The third edition of the International Tech Conference LEAP24 concluded the activities of the largest global technological event in the region in terms of turnout due to the support and empowerment it enjoys from His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

This comes as a translation of the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, making the Kingdom the largest digital market in the Middle East and North Africa, reported SPA.

LEAP24 Conference, organized by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones, and Tahaluf Company, has achieved many new records at the sector level since its launch in 2022, with the participation of 1,800 international and local entities.

In the closing speech, Faisal Al Khamisi, the Chairman of Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones, said the event was a big success, thanks to the support and empowerment that the conference enjoys from HRH the Crown Prince.

"The conference seeks year after year to keep pace with the Saudi Vision 2030 and aspirations of HRH the Crown Prince so that the Kingdom occupies its leading and natural position as the most important technological and digital hub in the region and the world," he stated.

Al Khamisi said: "We were thinking of a conference that would change the calendar of the technological world forever, simply because we are in Riyadh, the capital of achieving "the impossible", and in light of Saudi Vision 2030 led by HRH the Crown Prince."

"We received 50,000 guests from outside the Kingdom this year,” and he compared his speech to international conferences that have been around for decades, while the LEAP24 Conference was the youngest and most attended," he added.

According to him, officially, LEAP24 has become the most attended technological conference in the world, with 215,000 visitors attending, which had a clear impact in increasing the occupancy rate of hotels in Riyadh to 99%.

During the conference, launches and investments worth more than $1.5 billion were announced, in addition to what was announced on the first day, bringing the total projects and investments in LEAP in its third edition to $13.4 billion, he added.

Tahaluf CEO Michel Champion pointed out that the attendance at this year's LEAP24 conference had increased to 25%.

"The conference area is equivalent to 37 football fields, and the number of investors has increased by 60% compared to last year," he noted.

"LEAP24 played a prominent role, as it became the largest technological movement in three years, from $6 billion to $12 billion announced by binding agreements from CEOs, and the greatest technological gathering of entrepreneurs through 215,000 technological visitors with more than 50,000 from outside the kingdom, which is the highest in the world in technology field," said Champion.

The greatest technological movement in venture capital and entrepreneurs with a 52% share of the region and 40% of the market, and a headquarters for stimulating foreign direct investments in a way that supports economic growth and the rapidly developing digital system in the Kingdom, he added.

One of the most prominent announcements this year was that from Amazon Web Services which inked a deal to invest nearly $5.3 billion to establish a high-capacity cloud zone in the kingdom, which enhances the technological capabilities in the region.

IBM too announced an investment of $250 million to establish the first center. Global software development in the Kingdom, which contributes to enhancing technology and innovation skills.

ServiceNow also joined these pioneering steps by announcing an investment worth $500 million to launch its first data hub in the region, which constitutes a major addition to the digital infrastructure in the Kingdom.

Among the most notable projects are the ione by National Development Fund in cooperation with the Social Development Bank, the launch of two venture investment funds in the gaming and e-sports sector, with a total value of SAR450 million ($120 million) between the Social Development Bank and the two companies, Mirak Financial and Impact Financial (Impact46), and the National Information Technology Development Program (NTDP) launched five initiatives supporting digital entrepreneurship.

In addition to the seven announcements to launch investment funds and financing rounds for technology startups worth more than $888 million, and in the field of private investments, Oasis unveiled its second fund, “The Second Fund,” with a total of $100 million to empower company founders in their initial stages of growth in the Middle East.

Blog & Play announced the launch of its first fund in the region to invest in emerging companies of technology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East and North Africa region, with a value of $50 million.

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