Image: Saudi Press Agency
LEAP 2025, a flagship event bringing together global technology and innovation leaders, officially launched in Riyadh on Sunday, February 9.
On the first day of the conference, investments and projects totaling over $14.9bn in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector were announced, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
These major investments solidify Saudi Arabia’s position as a leading global player in shaping the digital future.
The investments aim to foster digital skills development, support the growth of tech startups, and encourage innovation within the kingdom. They further solidify Saudi Arabia’s standing as the largest digital economy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, creating a thriving environment for global tech companies.
The announcement was made during the keynote address by Abdullah Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology.
LEAP 2025 positions Saudi Arabia as a tech leader
As LEAP 2025, which runs until Wednesday, kicked off under the theme “Into New Worlds”, Minister Alswaha highlighted that these investments and initiatives were made possible through the support of the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
“These initiatives are integral to empowering the technology sector and accelerating Saudi Arabia’s transition towards an innovative, AI-driven economy,” said Alswaha. “They are also aligned with the objectives of Vision 2030.”
LEAP 2025 is organised by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones (SAFCSP), and Tahaluf Company — a joint venture between SAFCSP and Informa, with support from the Events Investment Fund.
Several high-profile investments were unveiled on the event’s first day, including:
- Groq & Aramco Digital: A $1.5bn investment to expand AI-powered cloud computing, positioning Saudi Arabia as a global leader in AI.
- Alat and Lenovo: A $2bn investment to create an advanced AI and robotics-based manufacturing and technology centre in Saudi Arabia and establish Lenovo’s regional headquarters in Riyadh.
- Google: Plans to launch a global AI hub in Saudi Arabia to meet regional and international demand through an AI infrastructure investment.
- Qualcomm: Introduction of the ALLaM language model on the Qualcomm AI Cloud, alongside the ALLaM AI PC, advancing cloud-based AI solutions.
- Alibaba Cloud: An AI empowerment program in partnership with Tuwaiq Academy and STC to train local talent and support a sustainable digital future.
- Databricks: A commitment of $300m in platform-as-a-service (PaaS) solutions to foster data engineering and AI expertise.
- SambaNova: A $140m pledge to enhance advanced AI infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.
- KKR and Gulf Data Hub: A major investment in Saudi Arabia’s data centre development with a capacity of up to 300 megawatts.
- Salesforce: A $500m commitment to expand its Hyperforce platform in Saudi Arabia.
- Tencent Cloud: A $150m investment to establish its first cloud region in the Middle East, launching integrated AI capabilities from Saudi Arabia.
Read: LEAP Nights debuts in Riyadh
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