LEAP 2026 concluded its activities in Riyadh after four days of events, announcing investments, agreements, and commitments worth nearly $15 billion. The main announcements focused on artificial intelligence, data centers, and cloud infrastructure, in addition to localizing hardware manufacturing and expanding technical training programs.
Amazon Web Services, known as AWS, announced the launch of its first cloud infrastructure region in the Kingdom in December 2026, as part of a planned investment exceeding $5.3 billion. The company also expanded its partnership with HUMAIN to provide capacity of up to 50 megawatts within the Kingdom’s first AI zone by 2028.
Investments in Data Centers and Software
The announcements included a $1.2 billion investment by Al Moammar Information Systems to expand data centers, in addition to an investment of approximately $800 million by NHC Innovation to develop “Khuzam Digital Valley.” Snowflake announced an investment of $300 million through 2030 to expand its operations in Saudi Arabia.
Adobe also announced a commitment exceeding $4 billion as part of the expansion of its partnership with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and HUMAIN. This includes providing AI-powered creative tools free of charge to more than 27 million eligible citizens and residents, and developing an image-generation model that takes Saudi culture and the local context into account.
In the technology industries sector, the conference featured the first Lenovo laptop made in Riyadh under its partnership with Alat, as part of efforts related to localizing the technology industry, transferring knowledge, and developing national capabilities.
Training and Venture Capital
Venture capital investments, investment rounds, and funds announced during the conference totaled approximately $857 million, directed toward companies and sectors including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, financial technology, and deep tech.
The conference launched capacity-development initiatives, including access to Gemini technologies for more than one million students at Saudi universities, the ServiceNow Academy, which targets one million learners, and the “Alf for Applied Generative AI” initiative to train 100,000 beneficiaries by 2030.
What Is Changing in Practice?
The figures and announcements indicate a shift in focus from attracting technology companies to building integrated operational layers that include cloud computing, data centers, models, skills, and some local manufacturing. This may matter to companies and institutions that need computing resources and AI models inside the Kingdom, as well as to developers, students, and startups benefiting from training and funding programs.
However, the $15 billion figure combines planned investments, announcements, and agreements, and the source does not clarify how much has actually been implemented or provide detailed timelines for each project. Therefore, monitoring the launch of the AWS region, the realization of the 50-megawatt capacity, and the implementation of training initiatives will remain essential to measuring the actual impact of these commitments.
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha said the results reflect support for building a competitive digital economy, while Michael Champion, CEO of Tahaluf, described the 2026 edition as the best since the conference began. According to the source, more than 165 countries, 1,300 speakers, and over 1,500 investors managing assets exceeding $18.3 trillion participated in the edition.
LEAP announced that its sixth edition will be held in Riyadh from April 12 to 15, 2027.