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Dubbed the “Digital Davos,” LEAP involves more than 350 speakers from 80 countries, and is expected to attract almost 1,000 startups from across the globe, and 40,000 visitors, making it one of the largest tech events in the world.
LEAP, which takes place under the aegis of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the Federation for Cyber Security, Programming and Drones, follows on from last year’s government Launch Program, which unveiled an array of initia- tives worth $1.2 billion, aimed at rapidly upscaling the digital skills of young Saudis.
LEAP attracts the best human minds in the world; From leading technology companies, inspiring pioneers in global startups, and venture capitalists who will provide the means to realize the dreams of entrepreneurs. Do not miss the opportunity to attend if you are interested in new technologies and believe in their unlimited positive potential.
The LEAP Conference is a gathering of the world's best human minds. In the main stage, we will explore new technologies and explore their unlimited positive potential.
Modern technologies have allowed us to communicate with each other around the world, to get health care remotely, and to take care of our planet for future generations. We have the ability to overcome humanity's greatest challenges thanks to human power and technology.
Launch laid the groundwork to achieve a range of ambitious targets for the Kingdom’s tech sector, including training one in every 100 Saudis to be program- mers, and creating 25,000 jobs in data science and AI within the next eight years.
Hard on the heels of the Launch program, LEAP is aimed at accel- erating Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to expand its digital economy by 50 percent, and grow its contribution to the wider economy by $13 billion.
The wide-ranging program for LEAP will cover financial technology, health tech, robotics, satellites, and smart cities. It will also look at future energy technologies capable of improving productivity in the region’s oil and gas sectors, as well as the role of tech in renewable energy sources.
Crucially, the conference will bring together some of the tech sector’s top entrepreneurs and venture capitalists face-to-face with more than 700 start-ups, many of whom will be local firms.
Those attending LEAP include Raghu Raghuram, CEO of VMware, the California-based cloud computing giant; Börje Ekholm, president and CEO of Ericsson; and Carlo Ratti, founding partner of MIT’s Senseable City Laboratory, which investigates the impact of digital technology on urban living.
But more importantly, perhaps, for the hundreds of start-ups travelling to Riyadh, will be LEAP’s Investor Program, which will connect them with local and international investors through an array of investment events that will allow them to pitch their ideas direct to venture capital firms and other funders.
More than 30 VCs will be at LEAP, including early-stage investor Speedinvest, which manages assets of almost $700 million, London-based Hoxton Ventures, Anthemis Capital, and Toronto-based investor Raiven Capital.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2014571/business-economy
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