From the Desert to Decentralized AI: NEAR at TOKEN2049 Dubai

From the main stage to private roundtables and packed side events, NEAR showed up with clarity, conviction, and unstoppable momentum.

Staking Summit: Telcos Step Into Web3

We kicked off the week with a powerful presence at Staking Summit Dubai, where NEAR Foundation’s CFO, David Norris, took the stage alongside some of the biggest names in telecom and Web3 infrastructure. The panel, titled “Telcos as Web3 Infrastructure Titans: Powering Decentralized Networks,” explored the evolving role of telecommunications companies as foundational players in the decentralized internet.

Moderated by Meta Pool’s co-founder Lucio Tato, the discussion brought together leaders from Deutsche Telekom, Saudi Telecom Bahrain, and Vodafone Group, who shared how telecom infrastructure can support blockchain networks, enhance decentralization, and onboard the next billion users. David Norris brought the NEAR perspective, emphasizing the importance of strategic partnerships and scalable infrastructure in building the open web.

The momentum continued with a hands-on workshop led by Claudio Cossio, who guided attendees through the process of running validator nodes on NEAR. The session featured the launch of a new product collaboration between Openmesh Network and DappNode, designed to simplify validator operations and increase access to NEAR’s infrastructure.

From high-level strategy to technical execution, the summit bridged legacy infrastructure with the future of decentralized networks.

Capital Meets Vision at the Investor Breakfast Roundtable

Midway through the week, NEAR brought together a curated group of investors, builders, and ecosystem leaders for a private Investor Breakfast Roundtable. Set against the backdrop of Dubai’s fast-moving innovation landscape, the gathering offered space for meaningful dialogue around capital, conviction, and what it takes to build the open web.

The discussion centered on NEAR’s positioning at the intersection of AI, Web3, and real-world use cases. Attendees explored how NEAR is enabling a new class of user-owned, composable infrastructure and how that foundation opens up high-value opportunities for capital to support the next wave of applications.

This was not just a networking breakfast. It was a room full of people who understand timing, narrative, and product-market fit. NEAR delivered a clear message: this ecosystem is not only maturing, it is accelerating.

Investors left energized, curious, and ready to dig deeper. The roundtable did exactly what it set out to do — spark interest, deepen relationships, and drive momentum forward.

NEAR AI Builds Momentum Across Multichain Day and deAI Day

As the week unfolded, NEAR AI took the spotlight across two of TOKEN2049’s most forward-looking gatherings: Multichain Day and deAI Day. 

At Multichain Day, Jay joined a panel exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence and decentralized infrastructure. The discussion focused on privacy, compute power, and the infrastructure needed to support intelligent systems across networks. Jay shared how NEAR’s architecture is uniquely suited to support real-world AI applications with speed, composability, and resilience.

The following day at deAI Day, he joined a panel on the emerging financial layer of AI. The conversation explored how autonomous agents will engage with capital, manage liquidity, and adapt to evolving markets. Jay outlined how NEAR is building the infrastructure that allows these systems to operate securely and efficiently.

With each appearance, NEAR AI continued to lead the conversation around building open, scalable, agent-driven technology.

This Is Where AI Meets the Open Web

At the heart of TOKEN2049, NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin took the main stage alongside Emad Mostaque of StabilityAI and Sreeram Kannan of EigenLayer for a packed panel titled AI Unchained: Building Intelligence on Open Networks. The session brought together three of the brightest minds in decentralized systems and artificial intelligence, and the result was a powerful and timely conversation.

Illia emphasized that we are entering a new era, where AI becomes digital infrastructure and blockchain serves as the trust layer that makes it accountable, transparent, and aligned. The systems built today will define how power, intelligence, and value are distributed in the decades ahead.

This is not a future designed to replace humans. It is one built to extend agency, solve complex challenges, and return control to users. Illia made it clear that open source is not just a belief — it is a structural necessity. Information wants to be free, and protocols must reflect that reality.

In his keynote, Building the Blockchain for AI, Illia explained how NEAR has been building toward this future. He walked through architectural choices designed to support intelligent agents and interoperable systems and outlined how NEAR is positioning itself as the connective layer between AI and the open web.

By 2040, sovereign AI agents may coordinate a significant portion of global activity. The question is not whether this future arrives, but how it is built. NEAR’s answer is open, user-owned, and composable by design.

Connection, Conversation, and the Road Ahead

As the sun set over Dubai, NEAR brought the community together for a happy hour with BitGo and Kiln. The atmosphere reflected the week itself. It was charged, thoughtful, and optimistic. Conversations ranged from infrastructure to use cases, from AI agents to governance models. It was a space for new connections and shared momentum, a reminder that community is the true engine of progress.

That same spirit carried into the final sessions, where Lane Rettig, NEAR Foundation’s Head of Research, joined a panel on the decentralized AI-powered internet. Lane offered a grounded perspective on how intelligent systems will evolve in ways that make life easier while protecting user data and individual agency.

He emphasized that decentralized intelligence is not just a technical concept. It is a new layer of internet design, one built to serve people rather than platforms.

From Zero to One, and Beyond

To close out the week, NEAR partnered with Infinex and RugRadio to host a rooftop gathering that quickly became one of the most talked-about moments of TOKEN2049. The setting was elevated, the guest list intentional, and the conversations filled with energy and purpose. This was more than a celebration. It was a signal. NEAR is here to build, and we bring people together.

From the opening panel to the final toast, NEAR showed up with clarity and presence. We did not just attend TOKEN2049. We helped define it.

Are you ready to shape what comes next?