Last month in Dubai, 36 creators, creator economy leaders, and platform folks locked themselves in a room at the Creators HQ for eight hours.
It was an exclusive 1 Billion Followers Summit Retreat aiming at just one task: figure out how to make 1 Billion Followers Summit 2026 the best one yet. We were in that room. So here’s the inside scoop of what’s changing, what’s actually useful, and how to work the summit so you leave with momentum, not tote bags.
1 Billion Follower Summit: When and Where
Dates: Jan 9–11, 2026
Venues: Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Museum of the Future, and DIFC: three hubs, easy hops, lots of corners for real conversations.
Scale check: last edition drew 30,000+ attendees, 15,000 creators, and 420 speakers. Organizers are openly aiming bigger for 2026, with new programs and prize money to match.
Tickets (Super Early Bird):
- General from $47.65
- Creator from $142.95
- VIP $1,429.54
Pick the tier that fits your goal: build skills and meet peers (Creator) vs. high-signal rooms (VIP).
3 Main Stages and Multiple Workshops
The retreat consensus: cut the fluff, get practical. There’s gonna be three main stages: Creator, Economy, and Technology.
The focus is on the topics that hit creators’ biggest pain points:
- Platform dependence: how to stop being hostage to ever-changing algorithms.
- Creator → Entrepreneur: transition from making content to building a sustainable creative business.
- Scaling tech: tools and strategies to grow faster without burning out.
- Burnout & mental health: practical ways to stay creative and sane in a high-pressure world.
Every session is designed to give you something actionable by the end of the day.
Expect fewer monologues and more small-room AMAs, build-along workshops, and clinics with platform teams where you can ask the awkward questions and get a real answer.
The goal is short distance from question → answer → action. (That’s literally how the retreat ran.)
What’s New (and Big)
Reason to book the flight? These three moves you won’t find anywhere else.
$1,000,000 AI Short-Film Prize in partnership with Google Gemini
The summit will screen the top 10 AI-made shorts and hand $1M to the winner: the largest prize of its kind. Judging isn’t “who ran the most tools”; it’s story, craft, and how well AI serves the idea, aligned to the “Content for Good” theme. If you needed a real deadline to try generative filmmaking, this is it.
Submission deadline: 20 Nov 2025 → all the submission criteria are listed here.
What’s expected from participants:
- 7–10 minute AI film (any language, subtitled in English).
- Must use Google Gemini models for video generation.
- Pick one of the themes:
- Rewrite Tomorrow → Stories imagining a positive future.
- The Secret Life Of → Reveal hidden stories behind everyday things.
- One entry per individual, open worldwide.
- Storytelling matters more than flashy tech. Judges want creative ideas executed well, not just AI firepower.
The top 5 films will premiere at 1BFS in Dubai on January 10th, and one visionary filmmaker will take the $1,000,000 Grand Prize.
Picture source: 1BFS IG
Creators Ventures Program: AED 50,000,000 on the table
Creators HQ, in partnership with 500 Global, has opened applications for the Creators Ventures Program: a 10-week hybrid accelerator for creator-led startups. AED 50,000,000 is available in grants, joint ventures, and accelerator funding. If you’re building a tool, data product, or service for creators, this is your pitch moment.
Final application deadline: October 3, 2025 → Don’t wait.
What they’re looking for:
- Content Creators launching products or services built for the creators community.
- Startups: tech, platforms, or tools serving the creator economy.
What participants get:
- Hands-on Mentorship → Work side-by-side with founders, operators, and 500 Global.
- MVP Sprint + Bootcamp → Go from prototype to product-market fit in 5 days.
- Founder’s Retreat → Step back, reset, and plan your next big move with your cohort.
- Experimentation Weeks → Test your ideas on your own channels while getting direct mentor feedback. Iterate fast, learn faster.
- Final Pitch → Your moment on stage at the 1 Billion Followers Summit 2026 in Dubai. Think of it like TechCrunch Disrupt… but for creators. Investors, exposure, and funding all in one spotlight.
