Saudi Arabia’s Ambitious Plans in the Field of New Technologies
In previous articles, I focused on Saudi Arabia’s power system, innovations, breakthrough projects, and investments utilizing new technologies, particularly in the energy sector. This time, I decided to present the world’s largest technology event—LEAP 2025.
What is LEAP?
LEAP is a technology conference that brings together innovators and experts from around the globe to connect, build broader networks, unlock new ideas, and discover the limitless potential of emerging technologies. Its name means in this context—a leap into the future, a leap toward technological development. The first edition of this conference was held in 2022 and was established by the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP), and Tahaluf, an Informa company. These events take place in the capital city of Riyadh.
Why is LEAP held in Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia is at the forefront of global technological transformation. Some of the reasons why the Saudis are hosting this event include:
Saudi Vision 2030 Initiative: A project I wrote about in a previous article (click here). The Saudi government allocated over $1.2 trillion to diversify the economy through investments in technology and innovation, making this market ripe for tech company growth.
Strategic global location: Saudi Arabia is a hub and gateway to emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
Government support: The Saudi government has prepared tax incentives, streamlined regulatory processes, and R&D funding, which attract tech firms from around the world.
Investment opportunities: During previous editions of LEAP, deals totaling over $20 billion were announced to support technology development. There is no better place in the world to establish a presence in the tech field. [1]
A Tech Conference that…
LEAP 2025 is an event that allows companies, innovators, and inventors to showcase their technological solutions at booths. LEAP features tech presentations that unveil the latest achievements in IoT, artificial intelligence, and big data—advancements driving the evolution of smart cities. It offers opportunities to establish global connections with urban planning specialists, policymakers, and tech leaders, discuss policies shaping the future of urban life, and showcase innovative smart city applications already functioning in the real world. [2]
LEAP 2025 is a massive event divided into a variety of thematic zones such as the gaming zone, EduTech zone, Sports Tech zone, space zone, health zone, smart city zone, investor zone, and many more. There was truly something for everyone. This year’s slogan was “Into new worlds.” Estimated figures reported the presence of over 680 startups, more than 1,000 expert speakers, and over 1,800 tech brands from all around the world. [3] Those numbers are mind-blowing! Key participants included industry giants like Saudi Aramco, PepsiCo, Logitech, Lucid, NEOM, and the Royal Commission for AlUla. [4]
The significance of this event was highlighted by His Excellency Abdullah Alswaha, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, who said: “LEAP has made an outstanding contribution to achieving the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and rightly positions the country as a global tech hub. The decision to move to a ticketed format this year makes LEAP a more exclusive experience for participants and is essential for today’s global tech elite. LEAP 2025 will showcase exceptional technological innovations, business opportunities, and content—ensuring that Saudi Arabia becomes the undisputed global aggregator of technology.” [3]
The best evidence of Saudi Arabia’s technological offensive came on the opening day of LEAP 2025, when the country announced it would invest $14.9 billion in the development of artificial intelligence, aiming to become the world’s leading AI hub. [5] Serious investments and serious money. This amount will go toward initiatives such as:
Groq and Aramco Digital – investment to expand AI-based cloud computing, $1.5 billion.
Alat and Lenovo – investment to create an advanced AI and robotics-based manufacturing and technology center in Saudi Arabia and establish Lenovo’s regional HQ in Riyadh, $2 billion.
Alibaba Cloud – a program to empower AI in cooperation with Tuwaiq Academy and STC (Saudi Telecom Company), aimed at training local talent and supporting a sustainable digital future.
Tencent Cloud – investment to launch the first cloud region in the Middle East and deploy integrated AI capabilities from Saudi Arabia, $150 million. [6]
In conclusion, LEAP 2025 is the largest technology event in the world, attracting crowds of visitors, investors, and tech giants eager to showcase their products. It is also a symbol of Saudi Arabia’s massive investment push and ambitious technological offensive, with artificial intelligence at the forefront. These are plans to become a global AI hub and tech powerhouse, setting the tone for further global transformation. LEAP 2025 is a powerful tool for achieving the goals laid out in the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative, supported by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Saudi Arabia’s Technological Offensive
Saudi Arabia’s Ambitious Plans in the Field of New Technologies
In previous articles, I focused on Saudi Arabia’s power system, innovations, breakthrough projects, and investments utilizing new technologies, particularly in the energy sector. This time, I decided to present the world’s largest technology event—LEAP 2025.
