As the Saudi LEAP 25 goes on to Day 3 today, investment deals worth $22.4bn have been recorded from various sectors and startups.
On Day One, (Sunday, Feb. 9) almost $15 billion worth of deals were announced. The Saudi communications ministry said that deals signed on day one of the four-day event, which ends on Wednesday, totalled $14.9 billion.
This included plans for a manufacturing plant in the Saudi capital by the Chinese computer-maker Lenovo and the Saudi Public Investment Fund-backed technology company Alat.
According to Lenovo, the plant will produce millions of Saudi-made laptops and desktops from next year and create 15,000 direct and 45,000 indirect jobs.
Lenovo also said it will also establish a regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia. Alat became a strategic investor in Lenovo last year through a $2 billion investment via three-year, zero-coupon convertible bonds.
In another deal announced at LEAP 25, Saudi Aramco Digital signed a $1.5 billion agreement with the US artificial intelligence company Groq to expand AI-powered cloud computing. The two agreed in September to build the world’s largest AI inferencing data centre.
The Chinese tech giant Tencent Cloud also announced a $150 million infrastructure investment project to begin operating in Saudi Arabia this year.
Tencent, the world’s largest computer games company and the operator of WeChat, the world’s second largest instant messaging application after WhatsApp, plans to establish a data centre in the kingdom.
Also at the LEAP 25, Silicon Valley analytics company Databricks announced a $300 million investment to build a payment infrastructure in the kingdom. It had revealed its arrival in Saudi Arabia in December.
AI company SambaNova Systems unveiled $140 million in investments in Saudi infrastructure to enhance its AI and semiconductor capabilities.
Other announcements at LEAP 25 included plans by Google to launch a global AI hub, with similar AI commitments from the California-based company Qualcomm and the Chinese company Alibaba Cloud.
The LEAP 25 conference attracted investments worth more than $7.5 billion in technology and artificial intelligence on its second day.
NEOM announced a collaboration with Datavolt to invest $5 billion to build the world’s first fully sustainable AI data center, with a capacity of 1.5 gigawatts in OXAGON.
Mobily announced an investment of $911 million in strategic projects to develop digital infrastructure, including submarine cables and the development of data centers in Saudi Arabia.
Alfanar Company revealed an investment of $1.4 billion to develop four data centers with a capacity of 88 gigawatts, to support the growth of the digital economy and develop business solutions.
Zoom is investing $75 million to boost artificial intelligence and innovation, and to establish new data centers to support technology companies and government agencies in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabian Railways (SAR) announced an investment of $51 million in a private fiber optic network.
LEAP 25 is one of the largest technology events in the world, with more than 1,800 technology exhibitors, 1,000 speakers, and 680 startups participating.
The conference offers more than 20 technology tracks covering multiple fields, including: financial technology, smart cities, health technology, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, retail, and sports technology, in addition to new tracks such as Saudi Vision 2030.
