BRIDGE Summit 2025 panel urges bold investment to shape the future of media

Abu Dhabi: Industry leaders highlight AI disruption, capital shifts to the Global South, and a new era of cognitive economies

At a packed session titled “Mobilising Capital for a Future Media Ecosystem” on day two of the BRIDGE Summit 2025 in Abu Dhabi, experts and investors explored how artificial intelligence, media innovation, and new financing models are reshaping the global media landscape — and why the UAE is emerging as one of the most dynamic hubs for this transformation.

The summit continues at ADNEC, Abu Dhabi, through 10 December, uniting over 60,000 participants from 132 countries and more than 430 speakers across 300+ sessions, workshops, and engagements.

'A major shift, barely scratched the surface'

The discussion featured Khalfan Juma Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation, and Dr. Ling Ge, Chief Investment & Strategy Officer EMEA at Tencent, moderated in a lively session blending humour, foresight, and forward-looking policy insights.

Speaking on AI’s disruptive impact, Belhoul called the moment historic.

“AI is a massive, massive shift. We haven’t even scratched the surface, and yet it has already transformed our lives,” he said.

In a candid moment, he revealed consulting ChatGPT minutes before the panel, adding that transparency is key in a world where trust will define the future of media.

“This panel is all about trust. Whoever doesn’t use tools like ChatGPT today is not being efficient with their time. The point is to be honest about it.”

Belhoul stressed that AI’s influence now extends far beyond entertainment.

“One statement online can shift millions or billions of dollars, true or not. Media today holds geopolitical weight.”

From legacy media to distributed influence

As legacy media models decline, global capital is shifting from traditional markets to emerging hubs in the Global South, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi becoming magnets for sovereign wealth funds, VCs, and media innovators.

Panelists agreed that media is now critical infrastructure, not just a cultural product. AI, decentralised platforms, and creator-driven content are accelerating a redistribution of influence that governments and investors can no longer ignore.

The AI wave is different — backing long-term builders

Moderator Rachel Maycock, Managing Partner of Place Advisory & Public Affairs, asked whether the world is entering an AI bubble. Dr. Ling Ge of Tencent said this cycle is fundamentally different.

“This time is not like the dot-com era. The companies that endure are those solving problems that will matter a decade from now, not just chasing trends.”

She outlined Tencent’s investment criteria:

1. Exceptional people — the smartest, most driven founders.

2. Meaningful problems — innovation built for decades, not quarters.

3. Technical defensibility — technology that cannot be easily replicated.

Dr. Ge highlighted early investments in AI agent startups, Cambridge-based biotech transforming animal health, and social-community platforms powering AI training.

“Future AI will feel like electricity — invisible, essential. It will become quiet infrastructure.”

Dubai’s sandbox approach: Empower failure, accelerate regulation

Asked how Dubai fosters innovation, Belhoul credited leadership and regulatory agility, recalling the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE.

“We were told, you have the green light to test. Failure is not the end; it’s a building moment.”

He emphasised that funding alone is not enough without responsive regulation.

“There is no regulatory body that can catch innovation in real time, but Dubai aims to run close. Sandboxing, testing, and converting prototypes into city-wide policy is how you win.”

This approach, he noted, is why global capital is increasingly flowing to the UAE.

A region on the rise

As investment in media infrastructure accelerates, the panel made one thing clear: the future media ecosystem will not be built in the places that dominated the past.

Instead, it will emerge in cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, powered by youth, policy agility, and a vision that embraces risk, creativity, and technology at scale.

And if today was any indication, the region is not preparing for the future — it is already building it.