This program provides you with the tools, funding, and network to transform influence into a scalable business.
Picture source: 1BFS IG
Creators Market Pavilion
This is the first time it’s a real expo floor for creator-run businesses and SMEs: ~100 startups are showcasing their products, and pressure-testing them with creators walking the aisles.
That’s your chance to showcase your startup or medium-sized business to 30,000+ attendees, including creators, investors, and media leaders. Pitch your products, test ideas in real-time, and sign new partners, all in one place.
Spots are limited, but you can still apply to be part of this curated creator economy hub.
AIR on the Ground (Find Us, Use Us)
We’ll be on the spot with x-ray across 3,000 channels, dozens of tools, and ~200 pairs of hands doing the work that makes channels grow: audits, design & animation, promotion, safety, instant payouts, dubbing/localization, distribution: all you need to grow faster and make more money as a creator
If you want the “what actually works this quarter” picture, grab us in the hall (or better, let’s set up a meeting) and tell us your 2026 goal. We’ll pressure-test it against data and turn it into steps you can start during the summit.
Have Questions About Going Global?
Bring them. We’ll be there with Jason’s Vlogs, Vania Mania, and examples from 400+ channels we’ve helped expand, where multi-audio did beat new channels, and where it didn’t (and why).
Vania Mania added +47M monthly views with AIR’s Translation Lab. We ran ES/DE/PL as standalone dubs, then layered Portuguese via multi-audio tracks to pick up extra reach without splitting the audience. Jason’s Vlogs blew up with localization. What else worked? They shared their key lessons here →
If you’re weighing multi-audio vs. new channels (or how much back-catalog to dub at launch), come find us. We’ll bring the playbook and the “don’t do this” list.
Looking for Ways to Fund Your YouTube Growth?
There’s a new option on the table: Royalty.io.
Backed by AIR Media-Tech, it lets creators turn a slice of future YouTube ad revenue into digital tokens. Fans and investors can buy in, giving you cash upfront to grow, hire, or launch that next big project.
Think of it like fan-powered funding (fanvestment) for your next idea. You get the money now, and they share in the success as your channel grows. No NFTs, just straightforward revenue-backed support.
The Royalty.io team will be at the 1 Billion Followers Summit in Dubai. You can text us, book a meeting, and see how this works in action before you commit.
The Lineup Vibe
The 2026 speakers are still rolling out, but the pattern is set: global headliners + regional juggernauts + the operators behind them. If last year is any signal: Zach King, Jay Shetty, Supercar Blondie, Airrack, Germán Garmendia, Kids Diana Show, Maye Musk, expect a similar mix shaped with more creator input this time.
Use this opportunity to talk to the best in the industry and ask for the one lever that moved their growth last quarter.
Your 1BFS Playbook (short, sharp, works)
Most deals happen between stages: coffee lines, hallway detours, the walk from DIFC to Emirates Towers when everyone’s phones are dying. What you carry matters:
- 60-second pitch. What you do, who it helps, what you want next. Say it out loud until it sounds like you.
- One-pager > deck. Hand it, move on. They’ll follow up if it sticks.
- Three anchors per day. Book 3 must-attends; leave room for hallway luck.
- Two “collabs in a box.” Ideas you can film in 30 minutes with anyone in your niche.
- Tidy storefronts. Pin one post on your socials that sums you up in 10 seconds; people check before DMing.
- The event app. Every participant gets the Summit app for Android and iOS. Use it to browse who’s attending, see their profiles, book meetings, and plan your schedule. Treat it like your personal navigator. The more you explore and pre-book, the more opportunities you lock in. Don’t just show up, use it to work the room like a pro.
Keep three anchors on your calendar and leave oxygen around them; serendipity needs space.
Show up with a clean pitch and a little nerve, and you won’t leave empty-handed.
We’ll be there. If you’ve got questions, come find AIR. Or contact us now, and we’ll lock time to meet in Dubai.