What is LEAP?
LEAP is a technology conference that brings together innovators and experts from around the globe to connect, build broader networks, unlock new ideas, and discover the limitless potential of emerging technologies. Its name means in this context—a leap into the future, a leap toward technological development. The first edition of this conference was held in 2022 and was established by the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP), and Tahaluf, an Informa company. These events take place in the capital city of Riyadh.
Why is LEAP held in Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia is at the forefront of global technological transformation. Some of the reasons why the Saudis are hosting this event include:
A Tech Conference that…
LEAP 2025 is an event that allows companies, innovators, and inventors to showcase their technological solutions at booths. LEAP features tech presentations that unveil the latest achievements in IoT, artificial intelligence, and big data—advancements driving the evolution of smart cities. It offers opportunities to establish global connections with urban planning specialists, policymakers, and tech leaders, discuss policies shaping the future of urban life, and showcase innovative smart city applications already functioning in the real world. [2]
LEAP 2025 is a massive event divided into a variety of thematic zones such as the gaming zone, EduTech zone, Sports Tech zone, space zone, health zone, smart city zone, investor zone, and many more. There was truly something for everyone. This year’s slogan was “Into new worlds.” Estimated figures reported the presence of over 680 startups, more than 1,000 expert speakers, and over 1,800 tech brands from all around the world. [3] Those numbers are mind-blowing! Key participants included industry giants like Saudi Aramco, PepsiCo, Logitech, Lucid, NEOM, and the Royal Commission for AlUla. [4]
The significance of this event was highlighted by His Excellency Abdullah Alswaha, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, who said:
“LEAP has made an outstanding contribution to achieving the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and rightly positions the country as a global tech hub. The decision to move to a ticketed format this year makes LEAP a more exclusive experience for participants and is essential for today’s global tech elite. LEAP 2025 will showcase exceptional technological innovations, business opportunities, and content—ensuring that Saudi Arabia becomes the undisputed global aggregator of technology.” [3]
His Excellency Abdullah Alswaha, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology speaking during LEAP 2025. Source: https://aimagazine.com/technology/how-leap-2025-is-driving-ai-investment-across-saudi-arabia
Saudi Arabia’s Record-Breaking Investments
The best evidence of Saudi Arabia’s technological offensive came on the opening day of LEAP 2025, when the country announced it would invest $14.9 billion in the development of artificial intelligence, aiming to become the world’s leading AI hub. [5] Serious investments and serious money. This amount will go toward initiatives such as:
In conclusion, LEAP 2025 is the largest technology event in the world, attracting crowds of visitors, investors, and tech giants eager to showcase their products. It is also a symbol of Saudi Arabia’s massive investment push and ambitious technological offensive, with artificial intelligence at the forefront. These are plans to become a global AI hub and tech powerhouse, setting the tone for further global transformation. LEAP 2025 is a powerful tool for achieving the goals laid out in the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative, supported by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
[1] https://meerakimedia.com/event/leap-tech/
[2] https://onegiantleap.com/smart-cities-orbital-track
[3] https://economymiddleeast.com/news/leap-2025-in-saudi-arabia-to-welcome-over-680-startups-1000-speakers/
[4] https://www.arabnews.com/node/2589454/business-economy
[5] https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/02/10/3023197/0/en/LEAP-2025-Opens-with-Announcement-of-Record-breaking-US-14-9-Billion-Investment-in-Artificial-Intelligence.html
[6] https://gulfbusiness.com/leap-2025-launches-unveis-14-9bn-in-ai-investment/
Saudi Arabia’s Technological Offensive
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