News

LEAP 2024 Investments Surge To A Historic $11.9 Billion

The funding will focus on emerging technologies, cloud computing, and data centers.

Published

2 years ago

March 5, 2024

leap 2024 investments surge to a historic $11.9 billion

LEAP 2024, recognized as one the world’s leading technology conferences, has revealed a substantial $11.9 billion in investments that will be used to advance deep and emerging technologies, foster innovation, and bolster cloud computing both within Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world.

These investments serve to boost Saudi Arabia’s standing as the largest market in the MENA region and a digital powerhouse that has attracted attention from prominent enterprises such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM, DataVolt, and ServiceNow. A significant portion of the funds will be allocated towards enhancing digital competency within Saudi Arabia and supporting up-and-coming tech startups.

leap 2024 investments

During the inauguration of LEAP 2024’s four-day event at the Riyadh Exhibition & Convention Centre in Malham, H.E. Eng. Abdullah Alswaha, the Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), revealed the unprecedented sum of investments. The event, which will conclude on March 7, is also anticipated by organizers to surpass its own attendance record set in 2023, with over 172,000 visitors.

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Minister Alswaha emphasized the steadfast support from HRH Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman to both the Saudi and global tech sectors, aligning with the objectives outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

LEAP 2024 Investment Highlights:

Amazon Web Services: Has announced a $5.3 billion commitment towards establishing a new cloud zone in Saudi Arabia.
Datavolt: Has put forward a $5 billion investment earmarked for new data centers in the Kingdom, boasting a combined capacity exceeding 300 megawatts.
IBM: Plans for a $250 million investment to establish a global software development center within Saudi Arabia.
ServiceNow: Intends to inject $500 million into localizing its regional services in the country and enhancing the skill sets of local talent.

Dell Technologies also announced a new manufacturing and fulfillment center in Saudi Arabia, while Aramco unveiled the Saudi Accelerator Innovation Lab (SAIL), a collaborative effort with MCIT aimed at bolstering the Kingdom’s digital capabilities and further solidifying Saudi Arabia’s position as a thriving digital epicenter.

News

At I/O 2026, Sundar Pichai Concedes AI Must Deliver Real Value

Gemini 3.5, a personal agent called Spark, agentic shopping, and Android XR eyewear are all aimed at making AI feel useful, not just impressive.

Published

6 days ago

May 20, 2026

Nour Nasir

at io 2026 sundar pichai concedes ai must deliver real value

Google

Google’s annual I/O developer conference (I/O 2026) has recently become a status update on the same question: can the company turn its AI spending into products people use every day? This year, chief executive Sundar Pichai described Google as being in a phase of hyper progress, while conceding this is the part of the cycle where people want to see real value in the products they use on a day-to-day basis.

The strategy on display was to push agents — AI systems that act on a user’s behalf — into nearly every Google product at once. Search now has an “intelligent search box” that returns generated explainer videos alongside links. Gmail, Docs, YouTube and Maps are gaining their own agent layers, including a Docs Live feature that turns spoken instructions into drafted text with citations.

Two new models, Gemini 3.5 and a cheaper Gemini 3.5 Flash, arrived the same day. Google says 900 million people now use Gemini, and that more than 50 billion images have been generated with it. The pricing tier names are likely to confuse buyers: a new AI Ultra plan launches at $100 a month, while the older Gemini AI Ultra drops from $250 to $200.

The flashier announcements were Gemini Omni, a video generator pitched as a more realistic answer to OpenAI’s discontinued Sora 2, and Gemini Spark, a personal agent that handles recurring tasks across a user’s Google account. A new universal shopping cart lets agents complete purchases across multiple retailers from inside Google itself, placing the company between the merchant and the buyer, and also owning the checkout.

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Google also confirmed its Android XR eyewear, built with Samsung and frames from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Audio-only glasses ship this autumn; a display-equipped version, which would superimpose live translations into the wearer’s field of view, is still in development. Both sets translate, however only the display version shows you the result.

What Pichai did not resolve is the bargain underneath all this. An agent is only useful to the degree it knows your calendar, your inbox, your shopping history and your physical surroundings. Google has now confirmed that, in time, the same context may carry advertising.