RIYADH: LEAP 2025, Saudi Arabia’s flagship technology event starts on February 8th in Riyadh, bringing together innovators, investors, and business leaders from around the world. The event follows Leap 2024, which brought in $13.4 billion in investments and project commitments.
LEAP 2025, under the theme ‘Into New Worlds’ aims to boost Saudi Arabia as a global technology hub, in support of Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy. Saudi Arabia has promised to invest $ 100 billion for the development of its tech sector and plans to invest 2.5% of its yearly GDP in the sector by 2040.
Tahaluf, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Informa PLC, and other key partners are organising the event with an expectation of attracting 680 tech startups, 1,100 speakers, 1,800 technology brands and over 170,000 visitors.
Driving Innovation
LEAP is seen as a major platform to showcasing Saudi Arabia’s giga-projects like NEOM, Red Sea Global and Qiddiya. Industry leaders like Boston Consulting Group and Globant pointed out the country’s great work to build a knowledge-based economy using new technology and entrepreneurship.
Key Highlights:
LEAP 2025 will include:
- DeepFest, the leading AI forum in the region
- SportsTech Track focuses on innovations in sports technology, with famous footballers like Patrice Evra and Iker Casillas, being speakers at the event.
- Tech Arena features product demos and prototypes
- Future Mobility Pavillion points out advancements in electric vehicles and autonomous transport
The event will have notable speakers like IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, Google Cloud CMO Alison Wagonfeld, and Saudi Esports Federation Chairman Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al-Saud. Companies like Saudi Aramco, Lucid, PepsiCo, and Logitech will also take part in the event.
With a focus on investment opportunities, cybersecurity, and AI advancements, LEAP 2025 is set to boost Saudi Arabia’s position as a global technology leader.
