LEAP23 unveils $9 billion investment to fuel technology and startup growth

LEAP23, a visionary technology event, opened a four-day run in Riyadh by announcing more than $9 billion in investments to support future technologies, digital entrepreneurship, and tech startups, and enhance the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s position as the largest digital market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

His Excellency Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), announced the investments during a keynote speech on the first day of LEAP23, which is being held at the Riyadh Front Exhibition & Conference Center through Thursday, February 9.

H.E Alswaha stated that there were several investments made, including Microsoft investing $2.1 billion in a worldwide cloud computing centre in the country, Oracle putting in $1.5 billion to increase its Middle East and North Africa presence by opening new cloud regions, Huawei investing $400 million in cloud infrastructure for its services in the kingdom, and the opening of a Zoom cloud region in partnership with Aramco. In addition, H.E. Alswaha mentioned that an extra $4.5 billion was invested in both global and local assets across several industries at LEAP23.

H.E Alswaha emphasised that the huge investment packages come with the full support of HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The investments are part of the Crown Prince’s empowerment of the technology sector, which is one of Saudi Arabia’s most promising sectors amid unprecedented growth in the Kingdom’s digital economy, Internet of Things, biological and healthtech, quantitative science, space, satellites, fintech, and open sources.

H.E. Alswaha stated that HRH the Crown Prince is still committed to speeding development that would assist Saudi Arabia to meet the goals of Vision 2030 by utilising cutting-edge technologies in promising industries. LEAP23 is expected to accelerate the nation’s digital transformation.

LEAP23, a yearly gathering of leading tech experts, is quickly becoming a worldwide technology trend and is expected to draw over 250,000 attendees from all over the world this year. As the Kingdom maintains its position as the largest digital market in the Middle East and North Africa region, with over $42 billion in ongoing investments, the event is becoming a major attraction in the tech industry.

Across Saudi Arabia, more than 340,000 people currently work in the digital, telecommunications and information technology sectors, with female participation now standing at 32.5% – a higher rate than both the EU and Silicon Valley.

H.E. Alswaha also confirmed plans to strengthen the outcomes of LEAP23 in diversifying the economy, localising technology, and advancing industries. Citing the two-year-old event’s standing as one of the world’s most important annual global technology platforms, H.E Alswaha said LEAP23 boasts the unique capacity to connect innovators with entrepreneurs and thought leaders and drive bold investment funds to launch qualitative partnerships in new investment areas.

Other major announcements on the first day of LEAP23 included Meta launching the opening of the first Metaverse Academy in MENA, WEO Technology and Camel Lab launching Hektar, a multi-content social media app; and MENA Communication and STC launching Beem – a new application for instant messaging, high-quality voice and video calls, and business features.

Taking place alongside LEAP and starting Tuesday 7 February, the inaugural DeepFest – in partnership with the Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) – will gather drivers of the global Artificial Intelligence eco-system to unveil life-changing, multi-sector initiatives in a thought-leadership conference and sector-specific tracks, training, live-demos, startup pitches and an exhibition featuring companies transforming the world we live and work in.

Themed ‘AI Beyond Imagination’, DeepFest will see thought-leaders, change-makers, big tech, data scientists, innovators, enterprises, academia, startups, and innovative business entrepreneurs unveil government AI initiatives and multi-sector innovations through a thought-leadership conference and sector-specific tracks, training, live-demos, and innovation sessions. The new conference program this year has tracks for cleantech, the Metaverse, and women in technology, while the DeepFest exhibition will feature the world’s top tech companies and breakthrough stars.

LEAP23 has garnered support from numerous leading government and private sector organisations. Strategic partners and sponsors for LEAP23 include NEOM, STC, Saudi Aramco, Mobily, IBM, Microsoft, Ericsson, Huawei, and Najm Insurance. The 2023 edition will also host country pavilions from the United Kingdom, Finland, Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Oman and India.