LEAP is a massive worldwide technology expo held annually in Saudi Arabia. It started in the year 2022 with a blast, and this year was no exception. It was a four-day action-packed week that began on February 6th and ended on February 9th, 2023. It attracted people from Africa, Europe, America, the Middle East, GCC, and all over the world. The theme “Into New Worlds” – was conceived with the futuristic thought – “to build a city on the moon by 2070, have a human standing on Mars by 2035, and create digital twin cities and entire virtual worlds”
Our founder, Anil Reddy, got the chance to be part of this captivating event. This blog will take you on a journey that will show you a recap of 5 interesting highlights of LEAP 2023 through Anil’s lens.
From entrepreneurs and CEOs to tech enthusiasts to designers to investors, LEAP saw them all. For four days straight, the center haul was increasing every day with individuals trying to get into the area. Riyadh was bustling due to this event, and the event area was constantly occupied by thought-provoking and ground-breaking initiatives that kept everyone on the edge of their seats. Keeping in mind the theme of the event, each day’s sessions, workshops, and keynotes were focused on a different pillar viz. spark, collaboration, momentum, and the future.
Saudi Arabia is considered one of the top 10 fastest-growing economies in fintech, digital content and e-commerce. Saudi’s fintech industry is booming. This is largely due to the significant digital transition the nation has seen over the last year or two, as well as Saudi Arabia’s 2030 vision. LEAP helped in boosting the economy, making Saudi one of the top 10 fastest growing economies in the world and the fastest growing.
Envision speaking with a robot who can talk in the local dialect of Saudi Arabia. The robot is Sara, and she was released to the public during LEAP 2023. Sara, who was created in collaboration between Saudi Digital and the QSS firm, can also dance and answer questions. A built-in camera utilizes AI to distinguish a person or object in front of her, and she begins greeting individuals in front of her with the phrase “Hi Sara.” What we witnessed through this magnificent robot was definitely a tremendous leap toward the future.
Saudi unveiled investments worth more than $9 Million to support future technology, digital entrepreneurship, tech startups and emerging companies in the KSA. Further to that LEAP 2023 attracted more than $ 2.43B in tech for startups. Google, IBM, Microsoft, Huawei and many more global companies participated in the event as investors. LEAP 2023 created a loud noise which pulled many investors to invest in Saudi Arabia including major global tech giants such as Google, IBM, Microsoft, Huawei etc. Oracle also joined the bandwagon by announcing an investment of $1.5 billion in Saudi Arabia. With so many investments being boosted in the Kingdom, we are sure it will enhance the Kingdom’s position as the largest digital economy in the MENA region. This seems to be in line with the country’s 2030 vision.
LEAP held a competition to design theme-related merchandise for 2023, with the winner receiving a limited edition collection under their name, which will be printed and sold during LEAP 2023, along with a grand prize of 10,000 Saudi Riyals, and, most importantly, recognition across all Leap platforms. On December 16th, Isa Pantami was announced as the proud owner of the award and honor.
Additionally, as creative designers, we couldn’t help but notice the astounding sustainable toolkit at LEAP 2023. The toolkit consisted of a calendar that was printed with little ink on compostable coffee cups. Even though only a few materials were required to create the calendar cards, they turned out beautifully, were easy to read, and were useful. How inventive and sustainable was that!
We can confidently conclude that Leap 2023’s main takeaways revolved around technology, innovation, investment, and the future. The world experienced a historic tech event over the course of four days. We’re extremely eager and excited to see what LEAP 2024 will have in store for us!
It was such a privilege to be able to attend the biggest and best tech event of the year. We’re astounded by where technology is taking us and what the future beholds!
