Worth the Trip: Impressions from the Emirates
By Michael, CTO of Messy Virgo, October 24, 2026
Notes from a week of meetings in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah.
On the Road
I spent the last week in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah as CTO of Messy Virgo. The plan: meet the local AI and crypto crowd, talk, and show what we are building. I came back with a bag full of impressions and a few findings that are now much clearer to me than before.
A Scene That Looks Forward
What impressed me most is the energy. Not the conference kind, the kind where people actually build things. AI and crypto are not niche topics over there. They are part of a national plan, and you feel it in every meeting. In three cities, the same sentence came up again and again: you have to be here, not on calls. They meant it.
The mood in the crypto market is subdued right now, and geopolitics came up in more than one conversation. All the more striking that people keep working, positive and busy. Money is clearly still flowing into new products.
Meetings and Feedback
I met a lot of people who actually move things in this ecosystem, and some of these conversations will continue after the trip. That is exactly the outcome I hoped for.
On Messy Virgo and Fund OS, the feedback was consistently positive. I will be honest: I had braced for polite nodding. Instead, people asked specific follow-up questions. That kind of interest you do not mistake.
What Stays With Me
The positive feedback does not change the core finding: we still have big steps ahead. Messy Virgo and especially Fund OS have potential, but the current setup is not built for it yet.
One thing stood out. Nearly everyone we talked to cleanly separates a token community from a software product. Both are legitimate, and each needs its own foundation. That matches our own view. In its current form, our setup essentially carries the community and open-source side. The product side does not rest on the same foundation yet.
That is the uncomfortable part of this trip: we got exactly the validation we wanted, and the validation says now build the product. Fund OS has so far grown out of conviction and a lot of personal initiative. Growing it further will take more than that.
Takeaway
The mission feels confirmed. The feedback is there, the interest is there. Now it is about setting the right course.
They say Rome is always worth the trip. I would say the same about the Emirates.