Nexthrus said on Tuesday it is joining hands with Dubai government bodies and institutions to target global markets in games, artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain in the second half of the year.

Nexthrus' Dubai unit, Nexthrus Hub, will hold an industry conference, “Play the Future,” in Dubai on July 16 together with the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC). The event will share the direction of its platform ecosystem following its acquisition of OneStore. It also plans to unveil the “DMCC Gaming Centre x Nexthrus Acceleration Programme” for the first time.

The programme aims to discover and onboard game studios and support web3 and AI startups. In a panel discussion that follows, Kim Jae-young (김재영), head of Nexthrus' Dubai unit, as well as local virtual asset regulation experts and corporate officials, will discuss strategies to build a digital economy with Dubai as a hub.

On-site collaboration at global game exhibitions will also continue. Nexthrus Hub will take part as a partner at the DMCC booth at ChinaJoy, to be held in Shanghai from July 30 to Aug. 2, to promote its “One” brand. It also plans to broaden its introduction of the acceleration programme to global game studios through a joint pavilion of Dubai government entities at Gamescom, to be held in Cologne, Germany, from Aug. 26 to 30.

DMCC is a key economic institution in Dubai, home to more than 26,000 companies, over 800 web3 firms and more than 150 game companies. Nexthrus set up its local unit last year and is pushing expansion into global markets including the Middle East, Asia and Europe.