Source Credit: Arab News
The Kingdom continues its efforts to diversify its economy, and at the LEAP 2025 Tech Conference, Saudi Arabia announced $14.9 billion in technology-related investment projects. Innovation, tech startup support, and the development of digital skills are the goals of the funding. LEAP 2025 is a conference with the topic "Into New Worlds" that ends on Wednesday.
According to Abdullah Al-Swaha, the Kingdom's Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Saudi Arabia's tech sector is expanding significantly, with employment rising from 150,000 in 2021 to 381,000 in 2024. Al-Swaha stressed that these initiatives, which are backed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, are in line with the objectives of Vision 2030.
Major investments
- Groq & Aramco Digital is investing $1.5 billion in cloud computing driven by AI.
- Alat & Lenovo: the launch of Lenovo's regional headquarters in Riyadh and a $2 billion investment to create a cutting-edge manufacturing and technology hub in the Kingdom centered on artificial intelligence and robotics.
- Google: Establishing a worldwide AI hub in Saudi Arabia and investing in AI infrastructure.
- Qualcomm: Unveiled the Qualcomm AI Cloud's ALLaM language model.
- Alibaba Cloud: Started a Saudi Arabian AI empowerment initiative.
- Databricks: Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solutions worth $300 million.
- SambaNova: Saudi Arabia will invest $140 million to develop cutting-edge AI infrastructure.
- KKR & Gulf Data Hub: Funding for the construction of data centers in Saudi Arabia
- Salesforce: Hyperforce platform investment of $500 million.
- Tencent Cloud is investing $150 million to build its first cloud region in the Middle East, starting in Saudi Arabia.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Tahaluf Company, and the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones (SAFCSP) are the organizers of LEAP 2025. With over $6 trillion in assets gathered, the event serves as a platform for networking with investors and industry leaders.
