The Continued Success of LEAP 2024

By Prof. Alaa Alghamdi

LEAP was introduced in 2022 as the most significant tech event ever held, with a record-breaking 100,000 participants. The following year, the event enjoyed a surge in attendance, with 172,000 individuals attending LEAP, making it the most popular tech event globally. Notably, within those two years, LEAP has outperformed some of the most successful brands in the industry, who have been organizing major tech events for over half a century. Not to be outdone, LEAP 2024 has become remarkably larger than its previous versions, taking place in Riyadh from March 4th to 7th and featuring a 110% increase in square footage to cater to participants. So far, the numbers being thrown around the table and the deals being agreed upon have been robust and a strong overall success for the Saudi economy as it is being fostered toward growth and sustainability. Throughout LEAP’s itinerary, historic deals brokered and announced will bring business to several sectors, increase and strengthen the KSA’s human capital, and yield a host of well-paying, stable careers for Saudi citizens.

Among the more interesting announcements made during the tech event was that of the Esports industry. To achieve the goals set out by the National Gaming and Esports Strategy and the Digital Content Program (Ignite), the establishment of two venture funds worth a total of SAR450 million ($120 million) to support the gaming and Esports industry in Saudi Arabia has been announced by the National Development Fund (NDF) and the Social Development Bank (SDB). This announcement was made at the LEAP 2024 technology conference in Riyadh as part of the Gaming and Esports Financing Program in partnership with the Saudi Esports Federation. Merak Capital and IMPACT 46 will manage the two funds, providing development financing for gaming and Esports companies through equity investments. These funds aim to promote growth, enhance local content development, and boost the industry’s economic and social impact.

Esports industry aside, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in Saudi Arabia announced technology investments exceeding $11.9 billion, and Amazon Web Services decided it will invest $5.3 billion in the Kingdom to establish a high-capacity cloud region, as reported by the Ministry’s official X account. Further, Data Vault has planned to invest $5 billion in the construction of innovative and sustainable data centers with a capacity of over 300 megawatts. ServiceNow has also pledged $500 million to set up its first data center in Saudi Arabia, which will help localize its services and train local talent. The Ministry also stated that IBM will spend $250 million to establish its first regional software development center in Saudi Arabia.

Lastly, Dell Technologies aims to open a manufacturing, distribution, and order fulfillment center in Saudi Arabia, which would be the first of its kind in the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey. The Ministry noted that Aramco’s MetaBrain will develop the world’s first generative artificial intelligence model in the industrial sector. As the announcements keep coming forth from the buzz of excitement that LEAP continues to generate, as you might have noticed above, many global companies are coming to Saudi Arabia for the first time, revealing the success of the economic push that the our country has been tirelessly laboring through

*Prof. Alaa Alghamdi

Saudi Academic & Writer