Saudi Arabia Announces Over $15 Billion in AI Investments at LEAP 2026

Saudi Arabia announced over $15 billion in technology launches, investments, and partnerships at LEAP 2026, aiming to expand its artificial intelligence ecosystem. The event, held in Riyadh under the theme 'Into New Worlds,' gathered global technology companies, investors, and AI leaders. The Saudi Press Agency highlighted that these investments reinforce the Kingdom's position as a technology investment hub and support its role in advanced computing and digital infrastructure.

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Alswaha credited Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman for enabling these launches and investments. Alswaha emphasized Saudi Arabia's progress toward a leadership role in the AI era through partnerships with global entities. He noted that the Kingdom has developed a model for translating technology ambitions into tangible results through speed, reliability, and agility.

The investment pipeline covers the AI value chain, including energy, connectivity, semiconductors, data centers, and cloud services. This shift reflects Saudi Arabia's strategy to build the infrastructure needed for large-scale AI deployment. LEAP 2026, organized by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, runs until September 3 at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Center.

Adobe announced an expanded partnership with the communications ministry and HUMAIN, committing over $4 billion to develop Saudi Arabia's creative sector. This collaboration aims to provide 12 months of free access to Adobe's creative tools to over 27 million eligible Saudi citizens and residents by the end of 2026. stc group, a strategic partner of LEAP, is expanding AI-ready data-center capacity and connectivity to support AI deployment.