Saudi Arabia’s Tech Deals Near $15B as AI Investment Accelerates

Saudi Arabia’s LEAP 2026 generated nearly $15bn in announcements, investments and agreements spanning artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data centres, technology manufacturing and venture capital.

Major plans unveiled during the four-day technology event included Amazon Web Services’ proposed investment of more than $5.3bn, new AWS and Microsoft Azure cloud regions, and billions of dollars in further data centre investments as the Kingdom accelerates its digital and AI infrastructure build-out.

LEAP 2026 concluded its fifth edition after four days at the Riyadh Exhibition and Convention Centre in Malham.

The event also showcased initiatives focused on developing national capabilities, strengthening skills and aligning talent with labour market needs and high-growth industries.

LEAP 2026 was organised by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones, Tahaluf and the Events Investment Fund under the theme “Into New Worlds.”

Amazon Web Services (AWS) said its first cloud infrastructure region in Saudi Arabia is scheduled to launch in December 2026, backed by a planned investment of more than $5.3bn.

AWS also expanded its partnership with HUMAIN to provide up to 50 megawatts of capacity within the Kingdom’s first AI zone by 2028.

The partnership will bring the ALLAM Arabic-language model to Amazon Bedrock and make HUMAIN Fabric available through AWS Marketplace.

The collaboration is designed to boost advanced computing capabilities and help industries develop and deploy AI solutions at scale.

Microsoft is also expanding its cloud infrastructure footprint in Saudi Arabia, with its Azure cloud region in the Kingdom expected to launch in November 2026. The region will support local data hosting while expanding cloud services and digital industries.

The AWS and Microsoft launches form part of a wider expansion of high-capacity data centres, computing infrastructure and AI capabilities announced at LEAP.

Al Moammar Information Systems announced a $1.2bn investment to expand its data centre operations and increase capacity to 192 megawatts.

NHC Innovation announced an $800m investment to develop Khuzam Digital Valley, with capacity expected to reach up to 65 megawatts by 2033.

The investments form part of Saudi Arabia’s broader drive to scale AI infrastructure, data centres and advanced computing capacity.

Adobe announced a commitment worth more than $4bn through an expanded partnership with MCIT and HUMAIN.

By the end of 2026, the partnership will provide more than 27 million eligible citizens and residents aged 13 and above with free access to Adobe Firefly Standard and Adobe Express Premium features for 12 months.

The partnership will also support development of the first image-generation model using Adobe Firefly Foundry, designed with HUMAIN to reflect Saudi culture and local context while supporting Arabic-language creative prompts.