The 2023 LEAP conference ended on Thursday in Riyadh, with major deals for cloud computing centers and announcements of investments into the Kingdom’s tech sector in hopes of creating a vibrant startup ecosystem.
The 4-day technical conference hosted thousands of visitors and over 700 international speakers ranging from technology and artificial intelligence leaders to footballers and large investors.
The event was so oversubscribed that organizers had to close the doors to new attendees on Tuesday after the venue reached maximum capacity.
During a keynote speech at the event, Eng. Abdullah Alsawaha, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, announced investments worth $9 billion to support future technologies, digital entrepreneurship, and tech startups, in order to enhance the Kingdom’s position as the largest digital economy in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Much of that figure were investments from US giants Oracle, Microsoft, and Zoom, who are building cloud servers in the country.
According to a press release, the first day of the conference witnessed the opening of the first Metaverse Academy in the MENA region by Meta, headquartered in Saudi Arabia, the launch of Hektar by WEO Technology and Camel Lab, a social media app with a variety of content, and the announcement of Beem by MENA Communication and STC, a new app with business features, high-quality voice and video calling, and instant messaging.
Visitors to the conference were even greeted by a new face: Sara. Sara is Saudi Arabia’s first robot who can communicate in the local dialect, perform popular dances, and respond to enquiries.
