After setting numerous new industry records during its 2022 debut, LEAP23 has shattered benchmarks once again after confirming 172,000 attendees this year, making it the world’s largest technology event by attendance.
The organizers of LEAP, the world’s most attended and innovative technology event held in Saudi Arabia, have announced that the next event, taking place from March 4-7 of the next year, will be held at a new location to further promote the country’s digital advancement.
After two events that changed the game, LEAP24 will move to a venue with a 120,000 square metre capacity the following year, doubling the event’s floor space and allowing it to accommodate even more cutting-edge future technologies, digital entrepreneurs, tech startups, and well-known guest speakers.
Powered by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in conjunction with Tahaluf – a strategic joint venture co-owned by Informa PLC and SAFCSP – LEAP’s expanded new venue will further enhance the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s position as the largest digital market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Michael Champion, who heads Tahaluf, organisers of LEAP said “Momentum continues to go into orbit. In its first edition, LEAP22 enjoyed the largest debut of any technology event in history. In its second year, LEAP23 has rewritten the rule book once more to become the world’s largest technology sector event by attendance.”
As a crucial component of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan, LEAP23 saw a record-breaking number of over 300,000 visitor registrations from over 100 countries. The four-day event hosted a prestigious faculty of 1,000 global investors, a significant increase from the previous year’s 350. This faculty, made up of prominent investor groups, sovereign wealth funds, private family groups, and leading venture capital and private equity funds in technology, had a total of US$2 trillion in assets under management.
With on-event transactions topping US$9 billion, a 32% year-over-year increase over the US$6.8 billion in deals announced in 2022, LEAP23 has given Saudi Arabia’s rapidly developing digital ecosystems and startup economy significant foreign direct investment push. Mega infrastructure investments, numerous new data centres across the country, a slew of billion-dollar-plus public-private partnerships, and new academies to develop and upskill domestic talent are just a few of the significant announcements made this year.
During the closing remarks of LEAP23, Champion commented “There is no limit to the ambition of this event or this nation. While the on-event investment announcements are truly unprecedented, the legacy of this year’s show will extend further and deeper than anyone can truly comprehend.
Champion added “There are 380,000 technology professionals currently working in Silicon Valley – the world’s tech capital – and there are 340,000 employed in Saudi’s technology industry. We are still only seeing the tip of the iceberg and when we consider that technology investment, adoption, innovation, and entrepreneurship are key pillars in the Kingdom’s ambitious economic diversification strategy, the potential for LEAP to power Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation and galvanise growth across the international technology arena is unlimited.”
