately gathered and discussed issues such as Compliance and Regulation, Business & Emerging Tech, Marketing & Investment, and many other thought provoking issues which genuinely concern the industry and, indeed, the planet as a whole.
The hype behind the much anticipated first edition of the AIBC Summit in November 2018 cannot be underplayed as this was hot on the tail of the often overlooked island nation of Malta being branded The Blockchain Island. And, the summit had in fact been organised with that purpose in mind - to give the whole scene a boost in the right direction.
Founder & CEO Eman Pulis had reasoned in his piece in the first issue of the Block magazine that everyone was looking to be better off “if we’re able to project the immense promise of blockchain, give the best ICOs a lift, and attract the best developers to our burgeoning Blockchain Island”.“Our goal is to help forge the right connections, and to provide the right talking shop to speed up that learning,” he had added.
The AI and Blockchain summit welcomed over 20.000 delegates, exhibitors, start-ups and attendees in 2018 and 2019.
The following year, 2019, saw the expansion to two summits per year, and the addition of newer, fresher verticals into its remit. It was also decided to hold the inaugural Cannabiz Summit World show back-to-back with the November AIBC event, offering a window into the value-laden investment opportunities that medicinal cannabis can provide.
The somewhat juxtaposed pairing of medical cannabis and blockchain technology was actually right in the midst of a growing trend whereby blockchain and AI were increasingly being used by the medical cannabis industry. Some of the applicable uses have included ensuring the quality has been verified by a trusted lab, the ability to create a secure system for seed-to-sale tracking, and monitoring the growth and shipping of the cannabis.
The most recent show, held in November 2019, in Malta, was the first step towards the eventual expansion to, and merging with, Asia. The three-day show also served as a close to a jam-packed year of shake-ups and consolidations dedicated to talking about the implementation of theories discussed during the previous year. Grammy-award winning artist Akon even showed off his multiple talents, first by speaking about bringing Africa into the blockchain world with his Akoin token, then by wowing the crowd with a live performance on the closing night.
The big names were not only reserved for this most recent show, as the AIBC summit has an illustrious history of bringing established earth-shakers to the stage such as the Founding Father of blockchain himself, Scott Stornetta. Other speakers included founder of McAfee, John McAfee, the Winklevoss Twins, known for their entrepreneurship and tech advocacy, and the AI-powered social humanoid robot, Sophia.
Overall, the totality of the shows have seen north of 20,000 delegates, exhibitors, investors, start-ups and a plurality of attendees rendezvousing on The Blockchain Island, which makes what is being cooked up next just that much more interesting.
Seeing that the Asian market has grown exponentially over the last few years, it was only a matter of time before the gap between East and West would be bridged, and the introduction of AIBC Manila is a testament to that being recognised. The super expo is being geared towards combining both the iGaming vertical with the AI and blockchain show.
This will give innovators, start-ups, established companies, and investors from every sector the opportunity to familiarise themselves and create business relationships with what is essentially a whole new world with its own dedicated market ready to explore.
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If you want to re-live the SiGMA Digital experience go to our Youtube channels – SiGMA – World’s iGaming Festival and AIBC Summit!