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Top Tech Investors to Participate in 3rd Edition of LEAP in Riyadh

The event will feature more than 1,000 top speakers at 10 different stages. SPA
The event will feature more than 1,000 top speakers at 10 different stages. SPA
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Top Tech Investors to Participate in 3rd Edition of LEAP in Riyadh

The event will feature more than 1,000 top speakers at 10 different stages. SPA
The event will feature more than 1,000 top speakers at 10 different stages. SPA

LEAP is slated to hold its third edition, from March 4 to 7 at Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center, Malham, under the theme “Into New Worlds”.
Organized by the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones, and Tahaluf company, the event will feature more than 1,000 top speakers at 10 different stages, according to a statement from the organizing committee.
LEAP will host the Investor Stage, in which world’s top investors will discuss innovative investment opportunities. This stage will also address topics such as the intersection of technology with government policies and innovation, and successful financing strategies.
It will also feature the Startup Stage, in which expert speakers such as Blossom Accelerator CEO & Founder Emon Shakoor, Raiven Capital Founding Partner Supreet Singh Manchanda, and Adaverse Founding Partner Vincent Li will discuss startup growth and innovation.
Sessions will address topics such as business planning and strategies, nurturing concepts into viable startup ideas, and the importance of enhancing user experience.
According to the statement, the Rocket Fuel Pitch competition returns at the third edition of LEAP, with total prizes exceeding $1,000,000 in six categories: LEAP Award $250,000 for the strongest, most outstanding startup across the whole competition, Shooting Star Award $150,000 for the early stage startup beginning its journey, the Aviatrix Award $150,000 for the best, most innovative startup pioneered by women founders, Technology for Humanity Award $150,000 for the startup that best embodies the “tech for humanity” spirit of LEAP, the Into New Worlds Award $150,000 for the most impressive startup occupying the Metaverse and Web 3.0 space, and the Artificial Intelligence Award $150,000 for the startup that presents the most exciting, ground-breaking usage of artificial intelligence.
The third edition of LEAP, held in partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha'at), and strategic partner STC, will be attended by world leading tech companies like Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Dell, Cisco, Avaya, SAP, ServiceNow, Ericsson, Amazon Web Services, IBM, Alibaba Group, and Huawei.

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India's TCS Expects Retail, Manufacturing Revival after Banking Recovery

A man walks past a logo of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) before a press conference announcing the company's quarterly results in Mumbai, India, January 11, 2024. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
A man walks past a logo of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) before a press conference announcing the company's quarterly results in Mumbai, India, January 11, 2024. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
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India's TCS Expects Retail, Manufacturing Revival after Banking Recovery

A man walks past a logo of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) before a press conference announcing the company's quarterly results in Mumbai, India, January 11, 2024. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
A man walks past a logo of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) before a press conference announcing the company's quarterly results in Mumbai, India, January 11, 2024. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo

India's Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.NS), expects its retail and manufacturing clients in North America to step up spending on tech, following a similar upturn in its banking and financial services segment, a top executive of the nation's No. 1 software-services exporter, said.

"We have heard about good holiday season sales (in the US) that should boost consumer sentiment and manufacturing has some of the labour issues behind them," CFO Samir Seksaria told Reuters.

"If these three verticals (along with banking) improve overall, we should see a good recovery," he said.

Seksaria's cautious optimism highlights broader global economic uncertainties and sticky inflation that have forced clients to keep a leash on tech spending.

The company's revenue in North America, its largest market, declined for the fifth consecutive quarter even as banking and financial services posted their best performance since June 2023.

Retail and manufacturing are the second- and fourth- largest revenue contributors to the $29 billion behemoth.

Last month, Walmart Inc (WMT.N), Amazon.com (AMZN.O), and fast-growing e-commerce sites Shein and PDD Holding's (PDD.O), Temu, saw record-breaking sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

US online spending too rose nearly 9% to $241.4 billion during the recent holiday season.

TCS' communications and media vertical, a capital-intensive segment that is currently one of the company's laggards, will also see some pickup if interest rates start to go down, Seksaria said.

The comments echo CEO Krithivasan's sentiment that the incoming US administration is likely to remove policy uncertainty and boost client confidence to spend on discretionary projects.

On Friday, its Mumbai-listed shares closed up 5.6%, its highest single day rise since July 2024.

TCS also played down concerns over the rise in insourcing by multinational corporations through global capability centres (GCCs), potentially slashing work that would have been contracted to IT players in the past.

A growing number of global companies are increasing their local offices in India and expanding in-house teams, adding roles such as engineering, cybersecurity and accounting and finance. India's GCC market size is estimated to reach $105 billion by 2030.

"Initially, there could a cost advantage, probably GCCs are right now being seen as global cost saving centers. But as things go into next year, maintaining cost and delivering cost productivity in a 3-year to 7-year period is where the cyclicality of opening and shutting of GCCs keeps coming," said Seksaria.

In 2023, Infosys (INFY.NS), acquired the captive arm of Danske Bank (DANSEN.UL) and before that TCS acquired Post Bank AG's unit of 1,500 employees in late 2020.