Saudi Arabia Solidifies Its Position as a Regional and Global Hub for AI with $14.9B in Investments at LEAP25

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Date) – LEAP 2025, a global technology movement, has unveiled the largest-ever package of tech investments in the world, totaling an impressive $14.9 billion during the four-day events. 

These investments demonstrate Saudi Arabia's position as the region's leading tech hub and global powerhouse for AI, emerging and deep technologies, and cloud computing. They also aim to empower digital skills development, foster the growth of tech startups, and drive innovation in Saudi Arabia and the region. 

With the largest digital economy in the MENA region at $132 billion, Saudi Arabia continues strengthening its leadership in the sector. The Kingdom is also the region's number one destination for venture capital, capturing more than 40% of the total in 2024 with 178 deals. 

H.E. Eng. Abdullah Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, made the announcements during the event's launch under the theme "Into New Worlds". The Minister emphasized that HRH Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman has supported and enabled these substantial investments.

Aligned with Saudi Arabia's transformation into an innovative and sustainable AI-driven economy, these initiatives advance Vision 2030 objectives, reinforcing the Kingdom's leadership in technological innovation and digital economy growth.

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones, and Tahaluf—a joint alliance between the Federation and Informa PLC—organized LEAP 2025 with support from the Events Investment Fund. 

Major Global Investments at LEAP 2025

 The inaugural day of the event featured several major announcements, with groundbreaking advancements in technology, investment, and innovation, including:

• Groq & Aramco Digital: A $1.5 billion investment in AI-powered cloud computing, positioning Saudi Arabia as a global leader in AI.

• Alat & Lenovo: A $2 billion investment to establish an advanced AI and robotics-based manufacturing and technology center in the Kingdom, alongside the opening of Lenovo’s regional headquarters in Riyadh.

• Google: A significant investment in AI infrastructure, launching a global AI hub in Saudi Arabia to meet regional and international demand.

• Qualcomm: Unveiled the introduction of the ALLaM language model on Qualcomm AI Cloud to deliver cutting-edge hybrid AI solutions and enable real-world solutions to empower developers and accelerate tech.

• Alibaba Cloud: Announced an AI empowerment program in Saudi Arabia, collaborating with Tuwaiq Academy and STC to train local talent in advanced technologies, shaping a sustainable digital future.

• Databricks: A $300 million investment in Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solutions, supporting app developers and fostering data engineering and AI expertise to expand the Kingdom’s digital economy.

• SambaNova: A $140 million commitment to build advanced AI infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing the Kingdom’s role as a regional innovation hub. 

• KKR & Gulf Data Hub: Announced an investment in Saudi Arabia’s data center development, with a capacity of up to 300 megawatts, boosting cloud computing and AI capabilities.

• Salesforce: Announced a $500 million investment in the Hyperforce platform, to serve regional customers from Saudi Arabia.

• Tencent Cloud: Invested $150 million to launch its first cloud region in the Middle East from Saudi Arabia, leveraging AI capabilities.

LEAP 2025 strengthens Saudi Arabia’s ambition to lead the global AI sector, attract top-tier tech investments, and position itself as a hub for digital transformation and cutting-edge innovation.