LEAP Returns to Riyadh in March for its Third Edition

Riyadh will host the third edition of LEAP, the world’s most attended tech event, from March 4 to 7.

Held under the theme "Into New Worlds", the event is organized by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones, Tahaluf company, and the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha'at).

According to a press release issued by the organizing committee of the event, this year’s edition features expert speakers such as IBM Chairman Arvind Krishna, HPE CEO Antonio Neri, and Zoom Video Communications CEO Eric Yuan.

The event is slated to cover a wide array of topics across multiple stages, including Investor Stage and Main Stage, with discussions following web 3, unicorns and tech giant strategies, and user privacy in technology, along with a large variety of tracks, such as EduTech, RetailTech, FinTech, HealthTech, 4IR, Future Energy, and Smart cities.

DeepFest returns for its second edition at LEAP, in partnership with Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA); more than 150 speakers and 120 exhibitors will take part.

AI is the focus of the event. The dawn of AI, foundations and breakthroughs; AI achievements, applications and impact; AI frontier, innovations and emerging technologies; and AI’s future, collaborations, ethics and sustainability will be tacked over the course of the four days.

LEAP will host more than 1,800 global tech exhibitors, such as Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Dell, Cisco, Avaya, SAP, ServiceNow, Amazon Web Services, IBM, Alibaba, and Huawei.

Vice Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Haitham AlOhali said: “We welcome thought leaders, influencers, investors, and innovators from around the world to LEAP. This edition arrives at a time when variables are accelerating, and generative artificial intelligence is a critical turning point at the economic and social levels.”

“The event will feature 10 stages discussing various aspects of technology, including health, education, and e-commerce,” he added.

Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones CEO Muteb Alqani said: “We are keen to present a special experience to our visitors, as we will gather top speakers and tech experts from around the world.”

“This event has been created to empower technology globally; therefore, the upcoming edition brings together the largest tech companies, startups, and investors, all under one roof, which has the potential to lead to numerous investments and launches,” he stated.

Over 1,000 speakers, 600 startups, and 172,000 are expected to attend the event.

Ports supervised by the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) recorded a 13% increase in container handling during May 2025, reaching 720,684 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), compared with 639,736 TEUs in the same period last year.

Transshipment containers increased by 12.89%, totaling 149,143 TEUs compared to 132,112 last year. Imports also grew by 15.84%, reaching 292,223 TEUs, compared to 252,265 TEUs in May 2024, SPA reported.

Outgoing containers increased by 9.38%, totaling 279,318 TEUs compared to 255,359 TEUs in the same month last year.

Total handled cargo—including general cargo, solid bulk, and liquid bulk—increased by 1.40% to reach 21,337,699 tons, up from 21,042,684 tons in the corresponding period of 2024. This total includes 935,932 tons of general cargo, 5,059,899 tons of solid bulk cargo, and 15,341,868 tons of liquid bulk cargo.

The ports also received 1,635,489 heads of livestock, marking a 61.22% increase from 1,014,417 in the same period last year. Maritime traffic rose by 9.39%, with 1,083 vessels received compared to 990 last year. Passenger numbers increased by 68.15% to 95,231, up from 56,636 in May 2024. The number of vehicles grew by 13.09% to 84,352, compared to 74,590 last year.

LEAP Returns to Riyadh in March for its Third Edition