Saudi Arabia’s tech conference, LEAP, is witnessing a surge in investment, with deals expected to reach a record-breaking $11.9 billion over the three-day event, eclipsing last year’s total of $9 billion. Says Senior Minister
Opening the conference, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdulla Al-Swaha highlighted key beneficiaries of this funding blitz: investments in generative artificial intelligence acceleration and cloud infrastructure sectors.
Despite global challenges in venture capital funding, Al-Swaha praised Saudi Arabia’s digital economy as a “bold and audacious success story of the 21st century.” He emphasized the Kingdom’s resilience, boasting a 33% growth in VC funding while the world faced a 30-40% decline.
Al-Swaha pointed to significant investments in regional cloud infrastructure, including the recent arrival of Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Saudi Arabia. This makes the Kingdom the only nation hosting all major cloud service providers in the region. He further announced AWS plans to establish a dedicated infrastructure region within the Kingdom by 2026, supporting developers, businesses, and various sectors from healthcare to education.
The Minister highlighted efforts led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in collaboration with Saudi Aramco, to further advance technology and industry development within the Kingdom.
To get the latest update regarding LEAP24 Follow Us on Social Media Instagram, Facebook & X.com
