Steven Bartlett, Founder of Social Chain
Opportunity Knocks as Global Tech Industry Descends on Riyadh for LEAP 2024
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA, March 3, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — LEAP 2024, the award-winning global technology event, will take its latest major stride forward when its third, and biggest, edition to date begins a four-day run at Riyadh Exhibition & Convention Center, Malham, on Monday.
Already the world’s most-attended tech event, LEAP 2024 is readying to break its own records with organisers expecting over 700 startups, more than 1000 expert speakers, an all-encompassing array of 1,800 global tech exhibiting brands, and a six-figure visitor turnout surpassing the 172,000 attendees last year. LEAP organisers are also expecting to eclipse the onsite order intake of over US$9 billion last year.
“Once again, LEAP, dubbed ‘A Digital Davos’1, is set to raise the bar on global tech events with an unrivalled convergence of the industry’s most influential, established, and emerging talent participating across an expanded exhibition space,” explained Michael Champion, CEO of Tahaluf – which organises LEAP alongside Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT). “LEAP 2024 boasts a compelling programme of exclusive content journeys, as well as our brand-new Orbital Stage, which looks at how space and technology come together,” added Michael.
LEAP 2024 will deliver a robust AI focus this year, which Muteb Mukhlief Alqani, CEO of the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP) – who co-organise LEAP – believes will underline the event’s status as a unique catalyst for transformative product implementation and partnerships: “As we gather top speakers and tech experts from around the world here in Riyadh, we are keen to present a special experience to our visitors,” said Alqani. “LEAP has been created to empower technology globally; therefore, the upcoming third edition will unite the largest tech companies, startups, and investors all under one roof, which has the potential to lead to numerous future investments and launches.”
A packed exhibition floor, 10 conference stages, and 15 content tracks – up from seven last year – will focus on creative economy, health tech, fintech, edutech, retail, smart and smart cities, among other sectors. Each knowledge exchange-based session is packed with tech titans and experts from all over the globe. The new Orbital Stages will also host tracks devoted to the space sector, as well as a newly added Gaming Track looking at the fast-moving world of gaming.
LEAP’s Main Stage is all set to host a star-studded contingent of headline-making celebrities and C-suite changemakers when it opens its doors tomorrow. Among the confirmed luminaries within the keynote cast are: Angela Kane, Vice President and former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs at the International Institute for Peace – Vienna; Elizabeth Adams, Affiliate Fellow and Former Chief of AI Ethics and Culture Advisor at the Standford Institute for Human-Centered AI; Mo Gawdat, Former Chief Business Officer of Google; Shou Chew, CEO of TikTok; Martin Vilig, Co-founder of Bolt; Patrice Evra, Former Football Player and Creator & Entrepreneur; Steven Bartlett, Founder of Social Chain; Anil Chakravarthy, President of Digital Experience Business at Adobe; Borje Ekholm, CEO and President at Ericsson; Arvind Krishna, CEO at IBM; Philippe Rambach, Chief AI Officer at Schneider Electric; and Dr Anna Zeiter, VP – Chief Privacy Officer and Associate General Counsel of Privacy, Data and AI at eBay.
LEAP’s Main Stage will also host the in-person pitch finals of the game-changing Rocket Fuel competition, where six triumphant start-ups will share a prize pool of US$1 million following the competition’s Grand Finale on March 7.
Winners will be crowned across six categories, with the biggest prize – the LEAP Award – going to the start-up judged to be the most outstanding entry across the competition. The remaining Rocket Fuel accolades include ‘Technology for Humanity Award’ for the start-up that best embodies the values of sustainability and social impact; the ‘Shooting Star Award’ for the early-stage start-up under three years old; the ‘Into New Worlds Award’ for the most impressive start-up across the Metaverse and Web 3 space; the ‘Avatrix Award’ for the best or most innovative start-up pioneered by women founders; and the ‘Artificial Intelligence Awards’ for the start-up presenting the most exciting, ground-breaking use of AI.
Taking place alongside LEAP is DeepFest, the premier meeting place for the global Artificial Intelligence (AI) ecosystem, which is powered by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA). The world’s leading tech companies will be out in force at DeepFest, while giants of the tech and business worlds will engage in a thought-leadership conference, dedicated sector-specific tracks, trainings, live demos, innovation sessions, and start-up pitches.
ENDS
About LEAP:
Saudi Arabia is putting itself at the forefront of emerging tech through large-scale adoption and ambitious pilot projects. Its ambition will be showcased on a global stage and the Kingdom will become a hub that connects three continents. LEAP is a manifestation of this ambition. A seismic event that accelerates the adoption of technology and transforms Saudi Arabia’s economy. Together with LEAP, the Kingdom will see mass tech adoption, a shift away from oil as the principal strategic economic resource, and instead become a regional hub for both traditional and emerging technology.
Saudi Arabia has an endless ambition to shoot for something beyond that thought possible, to achieve a significant impact from game-changing tech and globally disruptive projects and to always keep one eye on the stars.
About Tahaluf:
Headquartered in Riyadh, Tahaluf brings together strategically important commercial communities from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the wider Gulf region, and from around the world to a portfolio of world-class exhibitions and digital platforms.
Tahaluf is a joint venture partnership between Informa PLC, the world’s largest tradeshow organiser, the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP), and Events Investment Fund (EIF). Sela, the Saudi-owned event production company renowned for its creation of spectacular event experiences, intends to join the joint venture in the near future.
Following the highly successful launches in the Kingdom of award-winning tech events LEAP, Black Hat Middle East, the artificial intelligence event DeepFest, Cityscape Global, the Global Health Exhibition and InFlavour for the food industry, Tahaluf plans to launch further diverse original concept events for the infrastructure sector, the VC community, and multiple other sectors including Health, Consumer, Aviation, Consumer and Luxury. Tahaluf will also bring iconic Informa brands to Saudi Arabia, including CPHI and Cosmoprof, serving the global pharmaceutical and beauty industries, respectively.
For more information about Tahaluf, visit https://tahaluf.com.
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Article originally published on www.einpresswire.com as Opportunity Knocks as Global Tech Industry Descends on Riyadh for LEAP 2024
The post Opportunity Knocks as Global Tech Industry Descends on Riyadh for LEAP 2024 first appeared on Social Gov.
originally published at Business - Social Gov