AIXport at WTO Public Forum 2026: Building the AI-Native Intelligence Layer for International Trade

The Vice-Presidency for Research and Technology News Desk of the University of Tehran:

Ariamehr Maleki, founder of AIXport, an early-stage startup building AI for international trade, and Executive Director of University of Tehran’s Data Mining and Intelligent Systems Optimization Laboratory, organized and moderated one of the 45 selected curated conversations at the WTO Public Forum 2026 in Geneva. He was also invited to speak on a separate panel at the Forum. AIXport’s work grew out of two years of applied research focused on how artificial intelligence can address bottlenecks in global trade.

Maleki is a final-year undergraduate student in Computer Engineering, with a minor in Management, at University of Tehran. He has a decade of programming experience and five years of experience in applied AI. Across projects in AI, data mining, and digital transformation, he has designed and implemented solutions for businesses and organizations across a range of industries in domestic and international markets. His study of international trade led him to examine how AI could help address the sector’s challenges.

Two years ago, Maleki began research on applying vertical AI to international trade in collaboration with University of Tehran’s Data Mining and Intelligent Systems Optimization Laboratory, under the academic guidance of its head, Dr. Shahrokh Asadi. Market research was the first bottleneck addressed: exporters must navigate extensive, fragmented data to identify promising markets and opportunities. Building on this work, Maleki founded AIXport as an independent startup with a global vision to address trade bottlenecks across markets worldwide.

AIXport is building the AI-native intelligence layer for international trade, with the long-term vision of applying vertical AI across the sector’s major bottlenecks. Its first product focuses on AI-powered export market research and market discovery and continues to evolve. Designed for manufacturers, trading companies, chambers of commerce, and trade-promotion organizations worldwide, it aims to transform fragmented global trade data into decision-ready insights about target markets and export opportunities.

Following a review of proposals submitted from around the world, the Geneva Trade Platform (GTP), based within the Geneva Graduate Institute, selected the session for its Curated Conversations series. Following the selection, the platform’s Executive Director invited Maleki to Geneva. The series was held in partnership with the WTO as part of the official WTO Public Forum 2026 programme and featured 45 roundtables. Sessions in the series were also organized by institutions and organizations including Other sessions in the series were organized by institutions and organizations including Stanford University, the London School of Economics (LSE), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the World Bank, and the World Economic Forum’s Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation.

The session, “The Democratization of Expertise: AI and the Future of Trade in Services”, took place at WTO headquarters on September 16, 2026. It was organized by AIXport and the Mercosur–ASEAN Chamber of Commerce (MACC), with Maleki as the organizer and moderator. The session explored how AI can broaden access to specialized expertise and capabilities in services trade, especially for developing countries and SMEs.

The Head of the Development Policy Unit in the WTO Secretariat’s Development Division invited Maleki to speak on the WTO Public Forum panel, “Services as Infrastructure: Trade Costs and Inclusion.” Moderated by Ambassador Xiangchen Zhang, WTO Deputy Director-General, the panel included Mastercard’s Global Public Policy Director, the London School of Economics Growth Lab’s Data Manager, and the Head of the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement Facility.

In a discussion of the financial, logistics, and digital services that enable trade, Maleki presented trade intelligence as another essential component of international trade infrastructure. He highlighted how AI can reshape the field, citing AIXport’s first product in export market research and market discovery, which is designed to help exporters identify markets and opportunities before making financing and logistics decisions, as an example. The Deputy Director-General welcomed AIXport’s approach, while the presentation received a positive response from the audience.

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