Tariq Khan
Tariq Khan is a Venture Partner at the Oregon-based Elevate Capital. As an angel investor, he is known for backing contrarian ideas that anticipate market shifts. He is a co-founder of Games24x7, which went on to become one of India’s largest online gaming companies. He helped scale the business from concept to category leader. His investment portfolio spans healthcare, artificial intelligence, gaming, and consumer tech, including Buddi-Health and parenting platform Convosight. Before becoming an active angel investor, Khan spent two decades at global financial institutions such as Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, Citigroup Private Bank, and GM Asset Management. A former president of TiE New York, he is deeply involved in mentoring early-stage founders.
January 31, 2026 Startup Bazaar Abu Dhabi 2026
Keynote address: Tariq Khan
The keynote will explore the realities of launching a startup and navigating the critical early stages of growth. Drawing on real-world experience, Tariq Khan will cover how founders can move from idea to execution, make early strategic decisions, avoid common pitfalls, and adapt as markets, customers, and capital conditions evolve. Designed for early-stage entrepreneurs and aspiring founders, the talk will offer practical insights on building resilience, aligning vision with execution, and charting a sustainable path forward in today’s fast-moving startup landscape.
February 2, 2026 Startup Bazaar Dubai
FIRESIDE CHAT with Tariq Khan
In this fireside chat, Tariq Khan — Venture Partner at Elevate Capital, seasoned angel investor, and co-founder of the Indian unicorn Games24x7 — will reflect on a career that spans global finance, entrepreneurship, and early-stage investing across two continents. Drawing on his experience scaling Games24x7 from an idea to a category-defining company, Khan
will share lessons on identifying contrarian opportunities, building conviction ahead of market shifts, and backing founders through uncertainty. The conversation will also examine the evolving landscape of AI startups in the UAE and other emerging markets, including what excites investors, where capital is flowing, and how founders in these regions can build globally competitive companies. With insights shaped by his tenure at institutions such as Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup, and his deep involvement mentoring founders through TiE New York, Khan will offer candid perspectives on what differentiates enduring startups from short-lived experiments in a rapidly changing global tech ecosystem.
MODERATOR:
Asif Ismail, CEO & Publisher, The American Bazaar