LEAP 2026: Riyadh Reinforces Its Position at the Centre of the Global Technology Economy

The fifth edition of LEAP brought global technology leaders, investors and innovators to Riyadh, with more than $15 billion in technology investments and strategic partnerships announced as Saudi Arabia accelerates its ambitions to become a leading global technology hub.

LEAP 2026 concluded its fifth edition in Riyadh after four days bringing together leaders from across technology, investment, artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship.

Held at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center from 31 August to 3 September, this year’s event welcomed 1,323 speakers and 1,397 investors from 1,027 firms across 72 countries, collectively representing $18.3 trillion in assets under management. More than 1,500 exhibitors also participated, including over 750 global companies.

Now in its fifth year, LEAP has evolved beyond a major technology exhibition into an increasingly important meeting point for global capital, innovation and international collaboration.

Investment at scale

More than $15 billion in technology investments and strategic partnerships were announced at the opening of LEAP 2026, spanning artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, cloud computing, autonomous technologies and emerging technology.

The scale of the announcements reflects technology’s increasingly important role in Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation and its efforts to attract international investment and develop globally competitive industries.

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, H.E. Eng. Abdullah Alswaha, highlighted the progress made since LEAP was first launched. Over that period, the Kingdom’s digital economy has grown by 69 per cent, from $118 billion to $199 billion, while women now represent 36 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s technology workforce.

Artificial intelligence was another defining theme. HUMAIN unveiled HUMAIN M3, an open-weights Arabic language model trained on more than one trillion Arabic tokens, alongside HUMAIN Voice, a conversational AI platform supporting multiple Arabic dialects.

DeepFest, running alongside LEAP, further placed AI at the centre of discussions around the technologies expected to reshape industries and economies.

Riyadh’s growing global role

Beyond the headline numbers, LEAP 2026 demonstrated Riyadh’s growing role as a meeting point for technology, investment and innovation. International companies are deepening their engagement with the Kingdom, investors are exploring new opportunities and entrepreneurs are gaining greater access to global capital.

As Saudi Arabia continues to advance under Vision 2030, LEAP offers a powerful illustration of how the Kingdom’s technology ambitions are translating into investment, international engagement and tangible opportunities.

Attention will now turn to LEAP’s sixth edition, which returns to Riyadh from 12–15 April 2027, as Saudi Arabia’s technology ecosystem continues to evolve.